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sharp-clawed runner
Jinfengopteryx
Say it like this: “jin-feng-OP-tuh-rix”
Jinfengopteryx elegans
Jinfengopteryx ate 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
- 2005 · Ji, Q.; Ji, S. A.; Lü, J. C.; You, H. L.; Chen, W.; Liu, Y. Q.; Liu, Y. X.
- Hip height
- 0.2 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.6 m · 2 ft
- Weight
- 0 kg · 1 lb
- Found in
- China · Huajiying
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Jinfengopteryginae
The story in short
In 2005, Q. Ji and colleagues published the name Jinfengopteryx. The name means “golden phoenix feather.”
Fossils referred to Jinfengopteryx date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Huajiying Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Jinfengopteryx at a length near 0.6 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 0 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Jinfengopteryginae, among the theropod dinosaurs.