Mei

soundly sleeping (dragon)

• mei · Chinese (Mandarin) · to sleep soundly

The name comes from the Chinese word "mèi", meaning "to sleep soundly". The type species is Mei long, where "long" means "dragon", giving "soundly sleeping dragon". It was chosen because the type specimen was preserved with its head tucked under its forelimb, in a bird-like sleeping posture.

Named by

Xu and Norell

Year named

2004

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Lujiatun Beds, Yixian Formation, Liaoning, China

A small troodontid theropod. The type species is Mei long. The famous holotype was found curled up in a sleeping pose, similar to that of modern birds, which is evidence for bird-like behaviour in troodontids.