New Dragon-Like Dinosaur Discovered in China

1 minute read
Three clawed Japanese dragon decorates c
Three clawed Japanese dragon decorates copy of a plaque of cloisonne enamel in the British Museum.Time Life Pictures—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
By Sarah Begley

Paleontologists in Qijiang city, China have discovered a new species of dinosaur whose physical characteristics bear resemblance to a dragon. The creature likely lived 160 million years ago and stretched 50 feet long, with an elongated neck.

Local farmers who saw the fossils noticed the similarity and gave the dinosaur its name: Qijianglong, or the “dragon of Qijiang.”

See 40 Stunning Images Captured Through A Microscope

Jumping spider eyes at 20x magnification.Noah Fram-Schwartz
A bed bug at 50x magnification.Stefano Barone
A mite in a forest at 10x magnification.José R. Almodóvar
Cultured embryonic chicken dorsal root ganglia neuron explant at 60x magnification.Dr. Michael John Bridge
A crawling bone cancer cell
A crawling bone cancer cell at 8000x magnification.Dr. Dylan T. Burnette
Active fluid flow around P. damicornis
Active fluid flow around P. damicornis at 4x magnificationDr. Douglas Brumley
Chrysochroa buqueti (jewel beetle) carapace, near eye
A Chrysochroa buqueti (jewel beetle) at 45x magnification. Charles Krebs
Focal conic-like domain with varying degrees of modulation and checkerboard patterns
Focal conic-like domain with varying degrees of modulation and checkerboard patterns at 40x magnification.Dr. Rajdeep Deb
Leptothorax acervorum (ant) carrying its larva
ALeptothorax acervorum (ant) carrying its larva at 5x magnification.Geir Drange
Sagittal brain slice showing cell nuclei (cyan) and Purkinije cells (red) expressing EGFP
A sagittal brain slice showing cell nuclei at 40x magnification.Dr. Marco Dal Maschio
Mouse brain vasculature
A mouse brain vasculature at 2x magnification.Dr. Ali Erturk
Tradescantia zebrina (wandering jew) leaf stomata
A Tradescantia zebrina (wandering jew) leaf stomata at 40x magnification.Dr. Jerzy Gubernator
Tigriopus californicus (copepod), couple, lateral view
A Tigriopus californicus (copepod) at 10x magnification.Dr. Terue Kihara
Chrysochroa buqueti (jewel beetle) carapace, near eye
A Chrysochroa buqueti (jewel beetle) carapace, near eye at 450x magnification.Charles Krebs
Live zebrafish embryo at 22 hours post-fertilization
Live zebrafish embryo at 22 hours post-fertilization.Dr. Philipp Keller
Casuarina equisetifolia (beach oak) twigs with scale leaves, transverse section
A Casuarina equisetifolia (beach oak) twigs at 125x magnification.Anatoly Mikhaltsov
Bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells stained for actin (pink), mitochondria (green) and DNA (yellow
Bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells.Dr. Muthugapatti K. Kandasamy
A Vespula vulgaris (common wasp) stinger at 5x magnification.Geir Drange
Ant Eye
An ant eye at 20x magnification.Noah Fram-Schwartz
Conichalcite pseudomorph after azurite
Conichalcite pseudomorph after azurite at 6x magnification.Honorio Cócera-La Parra
Pleurosigma angulatum (diatoms
Pleurosigma angulatum (diatoms) at 100x magnification.Christian Gautier
Lilium anther, second division tetrads
Lilium anther, second division tetrads at 500x magnification.Raymond Sloss
Montana Dryhead agate, unpolished
Montana Dryhead agate at 50x magnification.Douglas L. Moore
Tripolycyanamide crystal
Tripolycyanamide crystal at 100x magnification.Yanping Wang
Young Starfish
A young starfish at 5x magnification.Steven Wilbert
A Solea sp. (fish) at 25x magnification.David Linstead
Pleurotaenium ovatum
Pleurotaenium ovatum (micro algae) at 40x magnification.Rogelio Moreno Gill
A Magnesium chloride and potassium alum mixture at 25x magnification.Chao Zhang
A rhombohedral cleavage in calcite crystal at 10x magnification.Alessandro Da Mommio
Autofluorescence in marine algae
Marine algae at 40x magnification. Waldo Nell
A Ceriodaphnia sp. (water flea) at 20x magnification.Rogelio Moreno Gill
Snowflake
A snowflake at 8x magnification.Michael Peres
Shipworm Lyrodus pedicellatus, a wood-boring mussel
A Shipworm Lyrodus pedicellatus and a wood-boring mussel at 20x magnification.Andrea Wurzinger-Mayer
Anagallis arvensis (scarlet pimpernel)
Anagallis arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) at 80x magnification. Jens H. Petersen
Flower embryo
A flower embryo at 40x magnification.Samuel Silberman
Underside of the Brown dog tick and Lonestar tick mouthparts
The underside of a Brown dog tick and Lonestar tick at 100x magnification.Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz
Living Micrasterias in contrast Interphako at 100 magnification.Frank Fox
Recrystallized bismuth iodide under crossed polars
Recrystallized bismuth iodide at 100x magnification.Sebastian Blaise Sparenga
Hydra and Volvox
A Hydra and Volvox at 10x magnification.Steven Wilbert
Appendages of a common brine shrimp
Appendages of a common brine shrimp at 100x magnification.Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

The Qijianglong belongs to the mamenchisaurids group of dinosaurs, found only in Asia and known for necks that can make up half the length of their bodies. By comparison, the sauropoda family that includes better-known dinosaurs like the Apatosaurus (a.k.a. Brontosaurus) have necks that span only a third of their bodies.

The research team found the vertebrae, skull and tail (but not the hand or leg bones) in a site where a fish pond was being dug. The skeleton is temporarily on display in a local museum, but will move to a dinosaur museum in the city that is still under construction.

[CNN]

Read next: Obama Moves to Protect 12 Million Acres of Alaskan Wildlife

Listen to the most important stories of the day.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com