Shaochilong
Shaochilong was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It was about as long as a car and weighed as much as a big polar bear. Scientists think it was a carcharodontosaurid, a group that includes some of the largest predators ever, but Shaochilong was one of the smallest in that family.13
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Fun facts
Shaochilong was first thought to be a species of Chilantaisaurus, but in 2009 scientists gave it its own genus name.1
Its fossils include skull fragments, a braincase, and some vertebrae, all found in Inner Mongolia.1
Shaochilong had a short snout compared to other carcharodontosaurids, which might have given it a different hunting style.1
Some scientists think Shaochilong was a carcharodontosaurid, but others argue it might be a tyrannosauroid or a different kind of allosauroid.1
The individual fossil was probably an adult because many bones in its braincase were fused together.1
Shaochilong lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 121 to 100 million years ago.3
Most asked questions about Shaochilong
?How big was Shaochilong?
Shaochilong was about 5 to 6 metres long (16 to 20 feet) and weighed roughly 500 kilograms (1100 pounds). That is about as long as a car and as heavy as a big polar bear.1
?When did Shaochilong live?
Shaochilong lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 121 to 100 million years ago. Some scientists think it might have lived a bit later, around 92 million years ago.1
?What did Shaochilong eat?
Shaochilong was a meat-eater. It ate other dinosaurs and animals, using its sharp, shark-like teeth to catch and tear its food.1
?Was Shaochilong a dinosaur?
Yes, Shaochilong was a theropod dinosaur. It is not a pterosaur, marine reptile, or any other kind of prehistoric animal.1
?Why is it called Shaochilong?
Shaochilong means 'shark toothed dragon' in Chinese. It got that name because its teeth look like shark teeth, and it belongs to the carcharodontosaurid family, which means 'shark-toothed lizards'.1
?Where was Shaochilong found?
Shaochilong fossils were found in Inner Mongolia, China. They were discovered in the Miaogou Formation (originally thought to be the Ulansuhai Formation).1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Shaochilong
- Named by
- Brusatte et al. 20093
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Carcharodontosauridae3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Allosauroidea > Carcharodontosauridae3
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 100 million years (Aptian / Albian)3
- Rock formations
- Miaogou3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- The fossils were found in Inner Mongolia and described by Hu in 1964 as a species of Chilantaisaurus. In 2009, Brusatte and colleagues renamed it Shaochilong maortuensis.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating whether Shaochilong was a carcharodontosaurid, a tyrannosauroid, or something else.1
Where the facts come from
- en.wikipedia.org (en.wikipedia.org)
- Shaochilong maortuensis (thesauropodomorphlair.wordpress.com)
- Shaochilong in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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