Sinotyrannus

Sigh-noe-tie-ran-nus.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Sinotyrannus ‭(‬Chinese tyrant‭)‬.

Phonetic

Sigh-noe-tie-ran-nus.

Named By

Q. Ji, S. A. Ji & L.-J.Zhang - 2009.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Proceratosauridae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

S.‭ ‬kazuoensis‭

Size

Estimated at‭ about ‬9 to 10‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jiufotang Formation.

Time Period

Aptian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Very incomplete remains of the skull,‭ ‬dentary‭ (‬lower jaw‭)‬,‭ ‬a few vertebrae,‭ ‬hip and finger metarsals.

In Depth

       Although Sinotyrannus has been described from very incomplete material,‭ ‬the palaeontologists who described this dinosaur have managed to conclude that it is a close relative of the primitive tyrannosaurs.‭ ‬Additionally they have also compared the remains to similar dinosaurs and come up with a rough length estimate of up to ten meters long for the living dinosaur.‭ ‬This suggests that Sinotyrannus was the largest predatory dinosaur in the Jehol Biota,‭ ‬the ecosystem of Liaoning Province during the Aptian stages of the Cretaceous.‭ ‬Here there were few rivals to Sinotyrannus,‭ ‬but the large feathered tyrannosaur Yutyrannus from the nearby Yixian Formation was almost as‭ ‬big as Sinotyrannus.

Further Reading

– First large tyrannosauroid theropod from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota in northeastern China. – Geological Bulletin of China 28 (10): 1369–1374. – Q. Ji, S. A. Ji & L.-J.Zhang – 2009.

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