Guanlong was part of the Theropoda Dinosaur group which is shared with the all mighty Tyrannosaurus rex. Every fossil was only found in China . That would explain why the name means Crowned Dragon in Chinese. They were dated during the late Jurassic Period and measured 10 feet long. Although they were smaller carnivores they were probably ferocious in every way. They have razor sharp claws and teeth with a thick and powerful jaw. Not only that but strong legs.

One or the strange features is the Guanlong had a crest on its head. No one really knows what it was used for. It could've been to release a lot of heat or to interact with other dinosaurs. I can't say I believe any of that. One of my own theories is that this dinosaur didn't develop good eyesight, therefore the crest acted like thermo vision they could see heat instead of actually seeing. This is not very common with animals that live today but it does exist. It's true that this is just my own theory but it's very possible because the crest was very thin and delicate. This goes to show that there were probably organs inside.

I wish I could say more about the Guanlong but all information about it has been from only 2 found fossils. The first was a fully grown adult and pretty much a fully skeleton of it. The second was a immature dinosaur about 70% complete. Looking at the difference in them, the crest triples in size but no other interesting information came with the aging of this dinosaur.

Just for fun we have a soundclip available for you to hear what a Guanlong could've sounded like. Click to the Dinosaur Sounds area to hear it. Please note that the dinosaur sounds are only for entertainment and are not an actual fact.