Chuandongocoelurus
- Lived
- 171 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- He 1984
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers and lakes shaped the landscape recorded in the Shaximiao Formation. Dinosaurs from these rocks include Shunosaurus, Huayangosaurus and Gasosaurus.
Field notes
About Chuandongocoelurus
What it was like
Chuandongocoelurus was a small, two-legged meat eater. It is known from part of the backbone, hips and legs of what may have been a young animal, so its adult size is unknown.
Its world
It lived in the Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Shaximiao Formation, home to the long-necked Mamenchisaurus and Shunosaurus and the larger predators Yangchuanosaurus and Gasosaurus.
How it was found
He named Chuandongocoelurus in 1984.
Field gallery
More views of Chuandongocoelurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Chuandongocoelurus.
The evidence
The science behind Chuandongocoelurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original specimen preserves parts of the backbone, hips and hind legs.
- Its hip and shin bones combine features of early theropods with those of later branches.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing head and arms are restored by comparison with early theropods such as Monolophosaurus.
Still unknown
- Its adult size.
- The shape of its skull and hands.
- Its exact place among early theropods.
Discovery timeline
- 1984Named itHe
- 2010Family treeBENSON
- 2012Family treeCarrano, Benson & Sampson
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Chuandongocoelurus
Named it
Named Chuandongocoelurus from partial remains found in the Jurassic rocks of China.
The Vertebrate Fossils of Sichuan. Sichuan Scientific and Technological Publishing House, Chengdu.
No link available
Family tree
An earlier family tree grouped Chuandongocoelurus with Monolophosaurus near the base of the megalosauroid branch.
A description ofMegalosaurus bucklandii(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 882-935
Read the paper : A description ofMegalosaurus bucklandii(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bathonian of the UK and the relationships of Middle Jurassic theropods (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Placed Chuandongocoelurus among early tetanurans and argued that larger vertebrae previously assigned to it probably belonged to another theropod.
The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10: 211-300
Read the paper : The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Tetanurae
Sources: Wikidata