Eosinopteryx
| Eosinopteryx | |
|---|---|
| |
| Life restoration | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Anchiornithidae |
| Genus: | †Eosinopteryx Godefroit et al., 2013 |
| Type species | |
| †Eosinopteryx brevipenna Godefroit et al., 2013
| |
Eosinopteryx is an
theropod dinosaurs known to the Late Jurassic epoch of China. It contains a single species, Eosinopteryx brevipenna.[1]
Discovery and naming
E. brevipenna is known from a single fossil specimen recovered from the
type specimen, YFGP-T5197.[1]
Description
Eosinopteryx brevipenna is known from a single
Anchiornis huxleyi
, with the primary wing feathers being longer than the humerus (upper arm bone). An unusual arrangement of the wing bones would have prevented any flapping motion.
The tail was very short compared to most troodontids and
rectrices), and the lower tarsals and feet appear to have been featherless, unlike many related species with "hind wings" on the lower legs and feet.[1]
A researcher from the University of Southampton said in 2013 the discovery of Eosinopteryx suggests "that the origin of flight was much more complex than previously thought".[4]
A 2017 study describing new specimens of Anchiornis found Eosinopteryx only distinguishable from Anchiornis in the length of the tail,[5] but the tail of Eosinopteryx is incomplete,[6] rendering this distinction invalid. This led some researchers to consider Eosinopteryx a junior synonym of Anchiornis.[7]
Classification
Though initially classified as a
troodontid,[1] a more comprehensive analyses of its relationships have found it to be either a primitive paravian or an avialan.[8] In 2017 re-evaluation of the Harlem Archaeopteryx specimen, Eosinopteryx is found to be an anchiornithid.[9]
External links
- A photograph of the type specimen, published by David Evans' twitter account
- A close-up view of the skull, from the same source
