China's top ten dinosaurs in the past century --- Mamenxi dragon
Picture note: Long-necked Mamenxi Dragon, picture from the Internet
When it comes to dinosaurs, everyone's first impression is those behemoths with long necks, small heads, and bodies like hills. Sauropods have indeed impressed us, and they have become the spokesmen for the dinosaur family. In China, the most famous sauropod dinosaur is the long-necked Mamenxi Dragon, which is the big star among Chinese dinosaurs!
Mammon Creek? Ma Ming Creek?
Picture note: Today's Ma Mingxi, the picture comes from the network
Picture note: The bridge has been built on the former Mamingxi ferry port, the picture comes from the Network
In 1952, next to the ferry port of Mamingxi in Yibin City, Sichuan Province, an engineering team was building a road. On the construction route, a large mountain blocked the road ahead, and the engineers decided to blast a passage in the mountain with explosives. With a loud explosion, the explosives buried deep in the mountain split a gap in the mountain, and a large number of stones rolled down. When the workers began to clean up the rocks on the ground, they inadvertently found fossil bones, and the engineering team immediately reported the discovery to the local government.
After weighing it up, the Yibin municipal government decided to suspend the project and went to Beijing to ask paleontologists to study the fossils. Not long after, the famous paleontologist Yang Zhongjian led an expedition to Yibin, and they immediately began to search for excavated fossils. After a period of excavation, more and more huge fossils were revealed from the ground, and paleontologists cleaned and repaired these fossils.
Illustration note: The early mounting of Mamen Xilong, today's look at its posture is wrong, the picture comes from the network
When the fossils were assembled piece by piece, people saw a dinosaur fossil with a length of 22 meters, which was the most complete and largest dinosaur fossil found in China at that time. In 1954, when the dinosaur fossil mounting was completed, Yang Zhongjian named this dinosaur MamenXi dragon.
Picture note: The name of Mamenxi Dragon - Mr. Yang Zhongjian, the picture comes from the Internet
The genus name mamenchisaurus is "mamenchisaurus", a name derived from the Hanyu Pinyin "mamenchi" (meaning "Mamenxi") and the Latin word for "saurus" (meaning "lizard"), meaning "lizard from Mamenxi". Everyone must be wondering, isn't it Ma Mingxi mentioned earlier? How did it become Mamen Creek? It turned out that Mr. Yang Zhongjian pronounced Mamingxi as "Mamenxi" because of his accent, so the researchers mistakenly thought that he named this animal Mamenxi Dragon. The model species of Mamenchisaurus constructus is named Mamenchisaurus constructus, and the species name "constructus" comes from the English word "construction", because its fossils were found during the construction of roads.
Picture note: Mamenxi dragon is a large sauropod found in China, and when it is found, it is often watched by people, and the picture comes from the Internet
The extended family of Mamen Creek Dragons
Picture note: Under the genus Mamenxi Dragon, the difference in body size between different species is very large, finishing: Jiang Hong, picture from Wikipedia
In addition to the model species, there are 6 valid species in the genus, namely Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis, named in 1972 by Yang Zhongjian and Zhao Xijin, and mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, named in 1994 by paleontologist Roselle, and the species name "Zhongjia" comes from a joint paleontological expedition from China and Canada Mamenchisaurus youngi of the Yang clan was named in 1996 by Pi Xiaozhong and others, and the species name "youngi" is in honor of Mr. Yang Zhongjian, who is the name of the Mamenxi dragon; the mamenchisaurus anyuensis, named in 1987 by He Xinlu and others, the species name "anyuensis" represents the Anyue County where its fossils were found Mamenchisaurus jingyanebsis, named in 1998 by Zhao Xijin, the species name "jingyanebsis" represents the city of Jingyan in Sichuan Province, where fossils were found; mamenchisaurus yunnanensis, named in 2004, represents that its fossils were found in Yunnan Province.
Big guy with a long neck
Image note: The skeleton of the MamenXi dragon, picture from the network
Mammonian was a typical large sauropod dinosaur with a small head, long neck, strong body, long tail, and four pillar-like limbs. Different species in the genus Mammonsitarian vary in size, ranging in length from 15 to 35 m, 3 to 6 m tall, and weighing 20 to 70 tonnes. Among the 7 species of Mamenxi dragons, The Zhongjia Mamenxi dragon is the largest, and the Yang's Mamenxi dragon is the smallest.
Picture note: The skull of the MamenXi dragon, picture from the internet
The head of Mammonsians was different from that of Diplodocus and Dracosus in that its head was higher and its nostrils were located near the top of its head. Mammon creek dragons have smaller eyes and nearly 80 slender teeth in their mouths. The teeth of Mammonxosaurus were suitable for biting off the branches and leaves of plants, but could not be chewed.
Picture note: Mamen Xilong's extra-long neck, picture from the internet
Behind the head of the Mamen Xi dragon grew an extra-long neck, which alone took up half of the entire body length. The Mamenxi dragon we are familiar with is 22 meters long and has a neck length of 11 meters, and the 35-meter Zhongjia Mamenxi dragon has a neck length of more than 15 meters. Judging by the proportion of neck to body length, Mamenxiosaurus already had the longest proportion of necks among sauropods. The long neck of the Mamen Xi dragon was always raised high, so that its head was always in the air, so that it could both expand the range of feeding and observe the scene farther away.
