Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

New Dinosaur Discovery Called 'Amazing Dragon' By Chinese Scientists

When it finally arrives, it seems Jurassic World 3 may be able to add a new dinosaur to its roster: the Lingwulong shenqi. The new dinosaur's name, which literally means "The Amazing Dragon of Lingwu," was decided on in a fairly practical way by the researchers who discovered it:

Lingwu, after the region where the specimens were found; long, the Mandarin Chinese for 'dragon'; and shenqi, the Mandarin Chinese for 'amazing', reflecting the unexpected discovery of a dicraeosaurid in the Middle Jurassic of China.

The lingwulong shenqi appears to be a member of the diplodocid family. For those of us who aren't diplodoc-heads, that means the new dinosaur is a sauropod, or long-necked dinosaur, like the brachiosaurus or brontosaurus. However, compared to its closest relative, the diplodocus, the shenqi has a shorter neck and "a series of sharp spines protruding from their vertebrae."



The shenqi fossils are dated around 174 million years old, making them the oldest sauropod fossils of their kind. They're so old, in fact, they challenge many preconceptions of how dinosaurs evolved before Pangea split apart. Previously, scientists believed sauropods were able to flourish beginning much later—as recently as 163 million years ago!



Philip Mannion, a study author and paleontologist at Imperial College London, spoke to Gizmodo about how these discoveries would alter our view of sauropods:

The discovery of Lingwulong pushes back the origination times of many of the groups of sauropod dinosaurs that we think of as most iconic, and challenges many conventional ideas about the early biogeographical history of dinosaurs.



To discover the new dinosaur, scientists had to combine findings from 7-10 "partial skeletons" recovered in four different Chinese dig sites.




John Whitlock, a paleontologist at Mount Aloysius College, however, is skeptical the new dinosaur is actually that revelatory. Though he concedes it bears a resemblance to the diplodocus and other neosauropods of the late Jurassic period, he thinks it could be a closer relative to well-known sauropods of the mid-Jurassic period like the "Mamenchisaurus or Omeisaurus."





Though it's impossible to be sure, Mannion also offered some theories as to how the dinosaur behaved based on its bones and similarities to previously studied dinosaurs:

It wouldn't have been too dissimilar to other sauropods, although the group Lingwulong belonged to had slightly shorter necks than other sauropods.They probably moved around fairly slowly most of the time, in small herds, and ate quite a lot.

In that way at least, the Lingwulong shenqi and I are not so different.

H/T - Gizmodo,

More from Trending

Dwayne Wade at statue unveiling; Dwayne Wade at press conference
@barstoolsports/X, Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade Responds After Fans Mock Newly Unveiled Statue For Looking Nothing Like Him

NBA star Dwayne Wade had a chill response to all the memes mocking a statue raised in his honor, which many social media users thought looked nothing like him.

The controversial bronze statue, co-created by sculpture artist Omri Amrany, was erected on October 27, 2024, outside the entrance to the Kaseya Center, the home of the Miami Heat NBA basketball team.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Harris Faulkner during her fact check of Donald Trump
Fox News

Fox Host Issues Brutal On-Air Fact Check After Trump Repeats Debunked Election Lie

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner had social media users cackling after she issued an awkward disclaimer that debunked former President Donald Trump's lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

Her fact-check came after the network aired Trump's remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump gave a speech in which he mentioned his appearance at New York City's Madison Square Garden for a rally that's been largely compared to a Nazi rally Adolf Hitler's followers held in 1939.

Keep Reading Show less
Halle Baile; Halle Berry
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/GettyImages, Jason Mendez/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

Halle Bailey Unveiled Her Iconic Halle Berry Halloween Costume—And Berry Just Responded

Academy Award-winning Monster's Ball actor Halle Berry just responded to The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey's Halloween costume that was a nostalgic nod to one of Berry's famous roles.

On Wednesday morning before Halloween, Bailey posted a photo of her in a light orange swimsuit with a white sash around her waist with a sheathed knife attached to her left hip.

Keep Reading Show less
Trump-supporting biker with tweet reaction
Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; @BluedotinFL863/X

MAGA Supporter Wearing 'Born To Ride' Motorcycle Vest Roasted For Exactly The Reason You Think

Leather vests with slogans are kind of a staple for motorcycle culture, but when one MAGA-loving biker added Donald Trump into the mix on his biker vest?

Well, let's just say it's going viral for all the wrong reasons.

Keep Reading Show less