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Mei long

Dinosaur profile

Mei long

Mei long

CarnivoreEarly CretaceousEuornithopod

Pronunciation

my-long

Meaning

Sleeping Dragon

Type

Euornithopod

Length

0.5M

Period

Early Cretaceous

Years

145 - 100 million years ago

Location

China

Diet

Carnivore

About Mei long

Mei long is a small, feathered dinosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous period, approximately 130 million years ago. It was a coelurosaur, a group of small to medium-sized theropod dinosaurs that were closely related to birds. Mei long was discovered in China and was initially described as a species of oviraptorosaur, but later reclassified as a member of the troodontid family. It was a lightly built dinosaur with long, slender legs and a long tail, and it likely had feathers on its body and wings. It is known for its unusual sleeping posture, in which it was found with its head tucked under its forelimb and its tail curved over its body, which has led scientists to speculate that it may have used this posture as a way to conserve heat or protect itself from predators.

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