Open Paleo

Guanlong

Xu et al., 2006 gwan-long

From Chinese guan (crown) and long (dragon); meaning 'crown dragon', referring to its prominent cranial crest

165.3–154.8 million years ago Callovian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic
Middle Jurassic and Late Jurassic stages

Guanlong is an extinct genus of proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Shishugou Formation of China. It was first described in 2006 by Xu Xing and colleagues, who found it to represent a new taxon related to Tyrannosaurus. Two individuals are currently known, consisting of a partially complete adult and a nearly complete juvenile.

Diagnosis

  1. Deep and narrow groove along the anterior margin of the premaxilla.
  2. Complex, highly pneumatic nasal crest consisting of a thin median crest (~1.5 mm thick) with four supporting lateral laminae.
  3. Dorsally flattened parietal with two parallel sagittal crests.
  4. Femoral greater trochanter much narrower anteroposteriorly than the lesser trochanter.
  5. Distinct fossa on posterodistal surfaces of astragalus and calcaneum.
  6. Pedal phalanx II-1 with prominent paired ventral processes proximally.

Species

Guanlong wucaii Xu et al., 2006

Type species

From Chinese 'wucai' meaning 'multicolored', referring to the vividly colored rock of the Wucaiwan ('five-colored bay') badlands where the fossil was found.

Holotype
IVPP V14531 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Partly articulated skeleton preserving most of the elements.
Horizon
upper Shishugou Formation, Callovian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic , 165.3–154.8 million years ago
Locality
TBB2002, Wucaiwan, Xinjiang, China Xu and colleagues (2006) give the horizon as the "Oxfordian upper part of the Shishugou Formation" without tying it to the dated tuffs, which on the ICS chart v2024/12 straddle the base of the Oxfordian.

References

  1. Eberth, D. A.; Xu, X.; Clark, J. M. (2010). Dinosaur death pits from the Jurassic of China. PALAIOS 25(2): 112-125. Society for Sedimentary Geology. doi:10.2110/palo.2009.p09-028r

    Places the holotype in the TBB2002 death pit at Wucaiwan.

    eberth2010a
  2. Xu, X.; Clark, J. M.; Forster, C. A.; Norell, M. A.; Erickson, G. M.; Eberth, D. A.; Jia, C.; Zhao, Q. (2006). A basal tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China. Nature 439(7077): 715-718. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/nature04511 xu2006b
  3. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the appearance features.

    paul2024a