Open Paleo

Datanglong

Mo et al., 2014 dah-tang-long

From Datang (the basin in Guangxi, China where it was found) + Chinese long (龍), 'dragon'; means 'Datang dragon'

121.4–113.2 million years ago Aptian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Datanglong is an extinct genus of tetanuran theropod of uncertain taxonomic placement. It existed during Xinlong Formation, Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Albian), in what is now Guangxi China.

Under dispute

Datanglong guangxiensis is a fragmentary theropod of uncertain position. It was described as a basal carcharodontosaurian (Mo and colleagues, 2014) and is treated as an indeterminate carcharodontosaurid by Kellermann and colleagues (2025) and Jones (2026), but has also been recovered as a coelurosaur (Cau, 2014) and, in one of three analyses, as a basal megaraptoran (Samathi and colleagues, 2024). Because these hypotheses span Allosauroidea and Coelurosauria, it is placed conservatively at Avetheropoda incertae sedis.

Diagnosis

  1. Posteriormost dorsal vertebra with teardrop-shaped pneumatic foramen confined by enlarged pcdl, acpl, and centrum
  2. Posteriormost dorsal with well-developed, horizontal prezygoparapophyseal lamina (prpl)
  3. Posteriormost dorsal with parapophysis projecting more laterally than the diapophysis
  4. Brevis fossa shallow with short, ridge-like medial blade
  5. Iliac pubic peduncle with posteroventrally expanded margin

Species

Datanglong guangxiensis Mo et al., 2014

Type species

Named for Guangxi, the Chinese province where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
GMG 00001 , Natural History Museum of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Material
Partial articulated postcranial skeleton: incomplete posteriormost dorsal vertebra; nearly complete five sacrals; first and second caudals; first chevron; incomplete left and right ilia; incomplete left pubis; incomplete left ischium
Horizon
Xinlong Formation, Aptian, Early Cretaceous , 121.4–113.2 million years ago
Locality
Nazao village, Guangxi, China

References

  1. Mo, J.; Zhou, F.; Li, G.; Huang, Z.; Cao, C. (2014). A New Carcharodontosauria (Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Guangxi, Southern China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 88(4): 1051-1059. Wiley. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12272 mo2014a
  2. Kellermann, M.; Cuesta, E.; Rauhut, O. W. M. (2025). Re-evaluation of the Bahariya Formation carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and its implications for allosauroid phylogeny. PLOS ONE 20(1): e0311096. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0311096

    Treated Datanglong as an indeterminate carcharodontosaurid in its re-evaluation.

    kellermann2025a
  3. Samathi, A.; Suteethorn, S.; Boonjarern, T.; Sutcha, K.; Suteethorn, V. (2024). Dinosaur fauna from the Lower Cretaceous of Phu Kao-Phu Phan Kham, northeastern Thailand: a review and update. Palaeoworld 33(2): 420-438. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2023.03.007

    One of three phylogenetic analyses recovered Datanglong as a basal megaraptoran

    samathi2024a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Reports carcharodontosaurian, basal coelurosaur and megaraptoran placements for Datanglong.

    jones2026c
  5. Cau, A. (2014). Datanglong: un nuovo carcharodontosauriano? [Datanglong: a new carcharodontosaurian?]. Theropoda (blog). https://theropoda.blogspot.com/2014/08/datanglong-un-nuovo-carcharodontosauria.html

    Blog post, 29 August 2014.

    cau2014a