Sinornithosaurus
Sinornithosaurus was a small, feathered raptor that lived in what is now China. It looked a lot like a bird and could probably glide or flap its arms. This dinosaur helps scientists understand how birds evolved from meat-eating dinosaurs.21
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How heavy was it?
How big was Sinornithosaurus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Sinornithosaurus had feathers all over its body, like a bird.2
It is one of the earliest and most complete dromaeosaurid dinosaurs ever found.2
Its shoulder bones show it could probably flap its arms, even though it could not fly like a modern bird.2
Sinornithosaurus lived about 122 to 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous.1
It was about 2 metres (6.6 feet) long, about the size of a large turkey.1
Scientists think Sinornithosaurus is more closely related to birds than to some other dinosaurs like Troodon.2
Most asked questions about Sinornithosaurus
?How big was Sinornithosaurus?
About 1.2 metres long and weighed 3 to 5 kilograms. It was among the smallest dromaeosaurids.3
?Did Sinornithosaurus have feathers?
Yes, it had feathers all over its body and on its wings. The feathers were very similar to those of birds from the same time.31
?Could Sinornithosaurus fly?
It could probably glide for short distances after leaping from trees, but it could not fly like a modern bird. Some scientists think it was too heavy to fly.3
?Was Sinornithosaurus venomous?
Maybe. One study suggested it had a venomous bite, but another study disagreed, so scientists are not sure.3
Ask Rex about Sinornithosaurus
Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Sinornithosaurus
- Named by
- Xu et al. 19995
- Group
- Raptors
- Family / clade
- Dromaeosauridae5
- Classification
- Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae5
- Age of the rocks
- 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)5
- Rock formations
- Yixian5
- Countries
- China5
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Sinornithosaurus was named in 1999 by Xu Xing, Wang Xiaolin, and Wu Xiaochun based on a nearly complete skeleton found at Sihetun in Liaoning, China.21
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Sinornithosaurus could actually fly or just glide, and how its feathers were used.2
Where the facts come from
- Sinornithosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- A dromaeosaurid dinosaur with a filamentous integument from the Yixian Formation of China (ideas.repec.org)
- Sinornithosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Sinornithosaurus (wikipedia.nlaha.com)
- Sinornithosaurus 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.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Velociraptor
Microraptor
Deinonychus
Asiamericana
Richardoestesia
Saurornitholestes
Stegosaurus
Iguanodon
Archaeopteryx
Giganotosaurus
Baryonyx
Paronychodon