Scansoriopteryx
skan-SOR-ee-OP-ter-iks
"climbing wing"
- Lived
- 126 to 120 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Scansoriopterygidae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Czerkas and Yuan 2002
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Habitat
It probably lived in forests beside lakes in what is now China. Forests in this region supported conifers and ginkgo trees, and animals such as Yi and Epidexipteryx.
Field notes
About Scansoriopteryx
What it was like
Scansoriopteryx was a tiny, feathered theropod about the size of a sparrow. Its known skeleton is a young animal. Its third finger was very long, and its feet suggest it could climb trees. Its relative Yi had skin wings stretched from long fingers, and Scansoriopteryx may have had something similar.
Its world
It lived in what is now China, in forests beside lakes. The exact age of its rocks is uncertain.
How it was found
Czerkas and Yuan named Scansoriopteryx in 2002. Another name, Epidendrosaurus, was given to a very similar fossil at about the same time, and many scientists think the two are the same animal.
Field gallery
More views of Scansoriopteryx
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 Scansoriopteryx.
The evidence
The science behind Scansoriopteryx
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Its small skeleton belonged to a young animal and preserves traces of feathers.
- The third finger is much longer than the other fingers.
- Long arms and grasping feet suggest that it could climb.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its relative Yi preserves skin membranes supported by the fingers and a rod extending from the wrist, so Scansoriopteryx may have had skin wings too.
Still unknown
- Its adult size and proportions.
- Whether it had skin wings and how well it could move through the air.
- The exact age and source of its rocks.
Discovery timeline
- 2002Named itCzerkas & Yuan
- 2002Close relativeZhang et al.
- 2015Close relativeXu et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Scansoriopteryx
Named it
Described a feathered juvenile with an unusually long third finger and proposed that it climbed trees.
An arboreal maniraptoran from northeastern China. Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Flight. The Dinosaur Museum Journal 1. The Dinosaur Museum, Blanding, UT.
No link available
Close relative
Named Epidendrosaurus from a juvenile with a long third finger and limb proportions interpreted as adaptations for climbing.
A juvenile coelurosaurian theropod from China indicates arboreal habits. Naturwissenschaften 89: 394-398
Read the paper : A juvenile coelurosaurian theropod from China indicates arboreal habits (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described Yi with preserved wing membranes and a rod extending from each wrist, revealing a new wing design among dinosaurs.
A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings. Nature 521: 70-73
Read the paper : A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Scansoriopterygidae
Sources: Wikidata