Aorun

Say it like this: “AW-roon”

Aorun zhaoi

Aorun ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Aorun

When: Middle Jurassic (Callovian) · roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago
Named in: 2013 · Choiniere, J. N.; Clark, J. M.; Forster, C. A.; Norell, M. A.; Eberth, D. A.; Erickson, G. M.; Chu, H.; Xu, X.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 1 m · 3 ft
Weight: 2 kg · 4 lb
Found in: China · Shishugou
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Avetheropoda

The story in short

In 2013, J. N. Choiniere and colleagues published the name Aorun. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Middle Jurassic (Callovian), roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Shishugou Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Aorun at a length near 1 m and a body mass around 2 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Avetheropoda, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Chilantaisaurus

Chilantaisaurus tashuikouensis

Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago

Datanglong

Datanglong guangxiensis

Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago

Gualicho

Gualicho shinyae

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago