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sharp-clawed runner
Caudipteryx
Say it like this: “kaw-DIP-ter-iks”
Caudipteryx zoui
Caudipteryx ate plants and meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
- Named in
- 1998 · Qiang, J.; Currie, P. J.; Norell, M. A.; Shu-An, J.
- Hip height
- 0.3 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.7–0.9 m · 2–3 ft
- Weight
- 5 kg · 11 lb
- Found in
- China · Yixian
- Food and walking
- Omnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Caudipterygidae
The story in short
Caudipteryx was formally named in 1998 by J. Qiang and colleagues. The name means “tail feather.”
Fossils referred to Caudipteryx date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Yixian Formation. It was an omnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Caudipteryx at a length near 0.7–0.9 m, hips about 0.3 m high, and a body mass around 5 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Caudipterygidae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
This entry is the whole genus. The type species is Caudipteryx zoui. Other named species include Caudipteryx dongi.
Other species with this name
- Caudipteryx zoui
- Caudipteryx dongi