Dilong

Say it like this: “DEE-long”

Dilong paradoxus

Dilong ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Dilong

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2004 · Xu, X.; Norell, M. A.; Kuang, X.; Wang, X.; Zhao, Q.; Jia, C.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 1.8 m · 6 ft
Weight: 15 kg · 33 lb
Found in: China · Yixian
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Tyrannosauroidea

The story in short

Dilong was formally named in 2004 by X. Xu and colleagues. The name means “earth dragon.”

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Yixian Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Dilong at a length near 1.8 m and a body mass around 15 kg.

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

Close relatives

Alectrosaurus

Alectrosaurus olseni

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Aviatyrannis

Aviatyrannis jurassica

Late Jurassic (Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 161.5 to 143.1 million years ago

Calamosaurus

Calamosaurus foxi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago