Sinraptor

dinosaurs · ancient predators · Jurassic · China

Fierce Jurassic hunter. Sinraptor was a carnivorous dinosaur that lived millions of years ago in what is now China. It belonged to a group of meat-eating dinosaurs that were among the very first of their kind to evolve.

Best-known of its family. Sinraptor is the most famous member of the Metriacanthosauridae family, a group of powerful theropod dinosaurs. Scientists learned so much from studying its fossils that some early scientists even called the whole family by Sinraptor's name.

Found in Shishugou. Fossils of Sinraptor were discovered in the Shishugou Formation, a rock layer in China that preserved dinosaurs from the Jurassic period. This location has given us wonderful clues about what life was like back then.

Early carnosaurian radiation. Sinraptor lived during an important time in dinosaur history when large meat-eating dinosaurs were just beginning to spread and diversify. It was part of the very first wave of these powerful predators.