Sinornithoides

Say it like this: “sie-NOR-ni-THOI-deez”

Sinornithoides youngi

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

Quiz me on Sinornithoides

When: Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 1993 · Russell, D. A.; Dong, Z. M.
Hip height: 0.3 m · 1 ft
Length: 1–1.1 m · 3–4 ft
Weight: 3 kg · 7 lb
Found in: China · Ejinhoro
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Troodontidae

The story in short

Sinornithoides was formally named in 1993 by D. A. Russell and Z. M. Dong. The name means “chinese bird form.”

Fossils referred to Sinornithoides date to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian), roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Ejinhoro Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Sinornithoides at a length near 1–1.1 m, hips about 0.3 m high, and a body mass around 3 kg.

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

Close relatives

Almas

Almas ukhaa

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Harenadraco

Harenadraco prima

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Hesperornithoides

Hesperornithoides miessleri

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