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sharp-clawed runner · Doubtful name
Protoavis
Say it like this: “PROH-to-AY-vis”
Protoavis texensis
Protoavis ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
- Named in
- 1991 · Chatterjee, S.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United States · Cooper Canyon
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Theropoda
The story in short
Protoavis was formally named in 1991 by S. Chatterjee. The name means “first bird.”
It lived in the Late Triassic (Norian), roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Cooper Canyon Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
The fossils of Protoavis 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 Theropoda, among the theropod dinosaurs.