Shidaisaurus

Say it like this: “shih-DYE-SAWR-us”

Shidaisaurus jinae

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

Quiz me on Shidaisaurus

When: Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) · roughly 170.9 to 168.2 million years ago
Named in: 2009 · Wu, X.; Currie, P. J.; Dong, Z.; Pan, S.; Wang, T.
Hip height: 1.5 m · 5 ft
Length: 6–7.1 m · 20–23 ft
Weight: 700–950 kg · 1,543–2,094 lb
Found in: China · Chuanjie
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Metriacanthosauridae

The story in short

The genus Shidaisaurus dates to 2009, the year X. Wu and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian), roughly 170.9 to 168.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Chuanjie Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Shidaisaurus at a length near 6–7.1 m, hips about 1.5 m high, and a body mass around 700–950 kg.

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

Close relatives

Alpkarakush

Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus

Middle Jurassic (Callovian) · roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago

Yangchuanosaurus

Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis

Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian) · roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago

Yuanmouraptor

Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis

Middle Jurassic (Aalenian · Bajocian) · roughly 174.7 to 168.2 million years ago