Genus
Valid Extinct

Caudipteryx

Ji et al. 1998
Etymology Queue ailée

Caudipteryx is a genus of small oviraptorosaurian dinosaurs that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous, around 124.6 million years ago. They were feathered and extremely bird-like in their overall appearance, to the point that some paleontologists suggested it was a bird. Two species have been described: C. zoui, in 1998, and C. dongi, in 2000. Caudipteryx had a stout trunk, long legs, and was probably a swift runner. Its discovery has led to many intensive studies and debate over the relationship between birds and dinosaurs.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Dinosaures
Omnivore Ground dwelling (surface) Terrestrial
Caudipteryx
click to enlarge
Caudipteryx zoui, Skelett - Untere Kreide - Liaoning/China - aufgenommen im Museum am Löwentor, Stuttgart © Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Averostra Unranked clade
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Tetanurae Unranked clade
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Coelurosauria Unranked clade
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Maniraptora Unranked clade
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Oviraptorosauria Infraorder
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Caudipteryx Genus
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
2
Geological formations
Yixian
2
Temporal distribution
Barremian (125.77–121.4 Ma)
2
Species (2)
Caudipteryx dongi 126 Ma
Caudipteryx zoui 126 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
Q. Ji, P. J. Currie, and M. A. Norell, S.-A. Ji. 1998. Two feathered dinosaurs from northeastern China. Nature 393:753-762 DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
Z.-H. Zhou and X.-L. Wang. 2000. A new species of Caudipteryx from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, northeast China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 38(2):111-127
Q. Ji and S.-A. Ji. 1997. [Protarchaeopteryx gen. nov.—a new genus of Archaeopterygidae in China]. Chinese Geology 238(3):38-41