Qijianglong

Qijianglong is an extraordinarily long-necked sauropod discovered near Qijiang City in Chongqing, China. Dating to the Late Jurassic period, the holotype specimen preserves a skull, partial tail, and a nearly complete cervical series. Astonishingly, its neck accounted for nearly half of its overall fifteen-metre body length. The neck vertebrae were honeycombed with internal air pockets to reduce weight, and interlocking finger-like bony joints restricted sideways flexibility while facilitating sweeping vertical movement like a construction crane. This anatomical arrangement allowed Qijianglong to feed high in the forest foliage while standing securely in one spot. Its species name honours Guokr, a Chinese popular science social network.

Its neck vertebrae were hollowed out by extensive air sacs and interlocked to form a stiff, crane-like neck.

Where and when

Qijianglong lived in the Late Jurassic, from 161 to 152 million years ago (Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian age). Its remains come from China, in the Suining Formation.

The numbers

Length 15 m (estimates run from 14 to 15 m). Mass about 7.7 t. Hip height about 3 m. That is 8.5 human-lengths, or 1.29 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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