Name:
Zhuchengtyrannus (Greek for "Zhucheng tyrant"); pronounced ZHOO-cheng-tih-RAN-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 35 feet long and 6-7 tons
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Large size; small arms; numerous sharp teeth
About Zhuchengtyrannus:
It seems that every new carnivorous dinosaur winds up being compared at some point to Tyrannosaurus Rex, but in the case of Zhuchengtyrannus, that exercise actually makes sense: this newly discovered Asian predator was every bit T. Rex's equal, measuring about 35 feet from head to tail and weighing in the neighborhood of 6 to 7 tons. Diagnosed from its fossilized skull by the paleontologist David Hone, Zhuchengtyrannus is one of the largest members of the Asian branch of tyrannosaurs, other examples of the breed including Tarbosaurus and Alioramus. (For some reason, the tyrannosaurs of the late Cretaceous period were restricted to North America and Eurasia, though there's disputed evidence for an Australian genus.) By the way, Zhuchengtyrannus was an entirely different beast from Zhuchengosaurus, a plus-sized hadrosaur discovered in the same area of China.
