Dino card No. 0754 of 2,027

Gretcheniao

Say it: GRECH-en-ee-ow

Name means: “Gretchen's bird”3 1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Gretcheniao was a small, feathered bird that lived about 125 million years ago in what is now China. It had strong teeth and sharp claws, and it probably hunted for food on the ground. This bird could fly, but not for very long distances!3 2

Lived

126 to 120 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Fossils were found in the Yixian Formation, near Huludao City in Liaoning Province, China.3 1

Food

Meat3 1

Length

0.3 to 0.5 m1

estimated from medium-sized bird, about the size of a lapwing or magpie

Weight

0.19 kg to 0.282 kg1

estimated body mass from flight performance model

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 2.5 bananas

as long as 3 bananas end to endlighter than a house cat

How big was Gretcheniao compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Gretcheniao had a very long hand bone called a carpometacarpus, the longest of any of its relatives, even though its upper arm bone was only the third largest.1

Its breastbone had special projections that pointed backward and to the sides, which helped support its flight muscles.1

Gretcheniao's toes had long, curved claws, perfect for grabbing onto branches or prey.1

Scientists think Gretcheniao flew by flapping its wings continuously, but it could not fly for long distances, similar to modern chickens or quails.2 1

The fossil of Gretcheniao was so well preserved that some of its feathers left dark marks on the rock, especially around its neck and wing.1

Gretcheniao had a strong beak and thick lower jaw, which helped it bite into tough food.1

AI-made picture of Gretcheniao — An AI-made picture of how Gretcheniao 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.

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Gretcheniao was a dinosaur like T. rex, but it was actually a bird.

Truth: Gretcheniao was a type of bird called an enantiornithine, which is a group of ancient birds that lived alongside dinosaurs. Birds are related to dinosaurs, but they are not the same as the giant meat-eaters.3 1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Gretcheniao
Named by: Chiappe et al. 20193
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Enantiornithes3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)3
Rock formations: Yixian3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Gretcheniao was named in 2019 by scientists studying a nearly complete skeleton found in China. The fossil was named after Mrs. Gretchen Augustyn, who supported the Dinosaur Institute, and 'sinensis' means 'from China'.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating how Gretcheniao and its close relatives are related to each other. Some think they all belong to one group, but others think they evolved separately.2 1

Where the facts come from

New Bohaiornis-like bird from the Early Cretaceous of China: enantiornithine interrelationships and flight performance (dinodata.de)
New Bohaiornis -like bird from the Early Cretaceous of China: enantiornithine interrelationships and flight performance (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Gretcheniao 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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