Yunmenglong
"Yunmeng dragon"
Type species Yunmenglong ruyangensis
- Lived
- 121 to 101 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Lü et al. 2013
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
110 million years ago
Habitat
It lived inland in the Haoling Formation of China. Other dinosaurs from these rocks include Ruyangosaurus, Xianshanosaurus and Luoyanggia.
Field notes
About Yunmenglong
What it was like
Yunmenglong was a sauropod, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from neck, back and tail vertebrae and a thigh bone. Its complete body size is uncertain.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now China. It comes from the Haoling Formation, where other dinosaurs include the sauropods Ruyangosaurus and Xianshanosaurus.
How it was found
Lü and colleagues named Yunmenglong in 2013. The type species is Yunmenglong ruyangensis.
Field gallery
More views of Yunmenglong
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Yunmenglong.
The evidence
The science behind Yunmenglong
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The type specimen comes from a single quarry: seven linked vertebrae from the front of the neck, two more from farther back, a back vertebra, four vertebrae from the front of the tail, and a complete right thigh bone.
- The neck vertebrae are very elongated, with hollows along their sides, and the front ones have very low spines. The tail vertebrae have spines ending in rough, ball-shaped tips.
- The thigh bone is straight and robust, with a pronounced bulge along its outer edge.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing head is restored by comparison with Euhelopus, a related sauropod with a known skull.
- The chest, shoulders and upper arms are restored by comparison with Mnyamawamtuka.
Still unknown
- Its skull, hands, feet and the end of its tail.
- Its complete neck length and total body size.
- Its closest relatives. The naming study grouped it with Erketu and Qiaowanlong, but with weak support.
Discovery timeline
- 2006Close relativeKsepka & Norell
- 2010Family treeKsepka & Norell
- 2013Named itLü et al.
- 2013Close relativePoropat & Kear
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Yunmenglong
Close relative
Described the elongated, air-filled neck bones of Erketu, a useful comparison for the neck of Yunmenglong.
Erketu Ellisoni, a Long-necked Sauropod from Bor Guvé (Dornogov Aimag, Mongolia). American Museum Novitates 3508: 1
Read the paper : Erketu Ellisoni, a Long-necked Sauropod from Bor Guvé (Dornogov Aimag, Mongolia) (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Added new Erketu bones and reassessed Asian sauropod relationships, providing the family-tree framework later used to study Yunmenglong.
The Illusory Evidence for Asian Brachiosauridae: New Material ofErketu ellisoniand a Phylogenetic Reappraisal of Basal Titanosauriformes. American Museum Novitates 3700: 1-27
Read the paper : The Illusory Evidence for Asian Brachiosauridae: New Material ofErketu ellisoniand a Phylogenetic Reappraisal of Basal Titanosauriformes (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Yunmenglong from an incomplete skeleton and linked its elongated neck bones to those of Euhelopus, Erketu and Qiaowanlong.
A new sauropod dinosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the late Early Cretaceous of the Ruyang Basin (central China). Cretaceous Research 44: 202-213
Read the paper : A new sauropod dinosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the late Early Cretaceous of the Ruyang Basin (central China) (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described the skull of Euhelopus in detail, including which parts are distorted or rebuilt.
Photographic Atlas and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Holotype Skull of Euhelopus zdanskyi with Description of Additional Cranial Elements. PLoS ONE 8: e79932
Read the paper : Photographic Atlas and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Holotype Skull of Euhelopus zdanskyi with Description of Additional Cranial Elements (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Somphospondyli
Sources: Wikidata