Open Paleo

Panguraptor

You et al., 2014 PAN-goo-RAP-tuh

Named after Pangu, the Chinese creator deity (also evoking the supercontinent Pangaea), combined with Latin raptor (seizer, robber); meaning "Pangu plunderer".

201.4–192.9 million years ago Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Panguraptor is a genus of coelophysoid theropod dinosaur known from fossils discovered in Lower Jurassic rocks of southern China. The type and only known species is Panguraptor lufengensis. The generic name refers to the deity Pangu but also to the supercontinent Pangaea for which in a geological context the same characters are used: 盘古. Raptor means "seizer", "robber" in Latin. The specific name is a reference to the Lufeng Formation. It was described in 2014 by You Hai-Lu and colleagues.

Under dispute

Panguraptor lufengensis is recovered within Coelophysidae by its describers (You and colleagues, 2014) and by Ezcurra and colleagues (2020), but as a basal non-coelophysid coelophysoid by Spiekman and colleagues (2021) and by the redescription of Zhang and colleagues (2026), which recovers it as the earliest-diverging member of Coelophysoidea.

Diagnosis

  1. Diagonal rostrodorsal-caudoventral ridge on the lateral surface of the maxilla, extending beyond the antorbital fossa with a shallow groove dorsal to it (autapomorphy).
  2. Group of four elliptical, laterally facing foramina on the lateral surface of the maxilla anterior to the antorbital fenestra, one behind the diagonal ridge and three in front (autapomorphy).
  3. Distinct bony ridge along the dorsal margin of the lateral surface of the scapula (autapomorphy).
  4. Hooked structure at the ventrolateral corner of the proximal head of distal tarsal IV (autapomorphy).
  5. Large, deep, circular anterior pleurocoel on cervical vertebrae III-X, versus the shallow elliptical pleurocoel of other coelophysoids.
  6. Cervical rib length subequal to the centrum length from cervicals III to VIII, rather than markedly exceeding it as in other coelophysoids.

Species

Panguraptor lufengensis You et al., 2014

Type species

Named for Lufeng County, China, the region of the Lufeng Formation where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
LFGT-0103 , Bureau of Natural Resources of Lufeng County (formerly Bureau of Land and Resources of Lufeng County)
Material
Articulated partial skeleton including skull and lower jaw, presacral vertebral column, part of ribs, right scapula and partial right forelimb, part of pelvic girdle, parts of both hind limbs
Horizon
Shawan Member, Lufeng Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
Dalishu Village, Konglongshan Town, Lufeng County, Yunnan, China

References

  1. You, H. L.; Azuma, Y.; Wang, T.; Wang, Y. M.; Dong, Z. M. (2014). The first well-preserved coelophysoid theropod dinosaur from Asia. Zootaxa 3873(3). Magnolia Press. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3873.3.3 you2014b
  2. Zhang, Z.; Dong, Q.; Wang, T.; You, H. L.; Wang, X. (2026). Redescription of the osteology and the systematics of Panguraptor lufengensis (Neotheropoda, Coelophysoidea). Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 145: 723-750. Pensoft Publishers. doi:10.3897/sjp.145.185485

    Redescription of the holotype LFGT-0103 with a revised six-character diagnosis; recovers Panguraptor as the earliest-diverging coelophysoid, outside Coelophysidae.

    zhang2026b
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates.

    jones2026c
  4. Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Maidment, S. C. R.; Sansom, I. J.; Meade, L. E.; Radley, J. D. (2020). A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) of central England. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191: 113-149. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa054

    Recovered Panguraptor within Coelophysidae in neotheropod revision.

    ezcurra2020a
  5. Spiekman, S. N. F.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Fraser, N. C.; Maidment, S. C. R. (2021). Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales. Royal Society Open Science 8(10). The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rsos.210915

    Recovered Panguraptor as a basal non-coelophysid coelophysoid.

    spiekman2021a