Paleontologists say that, despite their impressive size, the necks of these ancient beasts were relatively lightweight

Jan 29, 2015 10:10 GMT  ·  By
Illustration shows what the newly discovered long-necked dinosaurs probably looked like
   Illustration shows what the newly discovered long-necked dinosaurs probably looked like

A recent paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and authored by paleontologists with the University of Alberta in Canada announces the discovery of a new dinosaur species that roamed the Earth during the Late Jurassic.

This previously unknown species was documented with the help of fossil remains discovered by construction workers in China back in 2006. The skeletal remains, found close to the city of Chongqing, were basically a bunch of neck vertebrae with a head still attached to them.

These ancient beasts had a rather odd anatomy

Experts say that specimens belonging to this new species, dubbed Qijianglong, walked the Earth about 160 million years ago. They belonged to a group of dinosaurs that are now known as mamenchisaurids and that had freakishly long necks.

It is estimated that Qijianglong specimens could grow to measure approximately 15 meters (nearly 50 feet) in length and that their necks spanned about half the length of their bodies. That's right, we're talking necks whose length was the same as the height of a 3-story building.

Mind you, plenty of species of long-necked dinosaurs have been documented by paleontologists over the years. Still, the thing is that the majority of these ancient beasts only had necks measuring one-third the length of their bodies. This makes the newly discovered species truly remarkable.

“Qijianglong is a cool animal,” said University of Alberta paleontologist Tetsuto Miyashita. “If you imagine a big animal that is half neck, you can see that evolution can do quite extraordinary things,” the researcher went on to add.

In case anyone was wondering, the only reason the necks of these dinosaurs didn't just break while they were walking around was that the vertebrae that comprised them were filled with air. What this means is that, despite being freakishly big, the necks were surprisingly lightweight.

Asia was a strange land in ancient times

As mentioned, the new dinosaur species belonged to a group of ancient beasts with seriously long necks now referred to as mamenchisaurids. What's interesting is that remains of dinosaurs belonging to this group have so far only been discovered in Asia.

Hence, paleontologists cannot help but wonder whether it was specific environmental conditions that made it possible for these ancient creatures to evolve and thrive only in this corner of the world.

As researcher Tetsuto Miyashita put it, “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.”