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sharp-clawed runner · Doubtful name
Palaeopteryx
Say it like this: “pay-lee-oh-TERR-iks”
Palaeopteryx thomsoni
Palaeopteryx ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1981 · Jensen, J. A.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Maniraptora
The story in short
Palaeopteryx was formally named in 1981 by J. A. Jensen. The name means “ancient wing.”
Fossils referred to Palaeopteryx date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
The fossils of Palaeopteryx are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
On the family tree it sits in Maniraptora, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Archaeornithoides
Archaeornithoides deinosauriscus
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Bradycneme
Bradycneme draculae
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Elopteryx
Elopteryx nopcsai
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago