
Dinosaur profile
Sinosauropteryx
Pronunciation
Sigh-no-sore-op-eh-ryx
Chinese lizard wing
Small Theropod
1 meter long
Early Cretaceous
122-120 million years ago
China
DietCarnivore
About Sinosauropteryx
Sinosauropteryx is a small, feathered dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now China. It is classified as a theropod, a group of bipedal dinosaurs that includes well-known species such as Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus. Sinosauropteryx was relatively small, measuring about 3 meters (10 feet) in length and weighing around 10 kilograms (22 pounds). It had a long, low skull with a row of bony protuberances running down its neck, a characteristic shared with other feathered dinosaurs. It had long, curved claws on its hands and feet, which it may have used for grasping prey or climbing trees. Sinosauropteryx is known for its well-preserved fossil specimens, which show that it was covered in feathers, making it one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered with this feature.
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