Fossil origin and body characteristics of Yongchuanosaurus

2023-04-05 03:51:24 155

Yongchuanosaurus is a large carnivorous dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic. It was named after its specimen was first discovered in Yongchuan County, Chongqing. Yongchuanlong has a large, slightly triangular head nearly 1 meter long, with six pairs of large holes on both sides, which can effectively reduce the weight of the head. One of the six pairs of large holes is an eye hole, which shows that it has excellent vision, and the other holes are powerful muscle groups attached to the head for biting and chewing. Yongchuanlong's mouth was filled with rows of sharp teeth, like daggers, and its thick and short neck gave Yongchuanlong a huge bite force. Yongchuanlong's tail was very long and served as a balancer to keep its body balanced when it ran. Its forelimbs are very flexible, and the fingers are equipped with curved and sharp claws, which can be used to firmly grasp prey. The hind limbs of Yongchuanosaurus were long and thick, with three toes. Like today's wading birds (wading birds refer to those birds adapted to living in swamps and watersides), they touched the ground on their three toes and ran very fast. With such hind limbs, Yongchuanlong could hunt down its prey effortlessly.

As a large carnivorous animal, Yongchuanosaurus often appears in jungles and lakesides. Its behavior may be similar to today's tigers and leopards. It has a withdrawn personality and likes to move alone. Some mild-tempered herbivorous dinosaurs are often preyed upon by Yongchuanosaurus. Once targeted by it, it is difficult to escape. Therefore, these herbivorous dinosaurs are always vigilant. Once there is any disturbance or smell the scent of Yongchuanosaurus, they will escape as quickly as possible.

Yongchuanosaurus has abundant fossil materials preserved. In addition to the relatively complete fossil individuals discovered in Yongchuan in the 1970s, a very complete skeleton fossil excavated in 1985 was identified as a new species of the genus Yongchuanosaurus and was named Peace Yongchuan Dragon. Its head is large and bulky, with sharp dagger-like teeth on its jaws; its forelimbs are short and its hind legs are long. It walks on two legs and its claws are large and sharp. It lived in highland jungles by rivers and lakes, preying on herbivorous dinosaurs and other animals. It was an extremely ferocious carnivorous dragon. This specimen is about 9 meters long and is currently the most complete carnivorous dragon in Asia. In December 1986, when farmers in Chanluo Village, Chadian Township were collecting stones to repair their houses, they discovered many strange-shaped stones in the stone wall behind their house. It was identified that they were a group of dinosaur fossils, although the exposed parts had been destroyed. However, the part buried in the stone wall is still intact, but due to lack of funds, the excavation work was forced to stop, and the secrets hidden in it have yet to be discovered in the future.