What is Qianzhousaurus?
Q: What is Qianzhousaurus?
A: Qianzhousaurus is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs. It has only one species named Qianzhousaurus sinensis.
Q: How was it discovered?
A: The bones of Qianzhousaurus were discovered by workmen at a construction site near the city of Ganzhou, who then took them to a local museum.
Q: What does its long snout suggest about its feeding methods and lifestyle?
A: The thinner teeth and lighter skeleton of Qianzhousaurus suggest it hunted smaller creatures, such as lizards and feathered dinosaurs, which suggests that its feeding method and probably its life-style were quite different from Tyrannosaurus.
Q: How does this find show that long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widespread in Asia?
A: The discovery of Qianzhousaurus, and Alioramus from Mongolia, shows that the long-snouted tyrannosaurids were widespread in Asia. This indicates they were one of the main groups of predatory dinosaurs in Asia.
Q: What did an expert say about this find?
A: An expert said that this find "tells us pretty unequivocally that these long-snouted tyrannosaurs were a real thing. They were a different breed, living right to the end of the age of dinosaurs".
Q: How did T. rex differ from Qianzhousaurus?
A: Apart from its signature snout, Qianzhousaurus also had long, narrow teeth while T. rex had thick teeth and powerful, deep-set jaws which suggests their feeding methods differed significantly.
Q: Was their existence previously suspected due to scattered fossil finds?
A: Yes, their existence was previously suspected because of various scattered fossil finds before they were officially discovered in 2014.
