| Qianzhousaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Qianzhousaurus sinensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Superorder: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | †Qianzhousaurus Lü et al., 2014 |
| Species: | Q. sinensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Qianzhousaurus sinensis Lü et al., 2014 | |
Qianzhousaurus meaning Qianzhou lizard is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs. There is currently only one species named, Qianzhousaurus sinensis. Nicknamed 'Pinocchio rex' for its long snout in comparison to other known tyrannosaurs, it convergently resembled spinosaurs. The animal was discovered in southern China in May 2014. Aside from its signature snout, it also had long, narrow teeth, while T. rex had thick teeth and powerful, deep-set jaws. The bones were discovered by workmen at a construction site near the city of Ganzhou, who then took them to a local museum.
Discovery[]
[1] Lead author Professor Lü Junchang from the Institute of Geology Chinese academy of geological science stated that "the new discovery is very important. Along with Alioramus from Mongolia, it shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widely distributed in Asia. Although we are only starting to learn about them, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs were apparently one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia. The existence of long-snouted tyrannosaurs was previously suspected due to other inconclusive fossil finds, that could be explained as the juveniles of short-snouted species, but co-author Stephen L. Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh reveals that the find "tells us pretty unequivocally that these long-snouted tyrannosaurs were a real thing. They were a different breed, living right at the end of the age of dinosaurs." A new type of Tyrannosaur with a very long nose has been nicknamed "Pinocchio rex". This new tyrannosaur was 9 meters long and 4 meters tall. It had a very long nose. Pinocchio's snout was 35% longer than other dinosaurs of its size.
Classification[]
The discovery of Qianzhousaurus led to a new branch of the tyrannosaur family being named, consisting of the long-snouted Q. sinensis and the two known species of Alioramus. This clade, named the Alioramini, had an uncertain placement relative to other members of the tyrannosaur branch in the initial analysis that discovered it. The primary phylogenetic analysis found Alioramini to be closer to Tyrannosaurus than to Albertosaurus, and therefore a member of the group Tyrannosaurinae. However, a second analysis in the same paper found it to be located outside of the clade including Albertosaurinae and Tyrannosaurinae, and therefore the sister group of Tyrannosauridae.
In popular culture[]
- Qianzhousaurus appeared in Dinosaur Train.
- Qianzhousaurus also appeared in James Gurney’s TYRANNOSAURS: Behind the Art.
- It is also in Jurassic World Evolution 2.
- A female Qianzhousaurus appears in Prehistoric Planet, "Forests", where she hunts Corythoraptor in an autumn storm.
Gallery[]
Qianzhousaurus/Gallery