恐龍卡第 2016 張，共 2 027 張

Zhongornis

名字的意思： “intermediate bird”1

吃：肉肉食恐龍白堊紀早期

Zhongornis was a tiny, feathered dinosaur that lived about 125 million years ago in what is now China. It had a beak with no teeth and a short tail, making it look a bit like a bird. It is special because it helps show how some dinosaurs evolved into birds.1 2

生存年代

126 到 120 百萬年前4

白堊紀早期

化石發現地

Liaoning Province, China1 2

長度

0.08 m (0.3 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 47 公里（29 英里）

跑步, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

三疊紀

侏羅紀

白堊紀

2 億 5200 萬年前20114566，小行星撞地球

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 2.5 塊積木排成一排一樣長能在 7.7 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類要 9.6 秒）

Zhongornis 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡算算數學。什麼都不會被儲存或傳送出去。

牠有多快？

走路的人 時速約 5 公里 (3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 時速約 12 公里 (7 mph)

Zhongornis 時速約 47 公里 (29 mph)

一匹飛奔的馬 時速約 65 公里 (40 mph)

一隻獵豹 時速約 100 公里 (62 mph)

酷東西

趣味知識

Zhongornis had a beak with no teeth, unlike many other early birds.1

Its tail had only 13 vertebrae, much fewer than the 22 in Archaeopteryx, a more primitive bird-like dinosaur.1

The third finger of Zhongornis had only two bones, which is more like advanced birds than like earlier dinosaurs.1

Zhongornis is the only fossil found that seems to be intermediate between long-tailed birds like Archaeopteryx and short-tailed birds like Confuciusornis.1

The only known specimen was a juvenile, but it had already grown feathers on its hand and tail.1

Zhongornis 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Zhongornis 可能的樣子。這只是猜測：真正的動物可能長得不一樣，也沒有人知道牠真正的顏色。

你們都在問

關於 Zhongornis 最常被問的問題

?How big was Zhongornis?

It was tiny, about 8 centimeters long (roughly 3 inches).1

?Did Zhongornis have feathers?

Yes, it had feathers on its hand and tail, as shown by impressions on the fossil.1

?What did Zhongornis eat?

It was a meat-eating dinosaur, but its beak had no teeth, so it probably ate small prey or insects.1

?Is Zhongornis a bird?

Scientists disagree. Some say it is a primitive bird, while others think it is a close relative of the Scansoriopterygidae, a group of non-bird dinosaurs.1 3

迷思破解王

迷思： Zhongornis was a true bird.

真相： Zhongornis was a dinosaur, not a bird. It is a primitive member of the group that includes birds, but it is not a bird itself.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Zhongornis
命名者: Gao et al. 20084
類群: 肉食恐龍
科 / 演化支: Paraves4
分類: Theropoda4
岩石的年代: 126 到 120 百萬年 (Barremian / Aptian)4
岩層: Yixian4
國家: 中國4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆4
發現: Zhongornis was named by Gao et al. in 2008. The only specimen was donated to the Dalian Natural History Museum in China by a woman named Ms. Hao, and the species is named after her.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating whether Zhongornis is more closely related to birds with short tails or to those with long tails, because it has features of both.1