Mei long – The Sleeping Chinese Dragon
The beautifully preserved fossils of a small, Chinese dinosaur have provided scientists with an insight into how some types of dinosaur might have slept. Fossils of the little Chinese theropod dinosaur known as Mei long reveal that it coiled up in a sleeping posture with its head tucked under its arm and its tail wrapped around its body. This sleeping posture preserved in a number of M. long specimens is very similar to the sleeping postures of many living birds.
A Life Reconstruction of the Little Chinese Feathered Dinosaur Mei long
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Chinese company PNSO have a replica of this dinosaur in their range of figures.
To view the PNSO range of models: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models.
The fossils of Mei long come from north-eastern China. These unfortunate dinosaurs were buried by hot volcanic ash as they slept. Their fossils have been preserved in three-dimensions, helping palaeontologists to learn more about the resting and sleeping postures of theropod dinosaurs.
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