Eosinopteryx
| Eosinopteryx Temporal range: Late Jurassic
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Anchiornithidae |
| Genus: | †Eosinopteryx Godefroit et al., 2013 |
| Type species | |
| †Eosinopteryx brevipenna Godefroit et al., 2013
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Eosinopteryx is an extinct genus of paravian theropod dinosaur known from the Late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of western Liaoning Province, China. It contains a single species, Eosinopteryx brevipenna.[1] It was either a basal troodontid[1] or a basal paravian that did not belong to the least inclusive clade containing dromaeosaurids and birds.[2]
Description
Eosinopteryx brevipenna is known from a single fossil specimen representing the nearly complete skeleton of a subadult or adult individual. The specimen is very small for a non-avialan dinosaur, measuring about 30 centimetres (12 in) long. Unlike most other troodontids, the snout was very short, shorter than the diameter of the eye socket. The wings were about the same size as those of the related Anchiornis, with the primary wing feathers being longer than the humerus (upper arm bone). An unusual arrangement of the wing bones would have prevented any flapping motion. The tail was very short compared to most other members of the group Deinonychosauria, and unlike other known deinonychosaurs, the feet and toes were very slender, lacking highly curved claws for predation. Unusually, the tail seems to have completely lacked complex vaned feathers (rectrices), and the lower tarsals and feet appear to have been featherless, unlike some related species with "hind wings" on the lower legs and feet.[1]
A researcher from the University of Southampton said the discovery of Eosinopteryx suggests "that the origin of flight was much more complex than previously thought".[3]
References
- ^ a b c Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1038/ncomms2389, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1038/ncomms2389instead. - ^ Pascal Godefroit, Andrea Cau, Hu Dong-Yu, François Escuillié, Wu Wenhao and Gareth Dyke (2013). "A Jurassic avialan dinosaur from China resolves the early phylogenetic history of birds". Nature. in press. doi:10.1038/nature12168.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Feathered dinosaur puts theory in doubt". 3 News NZ. January 25, 2013.
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