Tonganosaurus

Tonganosaurus had a very long neck for its size, with neck bones shaped like those of Omeisaurus, another long-necked dinosaur.1

Its front legs were 80 percent as long as its back legs, which is a sign it was a more advanced sauropod.2

The thigh bone (femur) was straight and thick, and the shin bone (tibia) was 75 percent of its length.1

It lived in the Early Jurassic, about 184.5 million years ago, making it the oldest known mamenchisaurid by almost 15 million years.1

The only skeleton found was of an adult that was about 12 metres long, the length of a big bus.1

Its backbones (vertebrae) were solid and not hollow, which is a more primitive feature among sauropods.2

The fossils were discovered in 2007 by scientists from Chengdu University of Technology, after tips from local people.1