
Dinosaur profile
Protarchaeopteryx
Pronunciation
Prot-ar-ke-op-teh-riks
Before Archaeopteryx
Small Theropod
2 meters long
Early Cretaceous
122-120 million years ago
China
DietCarnivore
About Protarchaeopteryx
Protarchaeopteryx is a extinct genus of coppensochoerid paravian dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period in what is now China. It was a small, feathered animal with a long tail and wings that were too small to allow it to fly. Protarchaeopteryx had a number of primitive features, including long arms and fingers with clawed fingers, and a hand that was more similar to that of a bird than a dinosaur. It is thought to be closely related to the more advanced bird-like dinosaurs known as the avialans. Protarchaeopteryx is known from a single well-preserved specimen that includes a complete skeleton and impressions of feathers.
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