Dino card No. 2020 of 2,027

Zhuchengtyrannus

Say it: zhoo-CHENG-tie-RAN-us

Name means: “Zhucheng tyrant”1

Ate: MeatTyrannosaursLate Cretaceous

Zhuchengtyrannus was a huge, meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It was as big as the famous T. rex and Tarbosaurus, and it ruled the land about 73 million years ago.2 1

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Shandong Province, China2 1

Food

Meat3 1

Length

10 m1

estimated, similar to Tarbosaurus

Weight

5 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 56 bananas end to endas heavy as 3 carsabout as heavy as an elephantas heavy as 1000 watermelons

How big was Zhuchengtyrannus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Zhuchengtyrannus is known from only a few bones: a right upper jaw bone (maxilla) and a left lower jaw bone (dentary).2 1

It lived in a floodplain that had one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world.1

The name Zhuchengtyrannus magnus means 'great Zhucheng tyrant' because it was so big.1

Scientists think Zhuchengtyrannus was about 10 metres (33 feet) long and weighed about 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons).1

It belonged to a group of tyrannosaurs called Tyrannosaurinae, which includes T. rex and Tarbosaurus.2 3

The fossils were found in the Hongtuya Formation, which is about 73.5 million years old.1

Other dinosaurs found in the same quarry include the horned dinosaur Sinoceratops and the duck-billed Shantungosaurus.1

AI-made picture of Zhuchengtyrannus — An AI-made picture of how Zhuchengtyrannus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Zhuchengtyrannus

?How big was Zhuchengtyrannus?

Zhuchengtyrannus was about 10 metres (33 feet) long and weighed about 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons). Some estimates suggest it was about 11 metres long and weighed close to 6 tonnes.1 4

?Was Zhuchengtyrannus bigger than T. rex?

No, Zhuchengtyrannus was similar in size to Tarbosaurus but smaller than the largest T. rex specimen called 'Sue'. Its jaw bones were a few centimetres smaller than Sue's.1 4

?What did Zhuchengtyrannus eat?

Zhuchengtyrannus was a meat-eating dinosaur that likely hunted and scavenged other dinosaurs, such as the horned Sinoceratops and the duck-billed Shantungosaurus that lived in the same area.1 4

?Where was Zhuchengtyrannus found?

Zhuchengtyrannus was discovered in Zhucheng, Shandong Province, eastern China, in a floodplain that has one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur bones in the world.1 4

?When did Zhuchengtyrannus live?

Zhuchengtyrannus lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 73.5 million years ago.1

?Did Zhuchengtyrannus have feathers?

Scientists are not sure, but since it was a large tyrannosaurid related to T. rex, it may have had some feathers, though no direct evidence has been found yet.1

?How fast could Zhuchengtyrannus run?

Nobody knows for sure, but because it was a large tyrannosaur similar to T. rex, it probably could not run very fast, maybe around 20 to 30 km/h (12 to 19 mph).1

?Is Zhuchengtyrannus a dinosaur?

Yes, Zhuchengtyrannus is a dinosaur. It is a theropod dinosaur from the tyrannosaurid family.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Zhuchengtyrannus
Named by: Hone et al. 20115
Group: Tyrannosaurs
Family / clade: Tyrannosauridae5
Classification: Theropoda > Tyrannosauroidea > Tyrannosauridae5
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)5
Rock formations: Hongtuya5
Countries: China5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Zhuchengtyrannus was named in 2011 by David Hone and his team. The fossils were found in 2008 during big digs near Zhucheng, China.2 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if other tyrannosaur bones found in the same quarry belong to Zhuchengtyrannus or to a different species.2 1

Where the facts come from

Zhuchengtyrannus (en.wikipedia.org)
A new, large tyrannosaurine theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China (sciencedirect.com)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
IVPP Researchers Identify Long Lost Cousin Of T. Rex in China--Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (english.ivpp.cas.cn)
Zhuchengtyrannus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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