Outline: a typical theropod
Jinfengopteryx
"golden phoenix feather"
Type species Jinfengopteryx elegans
- Lived
- 126 to 121 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Troodontidae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Ji et al. 2005
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Field notes
About Jinfengopteryx
What it was like
Jinfengopteryx was a small feathered troodontid about the size of a crow. Its skeleton preserves feathers over its body and tail. Seeds found with it may have been part of its diet.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now China. It comes from the Huajiying Formation.
How it was found
Ji and colleagues named Jinfengopteryx in 2005. The type species is Jinfengopteryx elegans. It was first described as an early bird, but later work showed it to be a troodontid.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Troodontidae
Sources: WikidataNamed in: Q. Ji, S. -A. Ji, and J. -C. Lü, H. -L. You, W. Chen, Y. -Q. Liu, Y. -X. Liu. 2005. First avialan bird from China. Geological Bulletin of China 24(3):197-210