Protarcheopteryx

Protarcheopteryx
	Graphic reconstruction of the skeleton of Protarchaeopteryx robusta
Temporal occurrence
	Lower Cretaceous (late Barremian to early Aptian )
	129.4 to 123 million years
Locations
	China , Liaoning ( Yixian Formation );
Systematics
	Theropoda
	Coelurosauria
	Maniraptora
	Oviraptoriformes
	Oviraptorosauria
	Protarcheopteryx
Scientific name
	Protarcheopteryx
	Ji & Ji , 1997
Art
	Protarcheopteryx robusta;

Protarchaeopteryx is a genus of theropod , feathered dinosaurs from the group of Oviraptorosauria from the Lower Cretaceous southern China . The only species Protarchaeopteryx robusta was first described in 1997. Protarchaeopteryx was a turkey-sized , two-legged maniraptore , which probably ate a vegetable diet or was an omnivore .

Find and naming

Protarchaeopteryx is known to have an incomplete skeleton ( holotype , catalog number GMV2125). The skull and spine are poorly preserved and the ribs are completely absent. However, the limbs and the pelvic region are completely preserved. The find comes from the approx. 128 to 121 million years old (late Barremian to early Aptian ) sedimentary rocks of the Jianshangou Beds of the Yixian Formation , a member of the Jehol group . The fossil discovered in December 1996 was found west of the village of Sihetun in the Beipiaoshi district in the Chinese province of Liaoning . The generic name Protarchaeopteryx (“first old wing”) comes from ancient Greek and is derived from protos (“first”) and Archeopteryx (arkhaios “old”, pteryx “wing”), as it was initially considered by the first to be more primitive Relative of the ancient bird Archeopteryx . The Artepitheth robusta comes from Latin and means something like “robust” or “powerful” and alludes to the strong hind legs of the animal.

features

Protarchaeopteryx , like Caudipteryx (consisting of a feather shaft and feather flag), had "real" feathers on the arms and tail end. The feathers were generally no longer than five cm, but the remaining sections of the tail feathers are up to 10 cm long - a complete tail feather would probably have been longer than 15 cm. The feathers were just like Caudipteryx , but in contrast to the feathers of birds capable of flying , symmetrical. Initially described by Ji and Ji as a close relative of the ancient bird Archeopteryx , Protarchaopteryx was subsequently mostly regarded as a feathered "non-bird dinosaur" .

According to Zhou and Hou (2002) , Protarchaeopteryx had the following skeletal features in common with higher birds:

The pubic bone rotates backwards with a confuciusornis- like pubic foot
backward facing first toe ( hallux )
Fibula reduced
Elle considerably thicker than the spoke
Metacarpal bones and phalanges of the 2nd finger enlarged compared to those of the other fingers.

Unlike Caudipteryx , but similar to Incisivosaurus , Protarchaeopteryx had an extraordinary heterodontic dentition with large straight teeth in the front part ( intermaxillary bone ) of the upper jaw and much smaller ones in the rear upper jaw ( maxillary ) and in the lower jaw .

literature

Ji Qiang, Philip J. Currie , Mark A. Norell , Ji Shu-An: Two feathered dinosaurs from northeastern China. In: Nature . Vol. 393, No. 6687, 1998, pp. 753-761, doi : 10.1038 / 31635 .
Qiang Ji, Shu'an Ji: A Chinese archeopterygian, Protarchaeopteryx gen. Nov. In: Geological Science and Technology (Di Zhi Ke Ji). Vol. 238, 1997, pp. 38-41, ( digitalisat / PDF; 42.9 kB ).
Zong-He Zhou, Lianhai Hou: The Discovery ans Study of Mesozoic Birds in China. In: Luis M. Chiappe, Lawrence M. Witmer (Eds.): Mesozoic birds. Above the heads of dinosaurs. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 2002, ISBN 0-520-20094-2 , pp. 160-183.

Individual evidence

^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , pp. 146-147, online .
↑ Michael Mortimer: Oviraptorosauria. In: The Theropod Database. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009 ; Retrieved July 30, 2014 .
↑ Ben Creisler: Dinosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; Retrieved July 30, 2014 .

[1] Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , pp. 146-147, online .

[2] Michael Mortimer: Oviraptorosauria. In: The Theropod Database. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009 ; Retrieved July 30, 2014 .

[3] Ben Creisler: Dinosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; Retrieved July 30, 2014 .