Sinraptor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sinraptor
Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
160 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
↓
Sinraptor dongi.jpg
S. dongi, Royal Tyrrell Museum
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Metriacanthosauridae
Subfamily: †Metriacanthosaurinae
Genus: †Sinraptor
Currie and Zhao, 1994
Type species
†Sinraptor dongi
Currie and Zhao, 1994
Other species
  • †S. hepingensis?
    (Gao, 1992)
Synonyms
Synonyms of S. hepingensis

Sinraptor is a genus of metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic. The name Sinraptor comes from the Latin prefix "Sino", meaning Chinese, and "raptor" meaning robber. The specific name dongi honours Dong Zhiming. Despite its name, Sinraptor is not related to dromaeosaurids (often nicknamed "raptors") like Velociraptor. Instead, it was a carnosaur distantly related to Allosaurus.[1] Sinraptor and its close relatives were among the earliest members of the Jurassic carnosaurian radiation. Sinraptor still remains the best-known member of the family Metriacanthosauridae,[2] with some older sources even using the name "Sinraptoridae" for the family.[1]

Discovery[]

Life restoration of S. dongi
The skull of S. hepingensis, displayed at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum

The holotype specimen of Sinraptor was uncovered from the Shishugou Formation during a joint Chinese/Canadian expedition to the northwestern Chinese desert in 1987, and described by Philip J. Currie and Zhao Xijin in 1994.[1] Standing nearly 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall and measuring roughly 7.6 meters (25 feet) in length, two species of Sinraptor have been named. S. dongi, the type species, was described by Currie and Zhao in 1994. A second species, originally named Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis by Gao in 1992,[3] may actually represent a second species of Sinraptor. Whether or not this is the case, Sinraptor and Yangchuanosaurus were close relatives, and are classified together in the family Metriacanthosauridae.[2] Holtz estimated it to be 8.8 meters (29 feet) in length.[4] In 2016 other authors stated that the holotype (IVPP 10600) was a subadult and estimated the size of the probable adult specimen (the tooth IVPP 15310) at 11.5 meters (37.7 feet) and 3.9 tonnes (4.3 short tons).[5]

The dentition of Sinraptor was very similar to that of Allosaurus and indicated that it likely would have preyed upon medium-sized dinosaurs such as stegosaurs by using its blade-like teeth to inflict massive, fatal wounds.[6]

The skeleton of Sinraptor hepingensis (formerly referred to Yangchuanosaurus) is on display at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Zigong, China.

Size comparison.

Pathology[]

Sinraptor dongi skull specimen IVPP 10600 exhibits "a variety of gently curving tooth drags or gouges, shallow, circular punctures and one fully penetrating lesion." One rib was broken and healed via telescoping of its .[7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Currie, Phillip J.; Zhao, Xi-Jin (1993). "A new carnosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Jurassic of Xinjiang, People's Republic of China". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 30 (10): 2037–2081. doi:10.1139/e93-179.
  2. ^ a b Carrano, M. T.; Benson, R. B. J.; Sampson, S. D. (2012). "The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10 (2): 211–300. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927.
  3. ^ Gao, Yuhui (1992). "Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis – a new species of carnosaur from Zigong, Sichuan" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 30 (4): 313–324.
  4. ^ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012). "Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages" (PDF).
  5. ^ Molina-Pérez & Larramendi (2016). Récords y curiosidades de los dinosaurios Terópodos y otros dinosauromorfos. Barcelona, Spain: Larousse. p. 260.
  6. ^ Hendrickx, Christophe; Stiegler, Josef; Currie, Philip J.; Han, Fenglu; Xu, Xing; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Wu, Xiao-Chun (2020). "Dental anatomy of the apex predator Sinraptor dongi (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) from the Late Jurassic of China". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 57 (9). doi:10.1139/cjes-2019-0231.
  7. ^ Molnar, R. E., 2001, Theropod paleopathology: a literature survey: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, p. 337-363.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""