Chuandongocoelurus
Chuandongocoelurus was a meat-eating dinosaur that ran on two legs. It lived in China during the Middle Jurassic, about 165 million years ago. It was small and fast, hunting small animals in its ancient forest home.31
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Fun facts
The name Chuandongocoelurus means 'hollow tail from Chuandong', because its tail bones were hollow like other meat-eaters.1
The first fossil was a thighbone that was 201 millimeters long, about the size of a large banana.1
Scientists think it was a young adult when it died, because the bones in its spine were not fully fused yet.1
One fossil, a set of neck bones, might actually belong to a different dinosaur, maybe a relative of Elaphrosaurus.1
It lived in the same area as other dinosaurs like the armored Shunosaurus, but it was much smaller.1
Its leg bones show it was a fast runner, with long shin bones compared to its thigh.2
Most asked questions about Chuandongocoelurus
?How big was Chuandongocoelurus?
It was small, about 2.4 metres long and weighed around 12 kilograms. That is about as long as a bicycle and as heavy as a big cat.2
?What did Chuandongocoelurus eat?
It was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It probably hunted small animals in its forest home.3
?When did Chuandongocoelurus live?
It lived during the Middle Jurassic, about 165 million years ago. That's the same time as the armored dinosaur Shunosaurus.1
?Was Chuandongocoelurus a dinosaur?
Yes, it was a theropod dinosaur, a meat-eater that walked on two legs.1
?How fast could Chuandongocoelurus run?
Its long shin bones compared to its thigh show it was a fast runner, but no exact speed is known.2
?Why is it called Chuandongocoelurus?
The name means 'hollow tail from Chuandong' because its tail bones were hollow and it was found in Chuandong, China.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Chuandongocoelurus was a big, scary dinosaur like T. rex.
Truth: Actually, it was small, only about 2.4 meters long and weighed as much as a big house cat. It was more like a speedy hunter than a giant monster.2
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Chuandongocoelurus
- Named by
- He 19843
- Group
- Other meat-eaters
- Family / clade
- Tetanurae3
- Classification
- Theropoda3
- Age of the rocks
- 171 to 155 million years (Bajocian / Oxfordian)3
- Rock formations
- Shaximiao3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Chinese paleontologist He Xinlu named and described Chuandongocoelurus in 1984. He found the fossils in the Lower Shaximiao Formation in Sichuan, China.1
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether the two skeletons assigned to Chuandongocoelurus are from the same species. One might be a different dinosaur, maybe a relative of Elaphrosaurus.1
Where the facts come from
- Chuandongocoelurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Details on Chuandongocoelurus (reptilis.net)
- Chuandongocoelurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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