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Yangchuanosaurus, Middle Jurassic to Early CretaceousShaximiao Formation, China · named 1978
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Yangchuanosaurus

Lived
171 to 113 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous
Diet
Carnivore
Length
about 10 m (33 ft)
Group
Theropods, Metriacanthosauridae
Found in
China
Named by
Dong et al. 1978

Size comparison

To scale

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

4 finds

140 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

It lived on inland plains in China, where mud accumulated in the Shaximiao Formation. Regional neighbors included Mamenchisaurus, Tuojiangosaurus and Chungkingosaurus.

Field notes

About Yangchuanosaurus

What it was like

Yangchuanosaurus was a large, powerfully built predator with a deep skull and blade-shaped, serrated teeth suited to tackling big prey. It walked on two legs, balanced by a long, heavy tail, and was probably the top predator in its ecosystem, hunting large plant-eating dinosaurs that shared its world. Yangchuanosaurus grew to about 10 meters (33 feet) long, making it one of the largest theropods known from Jurassic China. Like its close relative Sinraptor, it belonged to the family Metriacanthosauridae, a group of large Jurassic predators related to Allosaurus.

Its world

Yangchuanosaurus lived from about 171 to 113 million years ago, spanning the Middle Jurassic into the Early Cretaceous, in what is now China. Its fossils come from the Shaximiao and Suining formations. It shared its world with huge, long-necked sauropods such as Mamenchisaurus and Omeisaurus, plated stegosaurs including Tuojiangosaurus and Chungkingosaurus, and the closely related predator Sinraptor.

How it was found

Dong and colleagues named Yangchuanosaurus in 1978. Four fossil finds are known today, making it one of the better-known large predators from this part of the Jurassic world. It is closely related to Sinraptor, another large Chinese theropod from a similar time and place.

Field gallery

More views of Yangchuanosaurus

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Yangchuanosaurus 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 Yangchuanosaurus.

The evidence

The science behind Yangchuanosaurus

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

From its own fossils

  • Skulls and skeletons preserve a deep head with serrated teeth and a low, rough ridge along the snout.
  • The limb bones show strong hind legs and shorter arms with clawed fingers.

Borrowed from relatives

  • Most of its body shape comes from its own skulls and skeletons.
  • Lips over the teeth follow comparisons with other large theropods, including Tyrannosaurus.

Still unknown

  • Its skin covering and color.
  • How it hunted large prey.
  • Whether it cared for its young.

Often drawn wrong

  • The snout had a modest ridge, rather than a tall blade-shaped crest.
  • Its hands faced inward, rather than hanging with the palms turned toward the ground.

Discovery timeline

  1. 1978Named itDong et al.
  2. 2012Family treeCarrano, Benson & Sampson
  3. 2023SkinCullen et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Yangchuanosaurus

Close relatives

Other members of Metriacanthosauridae

Sources: Wikidata