Dilong

Dilong was a small, agile predatory dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China. 6 metres in total length, this slender biped looked remarkably different from its gigantic descendant Tyrannosaurus rex. Dilong had proportionally long, three-clawed hands and relatively light build. Crucially, the holotype specimen preserved carbonised traces of simple, branched feather-like filaments along the tail and jaw, providing the very first direct physical proof that tyrannosauroids bore feathers. These primitive coat filaments served primarily for insulation, helping this active little carnivore regulate its body temperature. Hunting small lizards, mammals, and juvenile dinosaurs in the temperate, volcanic woodlands of Cretaceous China, Dilong provides an essential evolutionary snapshot of the humble beginnings from which the great tyrant dinosaurs eventually arose.

It was the first tyrannosauroid ever found with fossilised protofeathers.

Where and when

Dilong lived in the Early Cretaceous, from 126 to 124 million years ago (Barremian-Aptian age). Its remains come from China, in the Yixian Formation.

The numbers

Length 1.8 m (estimates run from 1.5 to 2 m). Mass about 12 kg. Hip height about 0.6 m. That is 1.1 human-lengths, or 0.16 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Dilong with a bus Place on the timeline