Although sauropods are known for having long necks, Mamenchisaurus was one of the few that took it to the extreme. With nineteen vertebrae, the neck of Mamenchisaurus was just as long its body and tail combined. Such a long neck is thought to have been to enable Mamenchisaurus to sweep its neck across a wide area of vegetation without having to physically walk to constantly find new areas. This means that once Mamenchisaurus arrived at a suitable location it could quite possibly be able to feed for several hours without having to expend unnecessary energy.
A discovery of another Mamenchisaurus in 2001 allowed for more accurate reconstructions of this dinosaur, one part of which was the tip of the tail where the vertebra was more robust with taller neural spines. Current thinking for this construction is that the tip of the tail was modified to be a weapon as seen in some other Asian sauropods like Shunosaurus. Such a weapon may have been used in dominance competition between two males, although it is not inconceivable that it could have been turned against an attacking predator.
A discovery of another Mamenchisaurus in 2001 allowed for more accurate reconstructions of this dinosaur, one part of which was the tip of the tail where the vertebra was more robust with taller neural spines. Current thinking for this construction is that the tip of the tail was modified to be a weapon as seen in some other Asian sauropods like Shunosaurus. Such a weapon may have been used in dominance competition between two males, although it is not inconceivable that it could have been turned against an attacking predator.
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