Similicaudipteryx
Similicaudipteryx was a small, feathered dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It looked a bit like a bird and had a special tail bone that helped support long tail feathers.1
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Fun facts
Similicaudipteryx had a dagger-shaped pygostyle, a bone at the end of its tail that helped anchor long tail feathers.1
It was bigger than its close relative Caudipteryx, but still only about 1 meter long.1
The first fossil of Similicaudipteryx was found in the Jiufotang Formation, which is about 120 million years old.1
Its pubic bone was very long compared to its ilium, which is a unique feature among its relatives.1
Scientists think Similicaudipteryx had feathers even though the first fossil didn't show them, because of its pygostyle.1
Two other fossils that were thought to be Similicaudipteryx might actually belong to a different dinosaur called Incisivosaurus.1
Most asked questions about Similicaudipteryx
?How big was Similicaudipteryx?
About 1 metre (3.3 feet) long and weighed about 7 kilograms (15 pounds).1
?Did Similicaudipteryx have feathers?
Yes, it had feathers. The first fossil didn't show them, but scientists think it had feathers because of its pygostyle, a bone that anchors tail feathers.1
?What did Similicaudipteryx eat?
The sources don't say exactly what it ate, but it was an oviraptorosaur, a group that likely ate plants or small animals.1
?When did Similicaudipteryx live?
It lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, about 120 million years ago.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Similicaudipteryx
- Named by
- He et al. 20082
- Group
- Odd feathered dinos
- Family / clade
- Caudipterygidae2
- Classification
- Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria2
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)2
- Rock formations
- Jiufotang2
- Countries
- China2
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
- Discovery
- Similicaudipteryx was named in 2008 by He Tao, Wang Xiaolin, and Zhou Zhonghe. The first fossil was found in Liaoning, China, in the Jiufotang Formation.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if two fossils with feathers belong to Similicaudipteryx or to another dinosaur called Incisivosaurus.1
Where the facts come from
- Similicaudipteryx (en.wikipedia.org)
- Similicaudipteryx in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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