Scipionyx

Say it like this: “SHIH-pee-oh-nicks”

Scipionyx samniticus

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

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When: Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 1998 · Dal Sasso, C.; Signore, M.
Hip height: 0.5 m · 2 ft
Length: 2 m · 7 ft
Weight: 17 kg · 37 lb
Found in: Italy
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Compsognathidae

The story in short

Scipionyx was formally named in 1998 by C. Dal Sasso and M. Signore.

Fossils referred to Scipionyx date to the Early Cretaceous (Albian), roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from Italy. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Scipionyx at a length near 2 m, hips about 0.5 m high, and a body mass around 17 kg.

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

Close relatives

Aristosuchus

Aristosuchus pusillus

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

Beipiaognathus

Beipiaognathus jii

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

Compsognathus

Compsognathus longipes

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago