Lepidocheirosaurus
Type species Lepidocheirosaurus natatilis
- Lived
- 168 to 165 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Nqwebasauridae
- Found in
- Russia
- Named by
- Alifanov and Saveliev 2015
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
Lake beds and volcanic sediments in what is now Russia preserve conifers, ferns, horsetails and mosses. Dinosaurs from these beds have also been named Kulindadromeus, Kulindapteryx and Daurosaurus.
Field notes
About Lepidocheirosaurus
What it was like
Lepidocheirosaurus was described from bones with scaly skin on the hand. Its original describers thought it was a theropod, but many scientists think the bones belong to Kulindadromeus, a small feathered plant eater from the same site.
Its world
It lived in the Middle Jurassic, in what is now Russia. It comes from the Ukureyskaya Formation.
How it was found
Alifanov and Saveliev named Lepidocheirosaurus in 2015. The type species is Lepidocheirosaurus natatilis.
Field gallery
More views of Lepidocheirosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Lepidocheirosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Lepidocheirosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The type specimen is a broken partial hand with scale impressions.
- Separate tail vertebrae were referred to Lepidocheirosaurus.
Borrowed from relatives
- The original description compared the hand with Nqwebasaurus and proposed an early ornithomimosaur relationship.
- A later study found similar hands and tails in Tianyulong and tentatively referred the hand to Kulindadromeus.
Still unknown
- Experts disagree about whether it was a theropod or an early plant eater, and a recent review regards it as possibly the same animal as Kulindadromeus.
- Whether the partial hand and assigned tail bones belong to the same individual.
- Its color and the distribution of its body covering. Studies disagree about which scales covered the top and bottom of the hand.
Discovery timeline
- 2014Same rocksGodefroit et al.
- 2015Named itAlifanov & Saveliev
- 2019Family treeCincotta et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Lepidocheirosaurus
Same rocks
Described Kulindadromeus from the same site, with scales on the legs and tail and feather-like filaments on other body parts.
A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers and scales. Science 345: 451-455
Read the paper : A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers and scales (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Lepidocheirosaurus from a partial hand with scale impressions and separately referred tail vertebrae, proposing a relationship with Nqwebasaurus.
The most ancient Ornithomimosaur (Theropoda, Dinosauria), with cover imprints from the Upper Jurassic of Russia. Paleontological Journal 49: 636-650
Read the paper : The most ancient Ornithomimosaur (Theropoda, Dinosauria), with cover imprints from the Upper Jurassic of Russia (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Dated the site to the Middle Jurassic and argued that the hand and tail belong to a plant eater such as Kulindadromeus.
The rise of feathered dinosaurs: Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus , the oldest dinosaur with ‘feather-like’ structures. PeerJ 7: e6239
Read the paper : The rise of feathered dinosaurs: Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus , the oldest dinosaur with ‘feather-like’ structures (opens in a new tab)
Sources: Wikidata