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Kulindadromeus, Middle JurassicUkureyskaya Formation, Russia · named 2014
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Kulindadromeus

"Kulinda runner"

Lived
168 to 165 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
Diet
Herbivore
Group
Early ornithischians
Found in
Russia
Named by
Godefroit et al. 2014

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

3 finds

165 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

It probably lived near a freshwater lake in a region with volcanic activity. Fossil plants include conifers, ferns, horsetails and mosses, and the lake deposits also contain insect larvae and freshwater crustaceans.

Field notes

About Kulindadromeus

What it was like

Kulindadromeus was a small, fast plant eater that ran on its hind legs. Its fossils preserve its body covering, and they surprised scientists: along with scales on its tail and legs, it had thin filaments and fuzz, a bit like simple feathers.

Since it was an ornithischian, far from the birds on the family tree, it suggests that early feathers or fuzz may have been common across many dinosaurs.

Its world

It lived in the Middle Jurassic, in what is now Russia. Its fossils come from the Ukureyskaya Formation.

How it was found

Godefroit and colleagues named Kulindadromeus in 2014, from many bones found in the same site.

Field gallery

More views of Kulindadromeus

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Kulindadromeus in its habitat, photo 1

1 of 3

Lived alongside

Found in the same rock formations

A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Kulindadromeus.

The evidence

The science behind Kulindadromeus

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • Many scattered bones and partial skulls show a short head, short arms, long hind legs and a long tail.
  • Simple filaments covered parts of the head and trunk, while bundles of filaments grew around the upper arms and thighs.
  • Small scales covered parts of the lower legs and feet, and larger overlapping scales covered the tail.

Borrowed from relatives

  • Much of its skeleton and body covering is known from its own fossils, so its fuzz comes directly from Kulindadromeus.

Still unknown

  • Its color and the full pattern of its body covering.
  • Whether its filaments and bird feathers share the same evolutionary origin.
  • Whether it cared for its young.

Discovery timeline

  1. 2014Named itGodefroit et al.
  2. 2014SkinGodefroit et al.
  3. 2019Its worldCincotta et al.
  4. 2020Full descriptionGodefroit et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Kulindadromeus

Sources: Wikidata