Was the Chinese Dragon Actually a 50-foot Long-Neck Dinosaur?

Researchers who unearthed a long-necked dinosaur fossil after construction workers in China stumbled up on it, found to thier surpise its neck measured half the body length. 

According to CNET, the dinosaur's fossil was found near Qijiang City in 2006 and has been named Qijianglong which means dragon of Qijiang as researchers believe such fossils may have spurred the dragon myth. The find is considered rare as the fossil's head and neck was found attached. The neck alone measures 25-foot long. Qijianglong lived 160 million years ago.

"It is rare to find a head and neck of a long-necked dinosaur together because the head is so small and easily detached after the animal dies," said Tetsuto Miyashita a PhD student at University of Alberta, in a press release.

Qijianglong belongs to a class of dinosaurs called mamenchisaurids, belonging to the family of sauropods which had long necks and short pillar-like limbs. Not only did it have a neck longer than other dinosaurs in its family, it also had a relatively lighter neck.

The vertebrae indicate they were filled with air, not unlike birds, making the neck lighter and easier to move despite the massive size. The neck had also evolved to make easier vertical movement but horizontal movement would have been difficult for Qijianglong, researchers concluded by analyzing the joints.

"Qijianglong is a cool animal. If you imagine a big animal that is half neck, you can see that evolution can do quite extraordinary things," Miyashita adds.

Several fossils of mamenchisaurids have been unearthed in China indicating that they thrived in Asia, Miyashita said according to Forbes.