Open Paleo

Sinraptor

Currie & Zhao, 1993 sien-RAP-tor /sɪnˈræptər/

From Latin 'Sinae' (China) + Latin 'raptor' (thief, plunderer), meaning 'Chinese plunderer' or 'thief from China', reflecting its discovery in China.

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

Sinraptor is a genus of metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Shishugou Formation China. 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 Metriacanthosauridae, with some older sources even using the name "Sinraptoridae" for the family.

Diagnosis

  1. Quadratojugal process of jugal divided into three prongs
  2. Pronounced postorbital rugosity forming lateral margin of relatively large, triangular space on dorsal surface of skull
  3. Jugal ramus of palatine extends ventrally below level of maxillary suture in a distinct process
  4. Hollow interior of ectopterygoid confluent with anteroventral pneumatic opening medial to jugal contact
  5. Exoccipitals extend ventrally below basal tubera; occipital condyle oriented posteroventrally
  6. Inflection in atlas-axis complex brings vertebral column under back of skull more markedly than in Yangchuanosaurus

Species

Sinraptor dongi Currie & Zhao, 1993

Type species

Named for Dong Zhiming, the Chinese paleontologist who co-led the joint Chinese-Canadian expedition that recovered the holotype specimen.

Holotype
IVPP 10600 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Nearly complete skull and most of postcranium, lacking most of front limbs and part of the tail
Horizon
Shishugou Formation, Callovian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic , 165.3–154.8 million years ago
Locality
25 km northeast of Jiangjunmiao, Xinjiang, China Currie and Zhao (1993) place the holotype about 65 m above the contact with the Wucaiwan Formation, and Carrano and colleagues (2012) in the Oxfordian upper part, neither tied to the dated tuffs, which on the ICS chart v2024/12 straddle the base of the Oxfordian.

References

  1. Currie, P. J.; Zhao, X. J. (1993). A new carnosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Jurassic of Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 30(10): 2037-2081. Canadian Science Publishing. doi:10.1139/e93-179 currie1993c
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026c
  3. Carrano, M. T.; Benson, R. B. J.; Sampson, S. D. (2012). The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10(2): 211-300. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927

    Assigned Sinraptor to Metriacanthosaurinae.

    carrano2012a
  4. Rauhut, O. W. M.; Bakirov, A. A.; Wings, O.; Fernandes, A. E.; Hübner, T. R. (2024). A new theropod dinosaur from the Callovian Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 201(4). Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae090

    New Kyrgyzstan theropod description supporting Sinraptor's Metriacanthosaurinae placement.

    rauhut2024a
  5. Zou, Y.; Chen, L.; Wang, T.; Wang, G. F.; Zhang, W. G.; Zhang, X. Q.; Wang, Z. J.; Wu, X. C.; You, H. L. (2025). A new metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China. PeerJ 13: e19218. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.19218

    Recovered Sinraptor on the Yangchuanosaurus branch, outside Metriacanthosaurinae.

    zou2025a