It has the longest neck of any animal ever
Fossil analysis revealed that sauropods from China may have had the longest neck of any known dinosaur.
It would take six giraffe necks to reach the length of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorums: New insights into dinosaur body evolution.
Illustration: Julia de Oliveira
Dinosaurs hold a new record holder when it comes to neck length — at least for now. British news agency PA reported that this is the conclusion reached by researchers at Stony Brook University in New York.
According to this, the dinosaur family Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, widespread in East Asia and other parts of the world, had a neck length of more than 15 meters. According to the researchers, this corresponds to the six necks of a giraffe. Fossil remains of the animal were discovered in China in 1987. They lived more than 160 million years ago and belonged to the group of sauropods.
Although only a few dinosaur bones are known, researchers have now been able to reconstruct the animals’ size and shape using the complete skeletons of their closest relatives. They achieved a gigantic neck length, surpassing all previously known dinosaurs.
“At 15 meters long, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum appears to be the record holder – at least until something longer is discovered,” PA quoted Stony Brook University paleontologist Andrew J. Moore as saying.
Using computer tomography, the scientists were also able to discover that the vertebrae of the giants were hollow, as is the case of small birds. The animals had four-meter ribs on their necks, which provided stability. The results will now be published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
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