Mamenchisaurus
| Mamenchisaurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic
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| Rearing Mamenchisaurus, Field Museum, 2005 | |
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| Genus: | Mamenchisaurus Young, 1954
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Mamenchisaurus (Template:PronEng mah-MUN-chee-SAW-rus,[1] or spelling pronunciation /məˌmɛntʃiːˈsɔrəs/) was a plant-eating four-legged dinosaur, known for its remarkably long neck. Most species lived 145 to 150 million years ago, in the Tithonian age of the late Jurassic Period.
Discoveries
Mamenchisaurus was first discovered in 1952 on a highway construction site in Sichuan, China. The partial skeleton fossil was then studied, and named in 1954, by the renowned Chinese paleontologist Professor C. C. Young.
The first specimen discovered (the type specimen) was 22 m (72 ft) long and nearly half of that was neck, which made it the longest known neck of any animal at the time. 19 vertebrae were discovered (another record), along with the cervical ribs.
In 1972, a second species of Mamenchisaurus was discovered (M. hochuanensis) with a neck that reached up to 9.5 m (31 ft) in length.[1] In 1994, the Sauroposeidon was discovered in the United States, with a neck estimated to be between 10.5 and 11.5 meters (34.5–37.5 feet) long, though its neck did not exceed that of the previously known Supersaurus, with a neck reaching 13–14 meters (42.5–46 feet).[2]
In 1993, M. sinocanadorum was described; this species possessed the longest cervical rib of any described sauropod dinosaur, measuring 4.1 m (13.5 ft). This is longer than the longest Sauroposeidon cervical rib, which measures 3.42 m (11.2 ft).[3]
Naming
Mamenchisaurus means 'Mamenchi lizard', from the Chinese Pinyin mǎ (马 'horse') and mén (门 'gate'), while chi is a transliteration of xī (溪 'stream' or 'brook'), combined with the suffix -saurus (from Greek sauros meaning 'lizard').
It was intended to name the reptile after the place where its fossil was first found — a construction site next to the Mǎmíngxī (马鸣溪) Ferry Crossing by the Jinsha River (金沙江, the westernmost major headwater stream of the Yangtze River), near Yibin (宜宾) in Sichuan Province of China. However, due to an accentual mix-up by Young, the location name Mǎmíngxī (马鸣溪 'horse-neighing brook') was mistaken as Mǎménxī (马门溪 'horse-gate brook').[4]
The fact that the first Mamenchisaurus fossil was excavated from a construction site led to Young's naming the type species as Mamenchisaurus constructus.
Species
- M. anyuensis He, Yang, Cai, Li & Liu, 1996. Approximately21 meters (69 ft) in length. Known from both the Suining Formation and Penglaizhen Formation. [5]
- M. constructus Young, 1954: (Type species) The holotype specimen, represented by a partial skeleton.
- ?M. fuxiensis Hou, Zhao & Chu, 1976: Partial skeleton, include parts of a skull. It was originally named Zigongosaurus, and may be a different genus.
- M. hochuanensis Young & Zhao, 1972: Four partial skeletons. Known from Shaximiao Formation and 22m in length.[1]
- M. sinocanadorum D. Russell & Zheng, 1994: Partial skull, isolated bones. It may have been the largest, up to 26 meters (85 ft) in length.
- M. youngi Pi, Ouyang & Ye, 1996: Mamenchisaurus youngi (pronunciation YOUNG-eye) was unearthed in Xinmin County, Zigong City in Sichuan Province, China, in 1989.[6] The fossil specimen, 16 meters long with a 6.5-meter neck, is relatively small among various species of Mamenchisaurus. The species was named in honour of Young.
- M. jingyanensis Zhang, Li & Zeng, 1998. Known from Shaximiao Formation and estimated between20 to 26 metres (66 to 85 ft) in length.[7]
Popular Culture
- Mamenchisaurus was mentioned on the episode "Blood Ties" (Season 3, Episode 20) of Alias by Sydney Bristow and a Museum worker while she was undercover in a museum at a dinosaur exhibit.
- Mamenchisaurs were featured in the roundup scene in Jurassic Park's sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
References
- ^ a b Young, C.C., and Zhao, X.-J. (1972). "Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis sp. nov." Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Monographs, A, 8:1-30.
- ^ Wedel, M.J., and Cifelli, R.L. (2005). "Sauroposeidon: Oklahoma’s native giant." Oklahoma Geology Notes, 65(2): 40-57.
- ^ "Osteology, paleobiology, and relationships of the sauropod dinosaur Sauroposeidon", by Mathew J. Wedel, Richard L. Cifelli, and R. Kent Sanders (Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 45, pages 343–388, 2000).
- ^ Origin of the Mamenchisaurus name (in Chinese), Beijing Museum of Natural History website
- ^ He, Xinlu (1996). "A new species of sauropod, Mamenchisaurus anyuensis sp. nov." (PDF). Papers on Geosciences contributed to the 30th Geological Congress: 83–86.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Ouyang, H. and Ye, Y. 2002. The First Mamenchisaurian Skeleton with Complete Skull: Mamenchisaurus youngi (in Chinese with English summary). 111 pp + 20 plates. Sichuan Science and Technology Press, Chengdu.
- ^ Zhang, Yihong (1998). "'A new species of sauropod from the Late Jurassic of the Sichuan Basin (Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis sp. nov.)'". Journal of the Chengdu University of Technology. 25 (1): 61–68.
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External links
- Dinosaur.net.cn (in Chinese and English)
- Mamenchisaurus at DinoData
