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Anchiornis

Say it: AN-kee-OR-nis
Name means: “near bird”1
Ate: MeatRaptorsMiddle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Anchiornis was a tiny, feathered dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It was about the size of a crow and had long feathers on its legs, making it look like a four-winged creature. Scientists think it could glide or flap its wings to move between trees.21

Lived
168 to 152 million years ago6
Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
Fossils found in
Liaoning Province, China31
Length
0.34 m (1.1 ft)1
holotype specimen, probably a sub-adult or young adult
Weight
0.11 kg (0 lb)1
Height
0.16 m (0.5 ft)
estimate
Top speed
about 11 km/h (7 mph)
Running, estimate
What did Anchiornis eat?
Anchiornis was carnivorous and ate small animals like lizards and fish.

When did it live?

Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

Anchiornis about 0.34 m long (1.1 ft)A house cat about 0.5 m (1.6 ft)A dog about 1 m (3.3 ft)A bicycle about 1.8 m (5.9 ft)

How tall was it?

Anchiornisabout 0.16 m tall (0.5 ft)A house catabout 0.3 m (1 ft)A dogabout 0.5 m (1.6 ft)A horseabout 1.6 m (5.2 ft)

estimate

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 1 bananas
lighter than a house catas long as 11 toy building bricks in a rowsmall enough to walk under a chaircould run 100 metres in 33 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)

How big was Anchiornis compared to YOU?

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How fast was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Anchiornis is one of the smallest non-avian dinosaurs ever found, weighing only about 110 grams (4 ounces).1

2

It had long feathers on its feet, which gave it four wings. This helped it balance and steer while gliding.2

3

Anchiornis lived around 160 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period. That is older than Archaeopteryx, the first known bird.32

4

Its name means 'near bird' because it is very close to the ancestors of modern birds.1

5

The wrist bones of Anchiornis were already adapted for folding its wings, a feature seen in later birds.1

6

Scientists have found several Anchiornis fossils, all in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China.32

AI-madeAI-made picture of Anchiornis
An AI-made picture of how Anchiornis might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.
you asked

Most asked questions about Anchiornis

?Was Anchiornis a dinosaur?

Yes, Anchiornis was a small, feathered theropod dinosaur.4

?How big was Anchiornis?

Anchiornis was about the size of a crow, measuring up to 62 centimetres (24 inches) long and weighing between 110 grams and 1 kilogram (0.2 pounds to 2.2 pounds).4

?Could Anchiornis fly?

Anchiornis probably could not fly by flapping its wings. It may have been able to glide short distances between trees.54

?What did Anchiornis eat?

Anchiornis was carnivorous and ate small animals like lizards and fish.5

?Did Anchiornis have feathers?

Yes, Anchiornis was covered in feathers, including long feathers on its arms, legs, and tail. It even had a feathered crest on its head.4

?Why did Anchiornis have four wings?

Anchiornis had long feathers on its hind legs that looked like a second pair of wings. These probably helped with balance and steering while gliding, not for powered flight.4

?When did Anchiornis live?

Anchiornis lived during the Late Jurassic Period, about 160 million years ago.4

?Where was Anchiornis found?

Anchiornis fossils have been found only in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China.4

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Myth buster

Myth: Anchiornis is often called a bird.

Truth: Anchiornis was a non-avian dinosaur, not a bird. It is more closely related to birds than to most other dinosaurs, but it is not classified as a bird.1

For dino experts

Scientific name
Anchiornis
Named by
Xu et al. 20096
Group
Raptors
Family / clade
Troodontidae6
Classification
Theropoda > Troodontidae6
Age of the rocks
168 to 152 million years (Bathonian / Kimmeridgian)6
Rock formations
Tiaojishan6
Countries
China6
Fossil records
3 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery
Anchiornis was named in 2009 by Xu Xing and colleagues. The first fossil was found at the Yaolugou locality in Jianchang County, Liaoning, China.1
Still debated
Scientists are not sure whether Anchiornis could truly fly or just glide. Its long feathers suggest it could get airborne, but its flight muscles were small.1

Where the facts come from

  1. A new feathered maniraptoran dinosaur fossil that fills a morphological gap in avian origin (ivpp.cas.cn)
  2. A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus | Nature (nature.com)
  3. PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
  4. Anchiornis (en.wikipedia.org)
  5. Anchiornis | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
  6. Anchiornis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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