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Fukuipteryx

Say it: foo-kwee-PTER-iks

Name means: “Fukui wing, the first”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Fukuipteryx was a tiny, pigeon‑sized bird that lived in Japan about 120 million years ago. It had a short tail with a special bone called a pygostyle, and its wings were built for flying. This little bird is one of the oldest birds ever found outside of China.1 2

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry near Katsuyama, Fukui Prefecture, Japan1 4

Food

Meat4

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Fukuipteryx is one of the most primitive birds known, even more primitive than Jeholornis from China.1

Its skeleton was found in three dimensions, not squashed flat like most other early bird fossils.1 2

The fossil was a young bird, not fully grown, which scientists could tell by looking at its bones under a microscope.1 2

Fukuipteryx had a strong, paddle‑shaped pygostyle at the end of its tail, which helped it steer in the air.1

It lived in a warm, lowland environment with rivers, very different from the volcanic lakes where most early birds are found.2

AI-made picture of Fukuipteryx — An AI-made picture of how Fukuipteryx 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 Fukuipteryx

?How big was Fukuipteryx?

It was about the size of a modern pigeon. The fossil was a subadult, so it was nearly full-grown when it died.3 1

?When did Fukuipteryx live?

It lived about 120 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.3 1

?Where was Fukuipteryx found?

It was found in the Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry in Katsuyama, Fukui, Japan.3 1

?Could Fukuipteryx fly?

Yes, its wings were built for flying. It had a strong, paddle-shaped pygostyle at the end of its tail to help steer in the air.1 3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Fukuipteryx
Named by: Imai et al. 20194
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Avialae4
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae4
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
Rock formations: Kitadani4
Countries: Japan4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The first skeleton of Fukuipteryx was collected in 2013 in Katsuyama, Japan. Scientists led by Takuya Imai named it in 2019.1 4
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly where Fukuipteryx fits on the bird family tree. Some features make it look very primitive, but it also has a pygostyle, which is usually found in more advanced birds.1 2

Where the facts come from

An unusual bird (Theropoda, Avialae) from the Early Cretaceous of Japan suggests complex evolutionary history of basal birds | Communications Biology (nature.com)
An unusual bird (Theropoda, Avialae) from the Early Cretaceous of Japan suggests complex evolutionary history of basal birds (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Fukuipteryx (en.wikipedia.org)
Fukuipteryx 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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