Researchers have recently discovered a new dinosaur with a longer neck than any known before: the Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. The international research team, led by Stony Brook University paleontologist Andrew J. Moore, discovered that this sauropod had a neck as long as 15.1 meters (49.5 feet). To put it in perspective, this neck is six times longer than that of a giraffe and about 10 feet longer than the average school bus.
Despite this sauropod’s poor preservation throughout the years, the research team was still able to use its remaining skeleton to their advantage. The team concluded their findings by reconstructing the sauropod’s evolutionary relationships and comparing its skeleton to close relatives.
“All sauropods were big, but jaw-droppingly long necks didn’t evolve just once,” Moore said. “Mamenchisaurids are important because they pushed the limits on how long a neck can be and were the first lineage of sauropods to do so. With a 15-meter-long neck, it looks like Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum might be a record-holder — at least until something longer is discovered.”
Read the story on Stony Brook University News.
— Edited by Viyang Hao ’26
