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Scientists: Dinosaur, creature with longest neck ever seen
2023-03-15 18:09:02 / JETË
According to scientists, a dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago is thought to have had the longest neck ever seen in an animal.
Known as Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, the dinosaur's neck was 15.1 meters, six times longer than the necks of giraffes and 1.5 times longer than a double-decker bus, according to Sky News.
The animal belongs to a subgroup of dinosaurs known as sauropods, which are known for their size, long neck and tail, four-legged stance, and plant-based diet.
Dippy, the famous dinosaur on display at the Natural History Museum in London – belongs to this group.
Dr Andrew J Moore, a paleontologist at Stony Brook University, New York, said: "With a 15-metre-long neck, it looks like Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum could be a record holder – at least until something longer is discovered."
M. sinocanadorum lived in East Asia and its fossils were first discovered in China in 1987 inside 162 million year old rocks.
Dr Moore and his colleagues re-examined the specimens as part of their research into dinosaurs.
Although M. sinocanadorum is known only from a handful of bones from its neck and skull, scientists were able to reconstruct its size and shape with the help of complete skeletons of its closest relatives.
Dr Moore said: All sauropods were large, but long jawed necks did not develop just once.
"Mamenchisaurids are important because they pushed the limits of how long a neck can be and were the first line of sauropods to do so."
Paleontologists used a technique known as computed tomography scanning which revealed that the vertebrae, the back bones of M. sinocanadorum, were light and hollow with air spaces taking up nearly three-quarters of the volume.
According to the researchers, these types of bones are usually seen in small birds.
To compensate for its lightweight bones, M. sinocanadorum had rod-like neck ribs about four meters long to help with its stability, the team said.
The largest dinosaur that ever lived was Patagotitan, which was thought to be 37.5 meters long and weighed around 57 tons. The research is published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
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