Mamenchisaurus constructus

Length: 82 feet
Height: 25 feet
Weight: 30 tons

## **Coloration:**

*Adult (both sexes) -* A brown mottling with lighter brown back striping.

*Juvenile (both sexes) -* Lighter brown mottling all over.

## **Diet:**

Low-to-medium growing plants, occasionally also leaves
from trees. Its long neck allow Mamenchisaurus to feed on a variety of
vegetation from a stationary position.

## **Preferred Habitat:**

Wide open spaces with plenty of vegetation.

## **Social Structure:**

Mamenchisaurus is less social than either Brontosaurus or Brachiosaurus, preferring to live in small groups or even alone.

## **Description:**

Giant quadrupedal herbivore. Mamenchisaurus is a
sauropod. Pillar-like limbs, heavy body, long neck and tail.
Mamenchisaurus has the longest neck of any other dinosaur on Isla Sorna,
 which at 36 feet, is almost half the length of the entire animal. The
 tail is held off the ground, and is thicker at the end as opposed to
the thin whip-like tail of Brontosaurus. The head is small and boxy,
and the teeth are peg-like.

## **Behaviors:**

Mamenchisaurus is a gentle giant which prefers to
avoid confrontation. Although the young are vulnerable to many types of
 predators, the adults are protected from most carnivores by their great
 size. Packs of Allosaurus and Giganotosaurus are by far the biggest
threat. If under attack, a Mamenchisaurus will try to defend itself by
rising up onto its hind legs and falling forward and pounding the ground
 with its front feet. The resulting tremors are often enough to warn
off all but the most persistent of carnivores. Like Brontosaurus,
Mamenchisaurus will also use its tail as a weapon. The main difference
between the tails of the two species is the slight thickening of the
vertebrae at the end of Mamenchisaurus' tail. As a result, the tail
lashes out slightly slower, but the hits are considerably harder.

Mamenchisaurus is much less common than its three other sauropod
contemporaries, and not as noisy. Its most common call is a deep bellow,
 and typical to sauropods, it also produces infra-sounds to communicate
 with other individuals over long distances. Being more solitary,
Mamenchisaurus find mates using long-distance calls. Once a match has
been found, the male and female will perform a ritual in which they walk
 close to one another, brushing their bodies and necks against each
other, their tails intertwined. When the female is ready, she lowers her
 neck as a signal, and the male may mount her.

The mated females often congregate into small herds as they travel to
 lay their eggs, often alongside Brachiosaurus and Brontosaurus. Female
 Mamenchisaurus lay fewer eggs than either of the other two species,
which may account for this sauropod's relative scarcity on the island.
After laying, the female Mamenchisaurus will remain near the nest site
for longer than the other two sauropod species, discouraging predators
long after the herds of Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus have left. Once
the young hatch, the adults can do nothing for the tiny hatchlings, and
 so they move on, returning to their solitary lives.

The baby Mamenchisaurus seek safety and security amongst the groups of
 Brachiosaurus and Brontosaurus sauropodlets within the dense forests
of Isla Sorna. Their numbers are very quickly diminished by predation,
so they grow quickly to combat this, eating almost constantly. When
they are big enough and require more space to move about, the juvenile
 Mamenchisaurus leave the forests behind and travel out onto the open
plains of the Game Trail. Being still quite small and vulnerable to
predators, the young will seek out an adult Mamenchisaurus to follow
until they are old enough to strike out on their own. If a suitable
adult Mamenchisaurus cannot be found, a Brontosaurus herd will do just
as well, if not better due to the greater number of their herds. The
Brontosaurus do not seem to mind the presence of the juveniles of
another species, allowing them to graze and seek protection in the
center of the herd alongside the juvenile Brontosaurus.

Mamenchisaurus is sometimes known to travel alongside herds of
Triceratops and Styracosaurus for protection against predators such as
Allosaurus and Giganotosaurus. Most predators will not approach such a
lethal and notoriously bad-tempered herd of animals, therefore the
Mamenchisaurus is usually well avoided. It is not uncommon to see a herd
 of Triceratops or Styracosaurus encircling a lone Mamenchisaurus as
they trek across the landscape.