#caihong

[hacchigryphon]

A cisn't Caihong that's very living up to their name! ("caihong" means rainbow!)

[thatonegaycactus]

Day 178 of DDD! The Caihong! A parave from china, that was similar to microraptor in that it also had four wings! It also had irridescense like microraptor, but unlike them it had a crest! Its name also means "rainbow" isn't that cute?

[si-nequal-is]

Caihong juji

[darknymfa-art]

Junerassic day 27, Caihong juji. Not entirely pleased with the iridescent bits but I didn't want to keep fiddling with it.

[swamptotodweller]

Fakemon based off one of my favorite dinosaurs, the Caihong Juji

I'm not great at making believable fakemon (and I'm even worse at naming them that was a PAIN) but this was really fun!! :D

[saritapaleo]

Archovember 2024 Day 1 - My Choice: Caihong juji

Continuing my theme of choosing dinosaurs we know the colors of, my choice for day 1 of Archovember this year is Caihong juji!

Caihong was an Anchiornithid from Late Jurassic China. It was relatively small, estimated at 40 cm (16 inches) long, with a wingspan of approximately 44 cm (17 in), and weighing 475 grams (16.8 oz). It could be distinguished from its cousins and contemporaries Eosinopteryx and Anchiornis by the longer pennaceous feathers on its forelimbs, hindlimbs, and tail. Caihong was covered almost entirely in feathers, with only the snout and claws uncovered. Like Anchiornis, Caihong’s feathers were so well-preserved that the melanosomes could be analyzed, and interpreted as iridescent black. The platelet-like melanosomes on its head, chest, and base of the tail were similar to those found in the shimmering feathers of modern trumpeters (genus Psophia). Its feather coat was also very thick, with a silky or shaggy appearance, and a ruff of longer feathers around the neck.

Caihong was likely less common than Anchiornis, as only one specimen has been found so far. Like other anchiornithids, it was probably a carnivore, hunting arthropods and other small animals in the underbrush. Also like Anchiornis, it most likely wasn’t a strong flier, instead using its shimmering plumage for display.

The Tiaojishan Formation was subtropical to temperate, warm and humid, and dominated by gymnosperm trees like ginkgopsids (including Ginkgo), conifers, cycads, and ferns. Caihong would have lived in these Late Jurassic forests with fellow anchiornithids Anchiornis, Aurornis, Serikornis, Xiaotingia, and Eosinopteryx, as well as the bizarrely-winged scansoriopterygids Yi and Scansoriopteryx. Pterosaurs were also common here, including Changchengopterus, Darwinopterus, Wukongopterus, and the small, nocturnal anurognathids Cascocauda, Sinomacrops, and Luopterus. Oddly enough, this formation known for small, flying things also included the earliest known gliding mammal: Volaticotherium antiquum.

(I was unsure what the consensus is on the lacrimal crests and sickle claw, so here is another version 🙃)

This art may be used for educational purposes, with credit, but please contact me first for permission before using my art. I would like to know where and how it is being used. If you don’t have something to add that was not already addressed in this caption, please do not repost this art. Thank you!

[percivalias]

The Maniraptoran Alphabet (Part 1)

This past week I researched and illustrated a dinosaur alphabet book! I researched and illustrated 26 maniraptorans for the project, specifically limiting myself to species that went extinct before the Eocene to exclude modern birds. This project was a huge amount of fun for me and I'm very proud of the result, so I hope you all enjoy them too! Please look forward to the rest of the series, which I'll be posting over the course of the coming week or so.

[knuppitalism-with-ue]

Result from the Tiaojishan formation #paleostream! We had a closer look at the arboreal fauna of this formation

Also some close ups