Sinocalliopteryx

Say it like this: “sie-no-kall-ee-op-ter-iks”

Sinocalliopteryx gigas

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

Quiz me on Sinocalliopteryx

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2007 · Ji, S.; Ji, Q.; Lü, J.; Yuan, C.
Hip height: 0.6 m · 2 ft
Length: 2.4 m · 8 ft
Weight: 21 kg · 46 lb
Found in: China · Yixian
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Compsognathidae

The story in short

Sinocalliopteryx was formally named in 2007 by S. Ji and colleagues. The name means “chinese beautiful feather.”

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Yixian Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Sinocalliopteryx at a length near 2.4 m, hips about 0.6 m high, and a body mass around 21 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