''Protarchaeopteryx'' (meaning "before ''

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

''") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

-sized feathered

theropod Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

.Ji, Q., and Ji, S. (1997). "Protarchaeopterygid bird (''Protarchaeopteryx'' gen. nov.) – fossil remains of archaeopterygids from China." ''Chinese Geology'', 238: 38–41. Known from the Jianshangou bed of the

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its ex ...

, it lived during the early

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

age of the Early

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

, approximately 124.6 million years ago.Zhou, Z. (2006). "Evolutionary radiation of the Jehol Biota: chronological and ecological perspectives." ''Geological Journal'', 41: 377–393. It was probably a

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

or omnivore, although its hands were very similar to those of small carnivorous dinosaurs. It appears to be one of the most basal members of the

Oviraptorosauria Oviraptorosaurs ("egg thief lizards") are a group of feathered maniraptoran dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot-like skulls, with or wit ...

, closely related to ''

Incisivosaurus ''Incisivosaurus'' ("incisor lizard") is a genus of small, probably herbivorous theropod dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous Period of what is now the People's Republic of China. The first specimen to be described (by Xu ''et al.'' in 2002), IVPP ...

'', or a taxon slightly less closely related to birds than oviraptorosaurs were.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

and only known specimen of ''Protarchaeopteryx'' is NGMC 2125, a partial skeleton. ''Protarchaeopteryx'' had long legs, and could have been a quick runner. It had well-developed, vaned feathers extended from a relatively short tail; the hands were long and slender, and had three fingers with sharp, curved claws. Its bones were hollow and bird-like, and it possessed a

wishbone Wishbone commonly refers to: * Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football * Wish ...

. At around in length, it would have been larger than ''Archaeopteryx''. In 2016, Gregory S. Paul gave a lower estimate of in length and in body mass. ''Protarchaeopteryx'' also had symmetrical feathers on its tail. Since modern birds that have symmetrical feathers are flightless, and the skeletal structure of ''Protarchaeopteryx'' would not support flapping flight, it is assumed that it was flightless as well.Ji, Q., and Ji, S. (1997). "A Chinese archaeopterygian, ''Protarchaeopteryx'' gen. nov." ''Geological Science and Technology (Di Zhi Ke Ji)'', 238: 38–41. Translated By Will Downs Bilby Research Center Northern Arizona University January, 2001 It has been suggested that it could have had an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

lifestyle, jumping from tree limbs and using its forelimbs for a form of parachuting. Currie, P.J. (2004), ''Feathered dragons: studies on the transition from dinosaurs to birds'',

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, p. 184, plate 16.

References

External links

Diagram showing known pieces after ''Protarchaeopteryx''
*

Life restoration Paleoart (also spelled palaeoart, paleo-art, or paleo art) is any original artistic work that attempts to depict prehistoric life according to scientific evidence. Works of paleoart may be representations of fossil remains or imagined depiction ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131778 Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Feathered dinosaurs Oviraptorosaurs Fossil taxa described in 1997 Yixian fauna

Description

See also

References

External links