''Sinraptor'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

metriacanthosaurid Metriacanthosauridae is an extinct family (biology), family of Allosauroidea, allosauroid theropod dinosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. When broken down into its Greek roots, it means "moderately-spined lizards". ...

theropod

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from the Late

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

. The name ''Sinraptor'' comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

prefix "Sino", meaning Chinese, and "raptor" meaning robber. The specific name ''dongi'' honours Dong Zhiming. Despite its name, ''Sinraptor'' is not related to

dromaeosaurid Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning ...

s (often nicknamed "raptors") like ''

Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...

''. Instead, it was a

carnosaur Carnosauria is an extinct large group of predatory dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Starting from the 1990s, scientists have discovered some very large carnosaurs in the carcharodontosaurid family, such as ''Gig ...

distantly related to '' Allosaurus''. ''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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Metriacanthosauridae, with some older sources even using the name "Sinraptoridae" for the family.

Discovery

Zigong Dinosaur Museum Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

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 Philip John Currie (born March 13, 1949) is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the ...

and Zhao Xijin in 1993. Standing nearly tall and measuring roughly in length, two species of ''Sinraptor'' have been named. ''S. dongi'', the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, was described by Currie and Zhao in 1993. A second species, originally named '' Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis'' by Gao in 1992, 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. Gregory S. Paul proposed that ''S. dongi'' would reach in length and in body mass, while Holtz estimated it to be in length. 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. The skeleton of ''Sinraptor hepingensis'' (formerly referred to '' Yangchuanosaurus'') is on display at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in

Zigong Zigong (, ), formed by the merger of the two former towns of Ziliujing (Tzuliuching, literally "self-flow well") and Gongjing (Kungching, literally "offering well"), is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, southwestern China. Demographics Accord ...

, China.

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 A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals. Types There is no designated classifi ...

." One rib was broken and healed via telescoping of its capitular shaft.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.

References

External links

The original Chinese text of Gao (1992)'s description of ''Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis'', with pictures.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311284 Metriacanthosaurids Oxfordian life Late Jurassic dinosaurs of Asia Jurassic China Fossils of China Paleontology in Xinjiang Fossil taxa described in 1993 Taxa named by Philip J. Currie Taxa named by Zhao Xijin