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sharp-clawed runner
Anchiornis
Say it like this: “an-kee-OR-niss”
Anchiornis huxleyi
Anchiornis ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Callovian · Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian) · roughly 165.3 to 149.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2009 · Xu, X.; Zhao, Q.; Norell, M.; Sullivan, C.; Hone, D.; Erickson, G.; Wang, X.; Han, F.; Guo, Y.
- Hip height
- 0.2 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.3–0.6 m · 1–2 ft
- Weight
- 0 kg · 0 lb
- Found in
- China · Tiaojishan
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Anchiornithidae
The story in short
Anchiornis was formally named in 2009 by X. Xu and colleagues. The name means “near bird.”
Fossils referred to Anchiornis date to the Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Callovian · Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian), roughly 165.3 to 149.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Tiaojishan Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Anchiornis at a length near 0.3–0.6 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 0 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Anchiornithidae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Aurornis
Aurornis xui
Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Callovian · Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian) · roughly 165.3 to 149.2 million years ago
Caihong
Caihong juji
Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) · roughly 161.5 to 154.8 million years ago
Eosinopteryx
Eosinopteryx brevipenna
Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Callovian · Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian) · roughly 165.3 to 149.2 million years ago