Long necked "dragon" found in China

 
 A new dinosaur which had an extraordinarily long neck has been discovered in China and named the ‘Dragon of Qijiang.’"China is home to the ancient myths of dragons," says Miyashita, "I wonder if the ancient Chinese stumbled upon a skeleton of a long-necked dinosaur like Qijianglong and pictured that mythical creature."

Qijianglong (pronounced "CHI-jyang-lon") is about 15 metres in length and lived about 160 million years ago in the Late Jurassic.

The fossil site was found by construction workers in 2006, and the digging eventually hit a series of large neck vertebrae stretched out in the ground.

Incredibly, the head of the dinosaur was still attached.

"It is rare to find a head and neck of a long-necked dinosaur together because the head is so small and easily detached after the animal dies," said Univerity of Alberta doctoral student Tetsuto Miyashita.
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The new species belongs to a group of dinosaurs called mamenchisaurids, known for their extremely long necks sometimes measuring 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.

Unique among mamenchisaurids, Qijianglong had neck vertebrae that were filled with air, making their necks relatively lightweight despite their enormous size.

Interlocking joints between the vertebrae also 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 Miyashita.

"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."

The reconstructed skeleton of the newly-discovered dinosaur in the gallery of Qijiang Museum, China.

Mr Miyashita believes that mamenchisaurids evolved into many different forms when other long-necked dinosaurs went extinct in Asia.

It is possible that the dinosaurs were once isolated as a result of a large barrier such as a sea, and lost in competition with invading species when the land connection was restored later.

"It is still a mystery why mamenchisaurids did not migrate to other continents," he says.

The Qijianglong skeleton is now housed in a local museum in Qijiang.