Protarchaeopteryx
Name:
Protarchaeopteryx
(Before Archaeopteryx).
Phonetic: Prot-ar-ke-op-teh-riks.
Named By: Q. Ji & S.-A. Ji - 1997.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria.
Species: P. robusta (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly estimated to have a reconstructed
skeletal length of about 80 centimetres for the holotype individual.
Known locations: China, Liaoning Province -
Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and post
cranial skeleton.
Protarchaeopteryx was so named because of a superficial similarity to the genus Archaeopteryx. However today, Protarchaeopteryx is seen as a very primitive member of the Oviraptosauria, and one that bears a strong resemblance to the genus Incisivosaurus. Protarchaeopteryx was a small dinosaur, and one that probably specialised in hunting small animals like lizards and primitive mammals, though larger invertebrates could have also been eaten.
Further reading
- [Protarchaeopteryx gen. nov.—a new genus of Archaeopterygidae
in China]. - Chinese Geology 238(3):38-41. - Q. Ji
& S.-A. Ji - 1997.
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