In our 147th episode, we got to chat with Jim Kirkland about the Utahraptor Project. (We last spoke with Jim in episode 34, Utahraptor.) The Utahraptor Project is well underway, and already we’re learning new things about these dinosaurs.

You can help out by donating to the Utahraptor Project on their Go Fund Me page, at https://www.gofundme.com/utahraptor. For just $25, you can make a huge difference in helping scientists learn about these amazing specimens. You can also hear about the latest updates at https://utahraptorsite.com.

And, you can learn more about the area at https://www.utahgeology.org/openjournal/index.php/GIW/article/view/9.

Episode 147 is also about Guanlong, whose name means “”crown dragon.”

Thank you so much to our patrons! For all the dinosaur enthusiasts out there, check out our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on iTunes at:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:

The dinosaur of the day: Guanlong

Type species is Guanlong wucaii

Proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid that lived in the Late Jurassic in what is now China

Guanlong means “crown dragon”

Full name means “five color crown dragon”

Crown refers to its head crest, which is the most elaborate of known theropods

Species name means “five colors” and refers to the colors of the rock of the Wucaiwan, where Guanlong was found

Found on a joint expedition in 2002 by scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and George Washington University

Described and named in 2006 by Xu Xing and others

Found two individuals, a partially complete adult and a nearly complete juvenile, in the Chinese Shishugou Formation

The two specimens were found together, with one lying on top of the other. They fell into a muddy footprint of a large herbivore, possibly Mamenchisaurus, and were trapped. The juvenile probably died first and was trampled by the adult, who came later

The adult was about 12 years old, and reached maturity around age 7

The juvenile was about 6 years old

Looked like Dilong (but with a crest), so may have had primitive feathers, like Dilong

The crests are thin and delicate, and may have been used for display (may have been a different color from the body)

The adult had a larger crest, which ran from its nostrils to its eye sockets

The juvenile’s crest was shorter and only on the snout, and it had longer lower legs and larger eyes than the adult

Crest was similar to the crest on Dilophosaurus and Monolophosaurus, and was very pneumatized (had lots of air holes), though Guanlong‘s crest was more delicate

One of the oldest known tyrannosaurs

Guanlong helps show that tyrannosaurs may have started in Asia

Classified as a tyrannosauroid because of the shape of its teeth, and features in the skull and pelvis

Part of the family Proceratosauridae, which includes Proceratosaurus, Kileskus, and Sinotyrannus

About 9.8 ft (3 m) long, and weighed 100-200 lbs (45-90 kg)

Had three fingers on its hands (compared to later tyrannosaurs, that had only two)

Probably hunted smaller dinosaurs and mammals

May have also been prey for larger dinosaurs, such as the allosaur Yangchuanosaurus

Lived in a seasonal climate, with humid summers and dry winters

Other animals in the area include sauropods, ornithopods, and small and large theropods, as well as turtles and small mammals

Guanlong skeleton is at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in China

Can see a life-size reconstruction at the Australian Museum in Sydney

Can see Guanlong in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (meant to be a “twist” on a Velociraptor)

Can also see Guanlong in Dino Death Trap, a National Geographic documentary

There’s also a Guanlong cube (rubix cube). The cube is 3×3 and known for being smooth and priced at an affordable rate

Fun Fact:

Based on fivethirtyeight data