Sinraptor

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Theropoda > Neotheropoda > Tetanurae > Avetheropoda > Carnosauria > Allosauroidea > Metriacanthosauridae > Metriacanthosaurinae

Overview: Despite what some would assume from its generic name, Sinraptor wasn’t a member of the “raptor” family Dromaeosauridae. Instead, it belonged to a family of allosauroids known as the Metriacanthosauridae. Metriacanthosaurids were a group of decently large predators that thrived during the Middle to Late Jurassic, mainly in Asia and Europe. As we can see with Sinraptor, these theropods tended to have relatively short, but deep snouts, often bearing low crests in front of the eyes. Their arms were fairly short, but strong, bearing three clawed digits on each hand. Members included Yangchuanosaurus, Alpkarakush, and Metriacanthosaurus itself. Yangchuanosaurus grew to be among the largest known theropods of the Jurassic Period, though Sinraptor itself would’ve been a bit smaller. It grew to be around seven or eight meters long, so still large for a theropod.

Sinraptor fossils were first reported in the late 1980’s by Chinese and Canadian paleontologists, in what is now China’s western Xinjiang territory. Described in 1994, the generic name of the animal means “Chinese thief”, referencing its nation of origin. This holotype represents the type species, Sinraptor dongi, but a second species from farther east, in Sichuan Province, may also belong to it, known as Sinraptor hepingensis. Originally, said species was referred to Yangchuanosaurus, which may actually be accurate, according to some recent studies that refer S. hepingensis once again to said genus. Definitive material of Sinraptor comes from Xinjiang’s Shishugou Formation, meaning it lived towards the start of the Late Jurassic. It may’ve lived alongside other notable dinosaurs such as Limusaurus and Guanlong, probably dominating the region as its top predator.