Ambopteryx
Ambopteryx was a tiny dinosaur that lived about 163 million years ago. It had wings made of skin, like a bat, and could probably glide between trees. This little dinosaur was one of the strangest relatives of birds.21
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Fun facts
Ambopteryx had a long, rod-like bone sticking out from its wrist that helped support a wing membrane, just like in pterosaurs and bats.2
Its forelimbs were 1.3 times longer than its hindlimbs, which is unusual for a dinosaur.1
Ambopteryx had a short tail that ended in a fused pygostyle, a feature also seen in modern birds.1
This dinosaur was about the size of a modern pigeon, measuring only 32 cm (about 1 foot) long.1
The name Ambopteryx means 'both wing' because its wing was like a pterosaur's but it was a dinosaur.1
Fossilized feathers were found around its head, neck, and shoulders, showing it had a fluffy coat.1
Most asked questions about Ambopteryx
?How big was Ambopteryx?
About 32 centimetres (13 inches) long and weighed around 306 grams (10.8 ounces), roughly the size of a modern pigeon.4
?What did Ambopteryx eat?
It was probably omnivorous. Its stomach contained gastroliths (gizzard stones) and bone fragments, suggesting it ate both plants and meat.45
?Could Ambopteryx fly?
It could probably glide between trees, like a flying squirrel. Scientists are still studying how well it could truly fly.5
?Did Ambopteryx have feathers?
Yes, it had dense layers of feathers on its head, neck, and shoulders, along with bat-like membranous wings.42
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Ambopteryx could fly like a bird.
Truth: It probably could not flap its wings to fly. Instead, it likely glided from tree to tree using its skin wings.2
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Ambopteryx
- Named by
- Wang et al. 20196
- Group
- Other meat-eaters
- Family / clade
- Scansoriopterygidae6
- Classification
- Theropoda6
- Age of the rocks
- 162 to 143 million years (Oxfordian / Tithonian)6
- Countries
- China6
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- Ambopteryx was named in 2019 by Wang and colleagues. The only known fossil was found near Wubaiding Village in Liaoning, China, in rocks about 163 million years old.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how Ambopteryx moved through the air. It may have glided, but some think it could also climb trees.2
Where the facts come from
- Ambopteryx longibrachium Wang & O'Connor & Xu & Zhou 2019, gen. et sp. nov. (zenodo.org)
- A new Jurassic scansoriopterygid and the loss of membranous wings in theropod dinosaurs | Nature (nature.com)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Ambopteryx (en.wikipedia.org)
- Ambopteryx, new species of bat-wing dinosaur, discovered in China | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
- Ambopteryx in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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