Microraptor

Say it like this: “MIE-kro-RAP-tor”

Microraptor zhaoianus

Microraptor ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Microraptor

When: Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago
Named in: 2000 · Xu, X.; Zhou, Z.; Wang, X.
Hip height: 0.2 m · 1 ft
Length: 0.8–0.9 m · 3–3 ft
Weight: 1–2 kg · 2–4 lb
Found in: China · Jiufotang
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Microraptorinae

The story in short

In 2000, X. Xu and colleagues published the name Microraptor. The name means “small thief.”

Fossils referred to Microraptor date to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian), roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Jiufotang Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Microraptor at a length near 0.8–0.9 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 1–2 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Microraptorinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Changyuraptor

Changyuraptor yangi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Graciliraptor

Graciliraptor lujiatunensis

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Hesperonychus

Hesperonychus elizabethae

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago