Newly Discovered 'Dragon' of China Had Long, Air-filled Neck Vertebrae

First Posted: Jan 29, 2015 07:52 AM EST
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Paleontologists have uncovered a new, large species of long-necked dinosaur after examining a skeleton unearthed in China. The new dinosaur, which lived about 160 million years ago, is being called Qijianglong, which means "dragon of Qijiang."

The dinosaur itself lived during the Late Jurassic, and stretched about 15 meters in length. Surprisingly, the head of this "dragon" was still attached to the many vertebrae of its neck-a rare finding indeed. It's often difficult to find an attached head in long-necked dinosaurs since the head is so small and easily detached after the animal dies.

The new species belongs to a group of dinosaurs called mamenchisaurids, which are known for their extremely long necks that sometimes measure up to half the length of their bodies. Most sauropods, or long-necked dinosaurs, have necks only about one third the length of their bodies.

Qijianglong has neck vertebrae that are a bit unusual, though. The vertebrae were filled with air when the animal was alive, which made the dinosaur's neck relatively lightweight despite its enormous size. In addition, interlocking joints between the vertebrae indicate a surprisingly stiff neck that was much more mobile bending vertically than sideways, similar to a construction crane.

"Qijianglong is a cool animal. If you imagine a big animal that is half-neck, you can see that evolution can do quite extraordinary things," said Tetsuto Miyashita, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Qijianglong shows that long-necked dinosaurs diversified in unique ways in Asia during Jurassic times-something very special was going on in that continent. Nowhere else we can find dinosaurs with longer necks than those in China. The new dinosaur tells us that these extreme species thrived in isolation from the rest of the world."

That said, it's still unknown why mamenchisaurids didn't migrate to other continents. It's possible that the dinosaurs were once isolated as the result of a large barrier, such as a sea, and then lost in competition with invading species when the land connection was later restored.

The new species reveals how evolution diversified these animals into all different forms over time. Not only that, but it shows just how unusual the dinosaurs of China truly were.

The findings are published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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