Dinosaur - Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis
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© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
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Classification
- Family
- Euhelopodidae
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- Size Range
- gigantic
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- Feeding Habits
- herbivore
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View Fossil Record
- Fossil Record
- Jurassic Period
(205 million years ago - 141 million years ago) - Cretaceous Period
(141 million years ago - 65 million years ago)
Introduction
Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis was a gigantic herbivore that lived around 150 million years ago and had one of the longest necks of all known dinosaurs.
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
Feeding and diet
Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis was a gigantic herbivore.
Fossils description
Mamenchisaurus is named after Mamen Brook, in Sichuan where it was first found.
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.
Tyrannosaurs - Meet the Family
This summer the world’s most feared dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex, comes crashing out the Cretaceous and into the new blockbuster gallery at the Australian Museum. But watch out, the 13-metre-long, saw-toothed predator isn’t coming alone – the whole tyrannosaur clan will be roaring to meet you.
Discover the exhibition
