'Giraffe of the Mesozoic' Dinosaur Unearthed in China

Remains of a dinosaur, nicknamed the giraffe of the Mesozoic due to its long neck and forelimbs, were recently discovered in China, according to a paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The dinosaur, Qiaowanlong kangxii, is the first Early Cretaceous brachiosaur ever found in China. Its name refers to a famous Qing Dynasty emperor, Kangxi, and also contains the words for bridge, bend in a stream, and dragon, references to the site as well as a dream the emperor is said to have had.

Brachiosaurs -- a family of plant-eating sauropods -- are often quite big. One of the largest mounted skeletons in the world is a Brachiosaurus at the Humboldt Museum in Berlin. The new species is relatively small by comparison. Co-author Hai-Lu You told Discovery News that the Chinese dinosaur stood at about 39.3 feet long, 9.8 feet tall, and weighed around 10 tons.

As a member of the brachiosaurid (family), it has a long neck and relatively long forelimbs, added Hai-Lu, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing. Hai-Lu and colleague Da-Qing Li analyzed the dinosaur's skeletal remains, which were excavated at the Yujingzi Basin in northwestern Gansu Province. The dinosaur dates to 100 million years ago. The researchers determined that the dinosaur possessed a bifurcated, or two-part, neural spine. These are known in other sauropods, but this is the first time the feature has been identified in a brachiosaur.

The structure of its spine, and the rest of the dinosaur's bones, suggest that its neck should have been held aloft, with a more vertical than horizontal behavior, Hai Lu said. That counters some other recent arguments about sauropods, indicating their ultra long necks were almost parallel to the ground, sweeping back and forth like a metal detector. Instead, Hai-Lu suggests the animals fed on leaves and other plant materials high above the ground, giving them a less competitive food niche.

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