Name:
Xiongguanlong (Chinese for "Xiongguan dragon"); pronounced zhong-gwan-LONG
Habitat:
Woodlands of eastern Asia
Historical Period:
Early Cretaceous (120 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 5 feet tall and 500 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; long, narrow snout
About Xiongguanlong:
Not the most pronounceable of predators (though you have to admire any dinosaur name that begins with an "x"), Xiongguanlong was a very early tyrannosaur, a relatively petite (only about 500 pounds) meat eater whose basic anatomy foreshadowed the giant tyrannosaurs of the late Cretaceous period, such as Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Notably, Xiangguanlong's head was unusually narrow, compared to the massive, blunt noggins of its bigger relatives 50 million years down the line.
