Epidexipteryx: Research Database
Maniraptora (Theropoda) · Middle–Late Jurassic (~165–161 MYA) · Asia — China (Liaoning)
Research Note: Epidexipteryx was a small maniraptoran theropod from the Middle–Late Jurassic of Liaoning, China — known for its remarkable preservation of feather-like structures and the earliest known example of a tail bearing four ribbon-like display feathers. Its name means “display feather” — a reference to these distinctive structures. As a maniraptoran from the Jurassic of Liaoning, Epidexipteryx provides critical data on the early evolution of feathers and feather-like structures in theropod dinosaurs, and the diversity of small predatory dinosaurs in Jurassic Asia.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Zhang et al. 2012: New data on Epidexipteryx from the Jurassic of Liaoning, China
Zhang et al. 2012 in Scientific Reports provide new data on Epidexipteryx from the Middle–Late Jurassic of Liaoning, China, documenting its feather morphology and phylogenetic relationships within Maniraptora
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Confirmed | A | 2012 | Fossil | Zhang et al., Scientific Reports | Taxonomy |
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Ren et al. 2009: Additional data on Epidexipteryx and Jurassic Liaoning theropod diversity
Ren et al. 2009 provide additional anatomical data on Epidexipteryx and Jurassic Liaoning theropod diversity, expanding our understanding of maniraptoran ecology in the Jurassic of Asia
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Confirmed | B | 2009 | Fossil | Ren et al., Chinese Science Bulletin | Diversity |
Active Debate: Feather Evolution and Maniraptoran Diversification in the Jurassic
Whether Epidexipteryx represents a basal maniraptoran or a more derived member of the group is debated. Its unusual tail feathers raise questions about the function and evolution of display structures in early maniraptorans.
What We Still Do Not Know About Epidexipteryx
- Colouration: Unknown.
- Diet: Inferred from related taxa.
- Social structure: No direct evidence.
- Flight capability: Unknown.
- Precise phylogenetic position: Debated.
In Depth
Eobrontosaurus was initially described as a new species of Apatosaurus called A. yahnahpin by James Filla and Patrick Redman in 1994. However when the material was re-examined by Robert Bakker in 1998 he found that it represented a similar but more primitive sauropod dinosaur to Apatosaurus. The second species of Apatosaurus, A. excelsus, originally went by the name of Brontosaurus excelsus until it was declared to be a synonym to the earlier Apatosaurus by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903. This is a clearly definable species to the Apatosaurus type species of A. ajax, and in the 1990s Bakker suggested that A. excelsus is different enough to resurrect Brontosaurus as its own genus, although this was largely refuted by other palaeontologists and to this day Brontosaurus is still a synonym to Apatosaurus. This is in part why Bakkar chose the name Eobrontosaurus instead of Eoapatosaurus, although it does also help prevent confusion with the Apatosaurus genus.
Suggestions have been made that Eobrontosaurus may actually be a specimen of Camarasaurus, although most palaeontologists do not accept this idea.
Further Reading
– Apatosaurus yahnahpin: a preliminary description of a new species of diplodocid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation (Kimmeridgian-Portlandian) and Cloverly Formation (Aptian-Albian) of the western United States. – M�moires de la Soci�t� G�ologique de France (Nouvelle S�rie) 139 (Ecosyst�mes Continentaux du M�sozoique): 87-93. – J. A. Filla & P. D. Redman – 1994. – Dinosaur mid-life crisis: the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition in Wyoming and Colorado. – Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14:67-77 – R. T. Bakker – 1998.
