Similicaudipteryx

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Similicaudipteryx
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Restored holotype skeleton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Caudipteridae
Genus: †Similicaudipteryx
He et al., 2008
Species:
†S. yixianensis
Binomial name
†Similicaudipteryx yixianensis
He et al., 2008

Similicaudipteryx, meaning "similar to

theropod dinosaur of the family Caudipteridae
.

Discovery and naming

In 2007 the find of a new caudipterid was reported.

He Tao, Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zonghe. The generic name, derived from Latin similis, "resembling", refers to its similarity to the closely related Caudipteryx. The specific name refers to its provenance from Yixian County.[2]
Presently, S. yixianensis is the only species named in the genus.

The

Cretaceous Period middle Aptian stage, about 120 million years ago or perhaps early Albian stage, about 112 million years old. It consists of a nearly complete skeleton of an adult individual compressed on a plate, that however lacks the skull, the front neck and the hands.[2]

In 2010, two additional specimens with extensive feather preservation were referred to Similicaudipteryx, one of a juvenile, STM4-1, and the other of a much larger juvenile, STM22-6. Both were reported as found in the

Incisivosaurus gauthieri.[4]

In 2010 Gregory S. Paul renamed the species to Caudipteryx yixianensis,[5] but this has found no acceptance.

Description

Similicaudipteryx was a small oviraptorosaur similar to, but larger than, the perhaps closely related Caudipteryx. Paul in 2010 estimated the length at one metre, the weight at seven kilogrammes.

pubic bone was exceptionally long relative to the ilium. The only other oviraptorosaur reported to have a pygostyle is Nomingia, though the feature is widespread in more advanced birds and appears to have evolved at least twice.[2]

The holotype specimen lacks traces of feathers, but He and colleagues speculated that they were probably present based on its pygostyle, the anchor point of long tail feathers (rectrices) in modern birds.[2]

Phylogeny

Similicaudipteryx was by its describers assigned to the

cladistic analysis of its position was not performed.[2]

See also

References

  1. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2006.07.003
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e He, T., Wang, X.-L., and Zhou, Z.-H. (2008). "A new genus and species of caudipterid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 46 (3): 178–189. Retrieved 20 October 2012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. S2CID 205220207.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  4. ISSN 2509-6745
    .
  5. ^ a b Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 149
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Similicaudipteryx&oldid=1197424607"