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Sinraptor, Middle Jurassic to Late JurassicShaximiao Formation, China · named 1994
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Sinraptor

SIN-rap-tor

"Chinese robber"

Lived
168 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
Diet
Carnivore
Length
about 7.6 m (25 ft)
Group
Theropods, Metriacanthosauridae
Found in
China
Named by
Currie and Zhao 1994

Size comparison

To scale

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

2 finds

160 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

Rivers crossed the plains where the Shishugou Formation accumulated in China. Regional dinosaurs included Guanlong and Mamenchisaurus.

Field notes

About Sinraptor

What it was like

Sinraptor was a large, deep-skulled predator with blade-shaped, serrated teeth built for tackling sizeable prey. It walked on two strong legs, balanced by a long, heavy tail, and was almost certainly one of the largest hunters in its ecosystem. Sinraptor grew to about 7.6 meters (25 feet) long, making it a similar size to the more famous Allosaurus.

Its world

Sinraptor lived from about 168 to 155 million years ago, during the Middle to Late Jurassic, in what is now China. Its fossils come from the Shaximiao and Shishugou formations, rock layers that have produced some of the richest Jurassic dinosaur faunas known from Asia. It shared its world with long-necked sauropods such as Mamenchisaurus and Shunosaurus, the small predator Guanlong, and its close relative Yangchuanosaurus. Other predators, such as Monolophosaurus, also hunted in the same region, alongside armored dinosaurs like Gigantspinosaurus.

How it was found

Currie and Zhao named Sinraptor in 1994. Two fossil finds are known, including a well preserved skeleton that has made Sinraptor one of the best studied members of its family, Metriacanthosauridae. It remains an important genus for understanding how this whole group of large Jurassic predators evolved.

Field gallery

More views of Sinraptor

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Sinraptor in its habitat, photo 1

1 of 7

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 Sinraptor.

The evidence

The science behind Sinraptor

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • A well-preserved skeleton shows a tall, narrow skull, strong hind legs and a long tail.
  • Its side teeth were flattened blades with serrated edges; the front teeth were sturdier.

Borrowed from relatives

  • Much of the skeleton is known from its own bones.
  • Lips over the teeth follow comparisons with other large theropods, including Tyrannosaurus.

Still unknown

  • Its skin covering and color.
  • How its body changed as it grew.
  • Whether it hunted alone or in groups.

Often drawn wrong

  • Despite its name, Sinraptor was a large relative of Allosaurus, rather than a small sickle-clawed hunter like Velociraptor.
  • Its hands faced inward, rather than palm down.

Discovery timeline

  1. 1994Named itCurrie & Zhao
  2. 2006Same rocksXu et al.
  3. 2012Family treeCarrano, Benson & Sampson
  4. 2020How it fedHendrickx et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Sinraptor

Close relatives

Other members of Metriacanthosauridae

Sources: Wikidata