Yutyrannus

Yutyrannus  is a Tyrannosauroid dinosaur, an early forebear of Tyrannosaurus rex.

It lived during the Lower Cretaceous 
124.6 million years ago (mya). It was about 10 meters long and 3 meters tall, and is the largest known dinosaur with direct evidence of feathers. It is forty times heavier than the previous record holder, Beipiaosaurus. The feathers were long, up to , and filamentous.

The fossil was found in what is now northeastern China. Three fossils of Y. huali, were  all found in the rock beds of Liaoning Province. Because of its size, it is certain that Yutyrannus could not fly. The feathers supported other functions, such as temperature regulation and visual signalling.

Yutyrannus is known from three nearly complete fossil specimens (an adult, a subadult and a juvenile). They were got from a fossil dealer who claimed all three were found in a single quarry at Batuyingzi in Liaoning Province. They were probably found in a layer of the Yixian Formation.

References

Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs
Category:Coelurosaurs
Category:Dinosaurs of Asia
Category:Feathered dinosaurs