Protarchaeopteryx
Protarchaeopteryx was a turkey-sized dinosaur covered in feathers, but it could not fly. It lived in China about 124 million years ago and was probably a fast runner.1
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Fun facts
Protarchaeopteryx had long, vaned feathers on its tail, but because the feathers were symmetrical, scientists think it could not fly.1
Its bones were hollow like a bird's, and it had a wishbone.1
It had three fingers with sharp, curved claws on each hand.1
Some scientists think it might have climbed trees and used its feathered arms to parachute down.1
Its name means 'before Archaeopteryx', but it actually lived later than Archaeopteryx, in the Cretaceous period.1
The only known skeleton is a partial one, kept at the Geological Museum of China.1
Most asked questions about Protarchaeopteryx
?How big was Protarchaeopteryx?
It was about 1 metre (3.3 ft) long, or possibly as small as 0.7 metres (2.3 ft), and weighed around 1.6 kilograms (3.5 lb). That's about the size of a turkey.1
?Could Protarchaeopteryx fly?
No, it could not fly. Its tail feathers were symmetrical, like those of modern flightless birds, and its skeleton could not support flapping flight.13
?What did Protarchaeopteryx eat?
It was probably a herbivore or omnivore, though its hands looked like those of small meat-eating dinosaurs.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Because it had feathers, some people think Protarchaeopteryx could fly like a bird.
Truth: Its feathers were symmetrical and its body was too heavy for flapping flight, so scientists believe it was flightless.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Protarchaeopteryx
- Named by
- Ji and Ji 19974
- Group
- Odd feathered dinos
- Family / clade
- Oviraptorosauria4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)4
- Rock formations
- Yixian4
- Countries
- China4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Protarchaeopteryx was named by Ji Qiang and Ji Shu-An in 1997, based on a partial skeleton found in Liaoning, China.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly where Protarchaeopteryx fits in the dinosaur family tree. Some think it is an early oviraptorosaur, while others think it is closer to birds.1
Where the facts come from
- Protarchaeopteryx (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- enchantedlearning.com (enchantedlearning.com)
- Protarchaeopteryx in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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Therizinosaurus
Oviraptor
Chirostenotes
Citipes
Leptorhynchos
Avimimus
Stegosaurus
Iguanodon
Archaeopteryx
Giganotosaurus
Microraptor
Deinonychus