New Species of Long-Necked Dinosaur Discovered in China

A team of paleontologists has discovered a new, giant species of a long-necked dinosaur. The researchers have concluded that this is an unknown dinosaur after they examined the skeletal remains unearthed in China.

The scientists believe the new species of long-necked dinosaur lived approximately 160 million years ago. The paleontologists who discovered the new dinosaur named it Qijianglong, which means “the dragon of Qijiang.”

According to the findings, the dinosaur lived during the late Jurassic period and was almost 15 meters high.
The researchers were surprised to see that the dinosaur’s head was still attached to the necks vertebrae. The experts say that it’s very rare to find this in such a tall dinosaur.

The new species of long-necked dinosaur discovered in China belongs to a group called mamenchisaurids. These dinosaur species is known having an extremely long neck, which sometimes is half the length of its body.
Most long-necked dinosaurs, known as sauropods, have necks that are only one third the length of the body.

Scientists say that the newly found dinosaur has very strange neck vertebrae. They discovered that the neck vertebrae were filled with air when the dinosaur was alive. This means that the neck weighed very little, compared to its enormous body and size.

Also, the researchers discovered that the interlocking joints between the vertebrae meant that the dinosaur had a very stiff neck, which was more mobile bending vertically, rather than sideways. The paleontologists compare the neck of this dinosaur to a construction crane.

One of the researchers involved in studying the new dinosaur species is Tetsuto Miyashita. He explained in a news release that this dinosaur shows how unique and diverse were long –necked dinosaurs in Asia during the Jurassic period. He said that in China the dinosaurs had the longest necks. The newly discovered species reveals that the dinosaurs with very long necks lived somewhat isolated from other dinosaurs.

The scientists still don’t know why the mamenchisaurids dinosaurs din not migrate to other continents and remained in China. Some experts believe these dinosaurs were isolated by the sea from the rest of the world.
Image Source: sciencedaily