Genus
Valid Extinct

Dilong

Xu et al. 2004
Etymology Dragon empereur

Dilong is a genus of small basal tyrannosauroid dinosaurs. The only species in the genus is Dilong paradoxus, known from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of East Asia. The discovery of Dilong was significant as it provided the first evidence of feathers in tyrannosaurs, something which had previously been suspected for the group.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Dilong
click to enlarge
Skeletal cast of Dilong paradoxus on display at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Part of the Tyrannosaurs: Meet the Family traveling exhibit developed by The Australian Museum. © WehaveaTrex · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Averostra Unranked clade
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Tetanurae Unranked clade
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Coelurosauria Unranked clade
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Tyrannosauroidea Superfamily
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Dilong Genus
Measurements
Length
1,8 m ⓘ
Dilong paradoxus
Mass
15 kg ⓘ
Dilong paradoxus
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
2
Geological formations
Yixian
2
Temporal distribution
Barremian (125.77–121.4 Ma)
2
Species (1)
Dilong paradoxus 126 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
X. Xu, M. A. Norell, and X. Kuang, X. Wang, Q. Zhao, C. Jin. 2004. Basal tyrannosauroids from China and evidence for protofeathers in tyrannosauroids. Nature 431:680-684 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
X. Xu, M. A. Norell, and X. Kuang, X. Wang, Q. Zhao, C. Jin. 2004. Basal tyrannosauroids from China and evidence for protofeathers in tyrannosauroids. Nature 431:680-684 DOI ↗