Caudipteridae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 w ...

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 ...

s known from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pr ...

of China. Found in the Yixian and

Jiufotang Formation The Jiufotang Formation ( Chinese: 九佛堂组, pinyin: ''jiǔfótáng zǔ'') is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms (see ...

s, the group existed between 125 and 120 million years ago. Distinguishing characteristics of this group have been indicated as including a unique dagger-shaped

pygostyle Pygostyle describes a skeletal condition in which the final few caudal vertebrae are fused into a single ossification, supporting the tail feathers and musculature. In modern birds, the rectrices attach to these. The pygostyle is the main compo ...

(the bone at the tip of the tail in birds, used to anchor a "fan" of feathers).He, T., Wang, X.-L., and Zhou, Z.-H. (2008). "A new genus and species of caudipterid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China. The anatomical characteristics Caudipterids were highly uniform for most oviraptorians. of " ''Vertebrata PalAsiatica'', 46(3): 178-189. In 2015, the group was defined as "the most inclusive clade containing '' Caudipteryx zoui'' but not ''

Oviraptor philoceratops ''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman ...

'' and ''

Caenagnathus collinsi ''Caenagnathus'' ('recent jaw') is a genus of caenagnathid oviraptorosaurian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage; ~75 million years ago). It is known from partial remains including lower jaws, a tail vertebra, hand bone ...

''". The first caudipterid described was ''Caudipteryx zoui'' (named in 1998),Ji, Q., Currie, P.J., Norell, M.A., and Ji, S. (1998). "Two feathered dinosaurs from northeastern China." ''Nature'', 393(6687): 753–761
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though the family itself was not named until the discovery of a second species, '' Caudipteryx dongi'', in 2000.Zhou, Z., and Wang, X. (2000). "A new species of ''Caudipteryx'' from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, northeast China." ''Vertebrata PalAsiatica'', 38(2): 113–130
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Caudipteridae was restricted to the single genus ''Caudipteryx'' and was therefore monotypic, containing only a single type and often considered redundant. However, in 2008 '' Similicaudipteryx yixianensis'' was described and classified as a caudipterid.

References

Oviraptorosaurs Prehistoric dinosaur families {{Theropod-stub

See also

References