''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 (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

''" although it is from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

and ''Archaeopteryx'' is from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

-sized feathered

theropod Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...

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

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.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 Romanization of Chinese, transcribed as Yihsien Formation or Yixiang Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. I ...

, it lived during the early

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

age of the Early Cretaceous, 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 evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

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 (geology), Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot-like s ...

, 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 (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

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 the furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone, Wish bone or Wish Bone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment brand * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in Ame ...

. 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 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 (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

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 ...

, 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. Ansón, Fernández & Ramos (2015) pp. 28–34. Works of paleoart may be represen ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131778 Oviraptorosauria Dinosaur genera Barremian dinosaurs Yixian Formation Fossil taxa described in 1997 Dinosaurs of China Feathered dinosaurs

Description

See also

References

External links