Changzhousaurus
Changzhousaurus was a tiny, feathered dinosaur that lived about 120 million years ago in what is now China. It had big wings on its arms, smaller wings on its legs, and a fan of long tail feathers, kind of like a peacock. This little hunter is a close cousin of Velociraptor and Microraptor.12
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Fun facts
Changzhousaurus is the only known early bird relative that had both large foot feathers and very long tail feathers at the same time.32
It had about 16 long tail feathers, which were about four times as long as its thigh bone, and they fanned out like a peacock's tail.32
Even though its arm bones were short, its wing feathers were the largest ever seen on a dinosaur that wasn't a bird, compared to its body size.3
The fossil is so well preserved that you can see clear imprints of feathers all around its skeleton.2
Most asked questions about Changzhousaurus
?How big was Changzhousaurus?
It was very small, about 34 centimeters (13 inches) long from snout to tail tip. That is about the size of a crow.1
?Did Changzhousaurus have feathers?
Yes, it had feathers all over its body. It had large wing feathers on its arms, smaller wing feathers on its legs, and a fan of long tail feathers similar to a peacock.1
?What did Changzhousaurus eat?
It was a meat-eating theropod dinosaur. It had sharp, curved claws and teeth with serrations on some of them to help catch and eat small prey.1
?Could Changzhousaurus fly?
Scientists are not sure. It had large feathered wings, but its arm bones were short, so it may have glided or used its wings for other purposes like display.4
?When did Changzhousaurus live?
It lived about 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. Its fossils were found in the Jiufotang Formation in China.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Changzhousaurus could fly like a modern bird because of its big wings.
Truth: Scientists think it was a four-winged dinosaur that likely glided or parachuted from trees, not a true flier. Its exact flying ability is still being studied.3
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Changzhousaurus
- Named by
- Xu 20265
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Paraves5
- Classification
- Theropoda5
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)5
- Rock formations
- Jiufotang5
- Countries
- China5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- The fossil was found in the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning, China, and was named by Xu Xing in 2026. The name honors the city of Changzhou and China, where it was found.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly where Changzhousaurus fits in the dinosaur family tree, because it has features of several different groups like troodontids, dromaeosaurids, and early birds.1
Where the facts come from
- Changzhousaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Chinese Scientists Discover New Feathered Dinosaur Species----Chinese Academy of Sciences (english.cas.cn)
- Advanced online publication (dinosaurier-info.de)
- Advanced online publication - Dinodata.de (dinodata.de)
- Changzhousaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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