| Mei Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 125 Ma |
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|---|---|
| Fossil specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Troodontidae |
| Genus: | †Mei Xu & Norell, 2004 |
| Species: | †M. long |
| Binomial name | |
| Mei long Xu & Norell, 2004 |
|
Mei (from Chinese 寐 mèi to sleep soundly) is a genus of duck-sized troodontid dinosaur first unearthed by paleontologists in Liaoning, China in 2004. Mei lived during the Early Cretaceous Period. Its binomial name, Mei long (Chinese 寐 mèi and 龙 lóng) means sleeping dragon. Mei has one of the shortest genus names of any dinosaur, along with the alvarezsaurid Kol from Mongolia.
The type fossil is a young juvenile about 40 cm long, complete and exceptionally well preserved in three-dimensional detail, with the snout nestled beneath one of the forelimbs, similar to the roosting position of modern birds. This posture provides another behavioral link between birds and dinosaurs.[1] The chemistry of the matrix stone and the resting pose indicate the living animal was probably buried instantly in volcanic ash.
Mei long were featured in the third episode of the ITV series Prehistoric Park, where they were depicted attacking a member of the fictional documentary crew, looking for the food in his pack. In the story, several M. long were later found dead near a volcano, suffocated by the toxic gasses, based on one hypothesized explanation for the 'sleeping' posture of the fossil.[2] The program also erroneously depicted Mei without feathers and coexisting with the dromaeosaurid Microraptor, which lived later and is known from younger rocks of the Jiufotang Formation, rather than the older Yixian Formation where Mei was found.[1][3]