Protarchaeopteryx

Name: Protarchaeopteryx ‭(‬Before Archaeopteryx‭)‬.
Phonetic: Prot-ar-ke-op-teh-riks.
Named By: Q.‭ ‬Ji‭ & ‬S.-A.‭ ‬Ji‭ ‬-‭ ‬1997.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Oviraptorosauria.
Species: P.‭ ‬robusta‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly estimated to have a reconstructed skeletal length of about‭ ‬80‭ ‬centimetres for the holotype individual.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and post cranial skeleton.

       Protarchaeopteryx was so named because of a superficial similarity to the genus Archaeopteryx.‭ ‬However today,‭ ‬Protarchaeopteryx is seen as a very primitive member of the Oviraptosauria,‭ ‬and one that bears a strong resemblance to the genus Incisivosaurus.‭ ‬Protarchaeopteryx was a small dinosaur,‭ ‬and one that probably specialised in hunting‭ ‬small animals like lizards and primitive mammals,‭ ‬though larger invertebrates could have also been eaten.

Further reading
-‭ [‬Protarchaeopteryx gen.‭ ‬nov.‭—‬a new genus of Archaeopterygidae in China‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Chinese Geology‭ ‬238‭(‬3‭)‬:38-41.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Ji‭ & ‬S.-A.‭ ‬Ji‭ ‬-‭ ‬1997.





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