Look up · dinosaur 1022 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner
Protarchaeopteryx
Say it like this: “PROH-tahr-kee-OP-ter-iks”
Protarchaeopteryx robusta
Protarchaeopteryx 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
- 1997 · Ji, Q.; Ji, S. A.
- Hip height
- 0.3 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.7–1 m · 2–3 ft
- Weight
- 2 kg · 4 lb
- Found in
- China · Yixian
- Food and walking
- Omnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Oviraptorosauria
The story in short
Protarchaeopteryx was formally named in 1997 by Q. Ji and S. A. Ji. The name means “before Archaeopteryx.”
Fossils referred to Protarchaeopteryx 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 Protarchaeopteryx at a length near 0.7–1 m, hips about 0.3 m high, and a body mass around 2 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Oviraptorosauria, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Avimimus
Avimimus portentosus
Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
Incisivosaurus
Incisivosaurus gauthieri
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Yuanyanglong
Yuanyanglong bainian
Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago