Szechuanosaurus

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Szechuanosaurus
Fossil range: Late Jurassic

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Infraorder:	Carnosauria
Superfamily:	Allosauroidea
Family:	Sinraptoridae
Genus:	Szechuanosaurus Young, 1942

Species

S. campi Young, 1942 (type)
?S. zigongensis Gao, 1993

Szechuanosaurus ("Szechuan lizard") is a genus of sinraptorid dinosaur 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 kilograms (220 - 330 lb) and a length of 8 meters (27 ft).

[edit] Discovery and species

There are two named species: S. campi (named by Chung Chien Young in 1942 for isolated teeth; partial skeletons have been assigned to it as well) and S. zigongensis (named by Gao in 1993 for an almost complete skeleton). Some paleontologists 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.