| Yuanmouraptor | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype skull and mandible | |
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| Reconstructed skull | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Allosauroidea |
| Family: | †Metriacanthosauridae |
| Genus: | †Yuanmouraptor Zou et al.,2025 |
| Species: | †Y. jinshajiangensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis Zou et al., 2025 | |
Yuanmouraptor (meaning "Yuanmou County robber") is anextinct genus ofmetriacanthosauridtheropod dinosaurs from theMiddle JurassicZhanghe Formation of China. The genus contains asingle species,Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis, known from a partial skull and several consecutive vertebrae.
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TheYuanmouraptorholotype specimen, LFGT-ZLJ0115, was discovered in March 2006 in outcrops of theZhanghe Formation on a farm near Xiabanjing Village ofYuanmou County inChuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture,Yunnan Province, China. The specimen consists of a nearly complete skull and mandible, ten articulatedcervical vertebrae, and the firstdorsal vertebra.[1]
The name "Yuanmouraptor" was first mentioned in a 2014 newsletter from theHong Kong Science Museum.[2] As of its 2025 description, the holotype was on display in the Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley Museum.[1]
In 2025, Zou and colleaguesdescribedYuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis as a new genus and species of metriacanthosaurid dinosaurs based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name,Yuanmouraptor, combines a reference to the discovery of the holotype in Yuanmou County with theLatin wordraptor, meaning "robber". Thespecific name,jinshajiangensis, references theJinsha River, as thetype locality is on the river's north bank.[1]
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Yuanmouraptor is described as a "medium-sized" metriacanthosaurid. In all of the holotype vertebrae, theneural arch is fused to the respectivecentrum, with theneurocentral suture only somewhat visible on the eighth and ninth cervical vertebrae. As these sutures are open in juvenile animals, the prominent fusion is indicative of a subadult or nearly matureontogenetic stage for this individual. As preserved, the holotype skull is 53.9 centimetres (21.2 in) long. When reconstructed, its full length is around 60 centimetres (24 in). In comparison, the holotype skull ofYangchuanosaurus shangyouensis is 78 centimetres (31 in) long, belonging to an animal around 8 metres (26 ft) long.[1][3]
Severalautapomorphies (unique derived traits) ofYuanmouraptor are observable in thepostorbital (skull bone forming the back of theorbit) andcervical vertebrae. These include ananterior (toward the front) process of the postorbital that is sheet-shaped with a consistent depth, aventral (toward the bottom) ramus of the postorbital with a laterally twisted trough going over the outer surface, strongly posteriorly elongatedepipophyses (projections above the back articular process) on the anterior cervical vertebrae, and a strongly ventromedially (down and toward the midline) excavatedpneumatic foramen (air sac) on the third cervical vertebra.[1]
Prior to its scientific naming and description, Hendrickx et al. (2019) mentioned theYuanmouraptor holotype as belonging to an indeterminate member of theallosauroid familyMetriacanthosauridae.[4] In theirphylogenetic analyses when describingYuanmouraptor, Zou et al. (2025) recovered this taxon—as well as the slightly youngerXuanhanosaurus—as the mostbasal members of the Metriacanthosauridae. These results are displayed in thecladogram below:[1]
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