Szechuanosaurus

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Szechuanosaurus
Fossil range: Late Jurassic

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Infraorder:	Carnosauria
Superfamily:	Allosauroidea
Family:	Sinraptoridae
Genus:	Szechuanosaurus

Species

?S. zigongensis

Szechuanosaurus ("Szechuan provinced lizard") is a genus of sinraptorid from the Late Jurassic. This dinosaur lived in the Asia in the Oxfordian and Tithonian. It resembled a small Allosaurus, with a weight of 100 - 150 kg (220 - 330 lb) and a length of 8 m (27 ft).

[edit] Discovery and species

There are two named species: S. campi (named by Chung Chien Young in 1942, from a partial skeleton and isolated teeth) and S. zigongensis (named by Gao in 1993, from an almost complete skeleton). Some paleobotanists consider Szechuanosaurus to be a nomen dubium, since, while the teeth are unique, it is not clear whether the other material might be better ascribed to other genera. S. campi includes S. yandonensis (named by Dong, Chang, Li and Zhou in 1978) and Chienkosaurus ceratosauroides - although some researchers still believe that the latter may yet prove to be a distinct species.