Open Paleo

Protarchaeopteryx

Ji & Ji, 1997 PROH-tahr-kee-OP-ter-iks

From Greek protos (before) and the genus name Archaeopteryx; meaning "before Archaeopteryx".

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

Protarchaeopteryx is a genus of turkey-sized feathered theropod dinosaur from China. Known from the Jianshangou bed of the Yixian Formation, it lived during the early Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 124.6 million years ago. It was probably a herbivore 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, closely related to Incisivosaurus, or a taxon slightly less closely related to birds than oviraptorosaurs were.

Under dispute

Protarchaeopteryx is generally recovered among the basalmost oviraptorosaurs (Senter and colleagues, 2004; Cau, 2018), but its position at the base of Pennaraptora is labile: Hartman and colleagues (2019) recovered it just outside Oviraptorosauria, as the sister group of Pennaraptora, only two steps from a basal oviraptorosaur position. It is placed conservatively as a basal oviraptorosaur.

Diagnosis

  1. Claviform and unserrated dentition
  2. Sternum thin and flat
  3. Tail long with approximately 30 caudal vertebrae
  4. Forelimb resembles Archaeopteryx with three talons, second enlarged
  5. Ilium large and elongated
  6. Pubes robust and distally fused
  7. Hind limb long and robust with digit I reduced and dorsally migrated
  8. Forelimb/hind limb index 0.7
  9. Proximal metatarsals unfused
  10. Torso feathers 50 mm with short robust shafts
  11. Tail fan extremely well developed with feathers to 150 mm and slender gracile barbs

Species

Protarchaeopteryx robusta Ji & Ji, 1997

Type species

From Latin 'robusta' meaning 'robust' or 'strong', referring to the sturdy build of the animal.

Holotype
NGMC 2125 , National Geological Museum of China
Material
Incomplete skeleton
Horizon
Anjiagou Bed, Jianshangou Member, Yixian Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
west of the village of Sihetun, Liaoning, China

References

  1. Ji, Q.; Ji, S. A. (1997). [Protarchaeopteryx gen. nov.-a new genus of Archaeopterygidae in China]. Chinese Geology 238(3): 38-41. ji1997a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

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

    jones2026c
  3. Cau, A. (2018). The assembly of the avian body plan: a 160-million-year long process. Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 57(1): 1-25. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2018.01

    Recovered Protarchaeopteryx near the base of Pennaraptora.

    cau2018a
  4. Hartman, S.; Mortimer, M.; Wahl, W. R.; Lomax, D. R.; Lippincott, J.; Lovelace, D. M. (2019). A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. PeerJ 7: e7247. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247

    New paravian description's phylogeny placed Protarchaeopteryx just outside Oviraptorosauria.

    hartman2019a
  5. Senter, P.; Barsbold, R.; Britt, B. B.; Burnham, D. A. (2004). Systematics and evolution of Dromaeosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda). Bulletin of the Gunma Museum of Natural History 8: 1-20.

    Dromaeosaurid systematics study recovered Protarchaeopteryx among the basalmost oviraptorosaurs.

    senter2004a