Mamenchisaurus

* Evolution 2
* Database
* Evolution

* Evolution 2
* Evolution

***Mamenchisaurus*** is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that originated from Late Jurassic Asia.

Known for their remarkably long necks, which takes up half of their entire body, it is the largest species of dinosaur available to the Hammond Foundation. *Mamenchisaurus* is first unlocked for operations on the Muertes Archipelago upon completion of the Science Division mission on Isla Sorna.

## History

Originating in China during the Late Jurassic period, *Mamenchisaurus* was first cloned on Isla Sorna, the factory floor of dinosaur cloning for Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. A population of four animals was maintained on the island prior to its abandonment in the wake of Hurricane Clarissa in the mid-1990s. Two *Mamenchisaurus* were briefly encountered in a large herd of herbivorous dinosaurs, by an InGen team sent to the island to round up the animals for a new iteration of Jurassic Park on the mainland.

It is unknown if any *Mamenchisaurus* were transported to Isla Nublar for Jurassic World upon the collapse of Isla Sorna's ecosystem. As of 2018, it has been revealed that the *Mamenchisaurus* population was the victim of an unconfirmed form of cruelty.

## Characteristics

Notable for its incredibly long swan-like neck, which can grow up to 11 meters – almost half of the its overall length – and comparatively short tail, *Mamenchisaurus* was an unusually large sauropod, one of the largest sauropods to have existed. Its name translates to "*Mamenchi Lizard*" in reference to the Mamen Brook in Sichuan, China where their remains have been found. This herbivorous dinosaur feeds on plants and leaves, swallowing vegetation whole without the need for chewing. They also possessed large spatula-shaped teeth meaning they could chew plant matter. The base genome colour is a blotchy greyish brown colour.

### Behaviour

*Mamenchisaurus* is among the largest species of dinosaur available to the Hammond Foundation, and is typical in behaviour to similarly sized sauropods such as *Brachiosaurus* and *Dreadnoughtus*. *Mamenchisaurus* has a relatively low comfort threshold of fifty percent, and can live in social groups of between two and four individuals, and tolerate an enclosure population of up to twenty five different dinosaurs.

With the *Claire's Sanctuary* expansion pack, *Mamenchisaurus* can eat from Tall Paleofeeders, showing a preference for Tree Ferns and a secondary preference for Conifers and Ginkgo plants.

## Paleontology

A partial skeleton of *Mamenchisaurus* was discovered in 1952 at a construction site for the Yitang Highway in China, although it wasn't formally identified until 1954 when Yang Zhongian (better known as C. C. Young) began studying the fossils that had been found on a construction site – leading to the type name Mamenchisaurus constructus. Further species have been discovered since then.

*Mamenchisaurus* is a member of the Mamenchisauridae, a family of sauropods unique to Jurassic Asia and also include *Omeisaurus*. Members of this family are characterised by their longer neck to tail ratio, giving them a strange yet graceful appearance. It is still unsure why these necks grew so long, though the most likely explanation is to reach higher growth and this avoid competition with other herbivores.

### Paleoecology

By far the largest sauropod in China at its time, *Mamenchisaurus* existed during the Late Jurassic period, approximately 145-155 million years ago, and was relatively widespread, inhabiting various parts of China. Fossil evidence suggests it may have lived in Thailand and the Dashanpu Formation, which was once a rich forest, likely supported by a nearby lake and river. The variety of finds includes aquatic creatures, as well as numerous sauropods, indicating a diverse ecosystem. *Mamenchisaurus* tended to feed from large trees, using its long but relatively light neck to reach vegetation that other dinosaurs could not. *Mamenchisaurus* lived alongside many other dinosaurs such as the stegosauridae *Chungkingosaurus*, *Gigantspinosaurus*, *Chialingosaurus*, and *Tuojiangosaurus*, fellow sauropods *Shunosaurus* and *Omeisaurus*, as well as the massive theropod *Yangchuanosaurus*, which may have been the main predator of *Mamenchisaurus*.

## Skins

 NULL

 ALPINE

 COASTAL

 RAINFOREST

 STEPPE

 WETLAND

## Behind the scenes

The design of the *Mamenchisaurus* in *Evolution* is partially based on the dinosaur's brief appearance in 1997's *The Lost World: Jurassic Park*. Much like their work on the *Ceratosaurus*, the development team took some liberties with the movie design of the *Mamenchisaurus*, and redesigned the animal to some extent to be more scientifically accurate, by giving it an upright posture along with a shorter tail.

It was first revealed when a number of media outlets, influencers, and content creators were invited to Frontier Developments headquarters to play the game and record content just prior to release.

## References

1. ↑ *What Killed the Gene Guard Act?*. (February 23, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
2. ↑ Spielberg, Steven. (Director). (1997). *The Lost World: Jurassic Park* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
3. ↑ Dinosaur Protection Group. (2018). *Dinosaurs Are Mortal. Cruelty Is Timeless.* [Poster]. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
4. ↑ plok742. (October 25, 2019). *JWE release build videos* [Youtube playlist]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.