Yangchuanosaurus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yangchuanosaurus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Infraorder: | Carnosauria |
| Superfamily: | Allosauroidae |
| Family: | Sinraptoridae |
| Genus: | Yangchuanosaurus |
| Species: | 'Y. shangyouensis, Y. mangus |
Yangchuanosaurus was a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of China.
It was the largest member of the family Sinraptoridae. It was a fairly typical carnosaur, with a large head, sharp, serrated teeth, and relatively short arms (though not as short as those of Tyrannosaurus).
Yangchuanosaurus probably preyed on sauropods, such as Mamenchisaurus, or stegosaurs, such as Tuojiangosaurus.
There are two known species, Y. shangyouensis and Y. magnus. In 1988, in his book Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, Gregory S. Paul classified Yangchuanosaurus as a species of Metriacanthosaurus. However, this classification was not adopted by other paleontologists and has since been abandoned.
