Image: Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis Field Museum

Description: Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis Young & Zhao, 1972 sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic of China (public display, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA) (cast based on on CCG V 20401, Chengdu College of Geology (Chengdu Institute of Geology/Chengdu University of Technology), Chengdu, Sichuan, China). This sauropod dinosaur had a 22 meter long body (~72 feet) and a hyperelongated neck (>9 meters long - about 31 feet) Stratigraphy: concretionary siliciclastic mudstones and sandstones of the Shangshaximiao Formation (Upper Shaximiao Formation), Zhongqing Group, Upper Jurassic Locality: slopes of Gushushan, just northwest of the town of Taihezhen & northwest of the town of Hechuan, southwestern Chongqing Municipality, south-central China Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial animals ever. They all have the same basic body plan: large body with four walking legs, very long neck & tail, and a small head relative to body size. Sauropods were herbivores, and are often perceived as holding their heads & necks up high to reach vegetation normally out of reach to other organisms. Modern reconstructions of many sauropod species depict them with heads and necks held close to the horizontal, or at low angles above the horizontal.
Title: Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis Field Museum
Credit: Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis sauropod dinosaur (Shangshaximiao Formation, Upper Jurassic; Gushushan, NW of Hechuan, southwestern Chongqing Municipality, south-central China) 1
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
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