Guanlong Dinosaur is a genus of small, carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period. The name Guanlong, which means crown dragon in Mandarin, was taken from the character in Chinese mythology that possesses the head of a dragon and fights against monsters and demons. The genus was first discovered in 2006 when a paleontologist discovered an incomplete skeleton in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, China.
Guanlong belongs to the family of theropod dinosaurs, which includes other top carnivores like Tyrannosaurus rex. Its fossilized remains indicate that it was only 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long and had a slender body. Guanlong had short but strong arms and clawed hands, and short but powerful legs with three toes. Its tail was a little bit longer than its body length.
Guanlong Facts :
| Name: | Guanlong Dinosaurs |
| Size: | 10 meters |
| Main Facts: | Its fossils also suggest it lived in the floodplains of western China during a subtropical climate, which would have been similar to the tropical climate of modern Africa. |
Guanlong, like all theropods, would have been an active and agile predator. It may have hunted small animals like lizards and birds, and scavenged for carrion when available. Its powerful claws would have been perfect for grasping and grabbing prey, while its teeth, which were small and sharp, were suited to tearing flesh. It may have also occasionally eaten fruit. Guanlong would have been a social dinosaur and likely lived in small packs of two to four individuals. Its small size enabled it to hide from larger predators, such as the equally-famous Allosaurus.
The discovery of the Guanlong species is important because it is the first primitive tyrannosauroid ever found in East Asia. It also helps to fill the gap in the evolutionary history of theropod dinosaurs, providing important information about the diversification of the group and its spread to different continents. It is believed to be ancestral to later forms like Tyrannosaurus rex and Albertosaurus which lived during the Cretaceous period.
