Open Paleo

Ambopteryx

Wang et al., 2019 am-BOH-tuh-riks

From Latin 'ambo' meaning 'both' and Greek 'pteryx' meaning 'wing'; meaning 'both wing', referring to the animal's membranous wings and bird-like body plan

165.3–161.5 million years ago Callovian, Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic stages

Ambopteryx is a genus of scansoriopterygid dinosaur from China. It is the second dinosaur to be found with both feathers and bat-like membranous wings. Yi, the first such dinosaur, was described in 2015 and is the sister taxon to Ambopteryx. The holotype specimen is thought to be a sub-adult or adult. The specimen is estimated to have had a body length of 32 centimeters (13 in) and a weight of 306 grams (10.8 oz). The genus includes one species, Ambopteryx longibrachium.

Diagnosis

  1. Ulna substantially wider (approximately 2×) than radius
  2. Short tail that lacks a transition point and ends in a fused pygostyle
  3. Elongate forelimb approximately 1.3× longer than the hindlimb
  4. Straight, rod-like postacetabular process of ilium
  5. Tibia shorter than humerus

Species

Ambopteryx longibrachium Wang et al., 2019

Type species

From Latin words 'longus' meaning 'long' and 'brachium' meaning 'upper arm', a reference to the elongated forelimbs of this dinosaur.

Holotype
IVPP V24192 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Articulated and nearly complete skeleton with associated soft tissue preserved on a slab and counter slab
Horizon
Haifanggou Formation, Callovian, Middle Jurassic , 165.3–161.5 million years ago
Locality
Wubaiding Village, Liaoning, China Wang and colleagues (2019) give "Oxfordian stage, 163 million years ago" for the horizon, from an unpublished date on a tuff below the bed; 163 Ma is Callovian on the current chart, and the same paper reports the Wubaiding salamander beds as Callovian.

References

  1. Wang, M.; O'Connor, J. K.; Xu, X.; Zhou, Z. (2019). A new Jurassic scansoriopterygid and the loss of membranous wings in theropod dinosaurs. Nature 569(7755): 256-259. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1137-z wang2019a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length and mass estimates.

    paul2024a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c