KOMPAS.com – Sauropods are known as dinosaurs that have long necks. However, among the species included in this group, it turns out that there is one species whose neck length outperforms the other species.
This ancient animal species is named Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. This dinosaur species has been named the animal with the longest neck that ever lived on Earth. Just imagine, the length of his neck can reach 15.1 meters.
Identify the long neck dinosaur
Quoted from IFL Science, Thursday (16/3/2023) studying large ancient animals is not an easy matter because usually their fossils are found incomplete, or only parts and not whole animals.
It means identify sauropoda Having a long neck is certainly a complicated and challenging thing because researchers work on incomplete parts of the body.
Likewise when finding fossils of a long neck dinosaur, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum where researchers only have a handful of neck and skull bones.
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But by studying this dinosaur family tree, an international team of researchers can use their evolutionary relationships to compare morphology to that of skeletons and determine the most likely body shape.
Until finally the researchers concluded that Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum had a neck length of about 15.1 meters. That makes it the longest neck of any known sauropod and possibly the longest-necked ancient animal that ever walked the Earth.
“The discovery of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum is important because they pushed the limits of neck length and were the first sauropod lineage to do so. With a neck length of 15.1 meters, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum is the record holder, at least until another animal with a long neck is discovered,” said Dr Andrew J Moore, a paleontologist from Stony Brook University.
Benefits of the long neck of the dinosaur
With a neck longer than a double-decker bus, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum was able to access resources that other species could not.
Its long neck also allowed this dinosaur to stand in one place and maximize the amount of food consumed without having to move places, making it more energy efficient.
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This was an advantage in itself, and ultimately made them big and strong.
They also have to hold their neck for 15 meters which is almost impossible to do if they don’t have good adaptation.
“Like all other sauropod dinosaurs, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum possessed a complex respiratory apparatus that included not only lungs, but also numerous balloon-like air sacs,” explains Paul Barret, researcher at London’s Natural History Museum.
The air sacs are not only connected to the lungs and throat, but also spread throughout the interior of the animal’s neck, chest and stomach, he said.
But why Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum had a longer neck than other sauropods is still a mystery. What is clear, however, is that the long necks of these ancient animals were important to their biology.
The study of the long-necked dinosaur Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum has been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
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