Behind its long neck was a short, fat body, followed by a longer tail. Underneath the belly of the Mamenxi dragon grew four cylindrical legs that supported its heavy body.
Illustration: Fossil of the Mamenxi Dragon Tail Bone Hammer, picture from the paper
Picture note: Mamen Xilong who hits the offender with a tail hammer, by Zhang Zongda
We have always thought that the tail of the Mamenxi dragon, like other sauropods, is slender, but a bone hammer is preserved at the end of the tail of a Mamenxi dragon found in the Huidong New Area of Zigong City. After analysis, paleontologists calculated that the bone hammer on the tail of the Mamenxi dragon could reach a strike force of 46 kilograms, and when a carnivorous dinosaur approached, they would swing the bone hammer on the tail to fight back.
China is the second largest
Illustration: Located in the Shanghai Museum of Natural History, the Zhongjia Mamenxi Dragon is equipped with a shelf, next to it is the largest mammal on land, the giant rhinoceros, which is very small compared to the Zhongjia Mamenxi Dragon. Image from the web.
In the previously published "Giant Ruyang Dragon vs Zhongjia Mamenxi Dragon, who is the first giant dragon in China?" In this article, I compared two of the largest sauropod dinosaurs found in China so far: The Zhongjia Mamenxi Dragon and the Ruyang Dragon. Taking the cervical spine of 1.6 meters and the neck ribs of 4.1 meters of The Middle Cammamen Xilong obtained a body length of 35 meters and a weight of 70 tons. After comparative analysis, it was concluded that Mamenxi Dragon was the first giant dragon in China, but after reading the paper and consulting experts, I found that Ruyang Dragon is the largest dinosaur found in China at present.
Long neck that runs from north to south
Picture note: The place where the fossils of Mamenxi Dragon were found, which are far away, produced: Jiang Hong, the picture comes from the Network
Mamenxi dragon lived in central and eastern Asia from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Jurassic from 160 million to 145 million years ago, and its fossils have been found in Sichuan, Xinjiang and Yunnan in China. Judging from the strata found in the fossils, different species of Mamenxi dragons have adapted to the local environment, whether it is the humid Sichuan Basin or the open Xinjiang.
Photo note: Ecological restoration of the Xiashaxi Temple Group, by Zhang Zongda, picture from the network
Illustration: Ecological restoration of the Shishugou Formation, by raúl martín, image from the internet
In the world where Mamenxi Dragon lived, it was the largest dinosaur and the top plant-eating dinosaur. The herds of Mamenxi Dragons walking on forests and plains were a unique landscape at that time. Along with Mamenxi dragons, there are also many dinosaurs, including Shulong, Emei Dragon, Huayang Dragon, Sichuan Dragon, QiLong, Xiaolong, etc. found in the Xiashaximiao Formation formation in Zigong City, Sichuan Province; Kramerosaurus, Tianshan Dragon, Qiaolong, Guanlong, Mud Pond Dragon, Single-ridged Dragon, Chinese Robber Dragon, General Dragon, Hidden Dragon, etc. found in the Shishugou Formation Formation of Xinjiang.
Photo note: A single-ridged dragon living with the Zhongjia Mamen Xilong, made by Zhang Zongda
Despite its size, Mamenxiosaurus still faced the threat of large carnivorous dinosaurs, including Yongchuan dragon and Sichuan dragon living in Sichuan, and Chinese robbers and single-ridged dragons living in Xinjiang. In the face of threats, Mamenxi Dragons have their own set of defenses, they will form groups to protect each other, and the bone hammer on the tail is also a powerful weapon.
Photo note: Stills from Jurassic Park 2, in which the tall dinosaur walking slowly on the plain is The Mammon Creek Dragon, picture from the Internet
Picture note: The Mamenxi dragon on display in the museum can be seen with their super long necks, and the picture comes from the Internet
As the most famous dinosaur in China, Mamenxi Dragon not only shows the style of Chinese dragons, but also travels the world as a cultural business card. Mamenxi Dragon can be seen in museums and dinosaur exhibitions in many countries around the world, and it is a cultural ambassador from ancient times.
Resources:
1.fang, x.; zhao; lu, l.; cheng, z. (2004). "discovery of late jurassic mamenchisaurus in yunnan, southwesternchina". geological bulletin ofchina. 23 (9-10): 1005–1011.
2.sues, hans-dieter (1997). "sauropods". in james orville farlow; m. k. brett-surman. the complete dinosaur. bloomington: indiana university press. p. 274. isbn 0-253-33349-0.
3.norman, david b. (2004). "dinosaur systematics". in weishampel, d.b.; dodson, p.; osmólska, h. the dinosauria (2nd ed.). berkeley: university of california press. p. 318. isbn 0-520-24209-2.
4.paul, g.s. (2010). the princeton field guide to dinosaurs, princeton university press.
5.young, c.c. (1954), on a new sauropod from yiping, szechuan,china. sinica, iii(4), 481-514.
Illustration: Manchurian dragon restoration, by Dr. Rax
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Introduced so many famous dinosaurs found in China, but there has been no introduction to the earliest dinosaurs found in our land, the next issue it will come, it is manchurian dragon.