Open Paleo

Caudipteryx

Ji et al., 1998 kaw-DIP-ter-iks

From Latin cauda ('tail') + Greek pteryx ('feather' or 'wing'), meaning 'tail feather'.

125.8–121.4 million years ago Barremian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Caudipteryx is a genus of small oviraptorosaurian dinosaurs that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous, around 124.6 million years ago. They were feathered and extremely bird-like in their overall appearance, to the point that some paleontologists suggested it was a bird. Two species have been described: C. zoui (the type species), in 1998, and C. dongi, in 2000. Caudipteryx had a stout trunk, long legs, and was probably a swift runner. Its discovery has led to many intensive studies and debate over the relationship between birds and dinosaurs.

Diagnosis

  1. Elongate, hooked premaxillary teeth with broad roots; maxilla and dentary edentulous.
  2. Tail short, comprising approximately 22 vertebrae and equal to about one-quarter of total body length.
  3. Arm long relative to other non-avian theropods; hindlimb-to-forelimb ratio approximately 2.5.
  4. Short manual unguals, less than 70% the length of the penultimate phalanx.
  5. Remiges attached to second digit (second metacarpal, phalanx II-1, and base of phalanx II-2), with symmetrical vanes.

Species (2)

Caudipteryx zoui Ji et al., 1998

Type species

Named for Zou Jiahua for prominent support to the scientific community as the vice premier of China.

Holotype
NGMC 97-4-A , National Geological Museum of China
Material
An articulated, largely complete skeleton with skull and a 22-vertebra tail, with remiges on the second digit, tail rectrices, downy body feathers, and gastroliths
Horizon
Anjiagou Bed, Jianshangou Member, Yixian Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
Sihetun, Liaoning, China

Caudipteryx dongi Zhou & Wang, 2000

Honors the Chinese paleontologist Dong Zhiming.

Holotype
IVPP V12344 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Incomplete individual lacking the skull, with nearly complete forelimbs, pelvis, and hindlimbs, plus vertebral column, sternum, ribs, gastralia, gastroliths, and extensive feather impressions.
Horizon
Yixian Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
Zhangjiagou, Liaoning, China
Diagnosis
  1. Sternum small, with a femur-to-sternum length ratio of about 6.0 (about 4.1 in C. zoui)
  2. Metacarpal I relatively long compared to metacarpal II, with a ratio of about 0.45 (about 0.40 in C. zoui)
  3. Ischium relatively short
  4. Ilium relatively long

Notable specimens

  • BPM 0001

    Beipiao Paleontological Museum complementary

    Referred specimen preserving a nearly complete skull, an element poorly known in the type material, along with feather impressions; described by Zhou and colleagues in 2000.

    Zhou et al. (2000)

  • IVPP V12430

    Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology exceptional preservation

    Referred specimen preserving a nearly complete skull and feather impressions; further analysis revealed preservation of a propatagium on its left arm. Referred only to Caudipteryx sp.

    Zhou et al. (2000)Uno & Hirasawa (2023)

  • STM4-3

    Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature exceptional preservation

    Articulated individual lacking the skull and tail tip, preserving abundant integument, gastroliths, and a cartilage fragment reported to preserve chondrocytes. Collected from the Yixian Formation at Dapingfang Town near Chaoyang, west Liaoning.

    Zheng et al. (2021)

References

  1. Ji, Q.; Currie, P. J.; Norell, M. A.; Ji, S. A. (1998). Two feathered dinosaurs from northeastern China. Nature 393(6687): 753-761. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/31635 ji1998a
  2. Wang, Y.; Olsen, P. E.; Sha, J.; Yao, X.; Liao, H.; Pan, Y.; Kinney, S.; Zhang, X.; Rao, X. (2016). Stratigraphy, correlation, depositional environments, and cyclicity of the Early Cretaceous Yixian and ?Jurassic-Cretaceous Tuchengzi formations in the Sihetun area (NE China) based on three continuous cores. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Elsevier BV.

    Treats the Chaomidianzi Formation as a junior synonym of the Jianshangou Member of the Yixian, and proposes the Anjiagou Bed in place of Jiulongsong.

    wang2016a
  3. Zhou, Z.; Wang, X.; Zhang, F.; Xu, X. (2000). Important features of Caudipteryx - Evidence from two nearly complete new specimens. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 38(4): 241-254. zhou2000a
  4. Uno, Y.; Hirasawa, T. (2023). Origin of the propatagium in non-avian dinosaurs. Zoological Letters 9(4): 4. doi:10.1186/s40851-023-00204-x uno2023a
  5. Zheng, X.; Bailleul, A. M.; Li, Z.; Zhou, Z. (2021). Nuclear preservation in the cartilage of the Jehol dinosaur Caudipteryx. Communications Biology 4(1125): 1125. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02627-8 zheng2021a
  6. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

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

    jones2026c
  7. Zhou, Z.; Wang, X. (2000). A new species of Caudipteryx from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, northeast China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 38(2): 111-127. zhou2000b