Dino card No. 1109 of 2,027

Macrocollum

Name means: “long neck”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Triassic

Macrocollum was an early long-necked dinosaur that lived about 225 million years ago in what is now Brazil. It was one of the first dinosaurs to have a really long neck, which helped it reach high plants to eat. Scientists found several complete skeletons together, showing that these dinosaurs may have lived in groups.1 2

Lived

227 to 206 million years ago6

Late Triassic

Fossils found in

Wachholz site, Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil1 2

Food

Plants1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Macrocollum is the oldest-known sauropodomorph with an elongated neck, which was twice as long as that of earlier relatives like Buriolestes.1 2

Its femur (thigh bone) was longer than its shin bone, a change from earlier dinosaurs that had longer shins for running.1 2

Macrocollum had a relatively small skull, only about 45% of its femur length, compared to 85% in the earlier Buriolestes.1 2

The fossils of Macrocollum were found clustered together, which is the oldest evidence of group living among sauropodomorph dinosaurs.1 2

Macrocollum lived during the early Norian stage of the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago.1 2

Its name means 'long neck' in Greek and Latin, referring to its most distinctive feature.1

Macrocollum belonged to a group called Unaysauridae, which includes only dinosaurs from the southern supercontinent Gondwana.6 1

AI-made picture of Macrocollum — An AI-made picture of how Macrocollum might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Macrocollum

?How big was Macrocollum?

Macrocollum was relatively small, with a femur (thigh bone) over 335 mm long. It walked on two legs and was about the size of a large dog.3 4

?What did Macrocollum eat?

Macrocollum was an omnivore or herbivore, eating plants and maybe small animals. Its teeth had coarse serrations and expanded crowns, perfect for chewing vegetation.3 5

?Did Macrocollum live in groups?

Yes, scientists found three complete Macrocollum skeletons together, which is the oldest evidence of group living among long-necked dinosaurs. They may have traveled in herds.3 4

?When did Macrocollum live?

Macrocollum lived about 225 million years ago, during the Norian age of the Late Triassic period. That's fewer than 10 million years after the earliest dinosaurs appeared.4 3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Macrocollum
Named by: Müller et al. 20186
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Unaysauridae6
Classification: Sauropodomorpha6
Age of the rocks: 227 to 206 million years (Norian)6
Rock formations: Caturrita6
Countries: Brazil6
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery: Macrocollum was named in 2018 by Rodrigo T. Müller, Max C. Langer, and Sérgio Dias-da-Silva. The species name itaquii honors José Jerundino Machado Itaqui, who helped create the paleontology center where the fossils are kept.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Macrocollum and its relatives are related to other early sauropodomorphs, and whether its long neck evolved primarily for reaching high plants or for other reasons.1 2

Where the facts come from

An exceptionally preserved association of complete dinosaur skeletons reveals the oldest long-necked sauropodomorphs (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
royalsocietypublishing.org (royalsocietypublishing.org)
An exceptionally preserved association of complete dinosaur skeletons reveals the oldest long-necked sauropodomorphs (royalsocietypublishing.org)
Macrocollum (en.wikipedia.org)
An exceptionally preserved association of complete dinosaur skeletons reveals the oldest long-necked sauropodomorphs (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Macrocollum in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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