It was discovered in 1952. Its neck was 11 m long, the longest of all known dinosaurs. Its neck, consisting of 19 vertebrae, made up half its body. By comparison, the neck of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum was 6 times longer than that of a giraffe. The advantage over other sauropods, the long-necked dinosaurs, is that it could reach higher foliage, not accessible to others. It had 60 teeth. It lived in forested areas, where the vegetation was dense and lush, surely near water sources. It was a gregarious species that lived in herds. The bones were mostly composed of air, 69 to 77%. Its cervical ribs were rod-shaped, measuring 4 m.