Animal Species:Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis

Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis was a gigantic herbivore that lived around 150 million years ago and had one of the longest necks of all known dinosaurs.

Mamenchisaurus

Mamenchisaurus
© Australian Museum

Identification

Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis had:

  • a nine-metre-long neck to help it reach leaves high up in trees;
  • hollows in its neck bones to reduce the weight of its neck;
  • a large and powerful heart to pump blood to the head;
  • strong and thick blood vessels to cope with its high blood pressure;
  • thick pads of fibrous tissues on its heels to help cushion its great weight;
  • a 'second brain' in the spinal cord in the hip area to help control its hind legs and tail.

Size range

gigantic

Feeding and Diet

Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis was a gigantic herbivore.

Feeding Habit

herbivore

What does this mean?

Fossils

Mamenchisaurus is named after Mamen Brook, in Sichuan where it was first found.

Era / Period

Jurassic Period, Cretaceous Period

What does this mean?

Evolutionary Relationships

Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis was a sauropod belonging to the Chinese family Euhelopodidae, a group of massive dinosaurs that lived from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.

Classification

Family:
Euhelopodidae

What does this mean?


Jen Cork , Online Producer
Last Updated:

Tags chinese dinosaurs,