Zhuchengtyrannus

Zhuchengtyrannus was a colossal apex predator that lived in eastern China during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Known primarily from a maxilla and lower jaw found in Shandong Province, it represents one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever unearthed. Estimations based on its robust jaw suggest an adult body length between ten and twelve metres, putting it on a par with its close cousins Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex. It lived alongside massive hadrosaurs like Shantungosaurus and horned ceratopsians like Sinoceratops, both of which would have provided plentiful prey. Although its postcranial skeleton remains largely unknown, it was undoubtedly an imposing, heavily built bipedal hunter ruling Asian coastal floodplains before the extinction event.

It rivalled Tyrannosaurus and Tarbosaurus in size, making it one of the largest predatory dinosaurs discovered in Asia.

Where and when

Zhuchengtyrannus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 73.5 to 70.6 million years ago (Campanian age). Its remains come from China, in the Wangshi Group.

The numbers

Length 11 m (estimates run from 10 to 12 m). Mass about 4.9 t. Hip height about 3.5 m. That is 6.5 human-lengths, or 0.98 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Zhuchengtyrannus with a bus Place on the timeline