Paraprotopteryx gracilis
By Scott Reid on @drawingwithdinosaurs
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Name: Paraprotopteryx gracilis
Name Meaning: Near Primitive Feather
First Described: 2007
Described By: Zheng, Zhang & Hou
Classification: Dinosauria, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Enantiornithes
Paraprotopteryx is an Opposite Bird from the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, China, living about 122 million years ago, in the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous. It is known from a subadult specimen, so while its size can be gleaned at least somewhat, it grew bigger than this when reaching adulthood - as a subadult, it was about 11 centimeters long in body length and it had a wingspan of approximately 22 centimeters. This would indicate its wings were shorter than usual, though it is possible that this is an artifact of the fact that it was preserved as a subadult. It had short legs and large claws on its feet, which may indicate they served an important function such as grabbing food - and it also had a reversed hallux, or the reduced toe on dinosaurs. It had a short tail with four short and thin ribbons extending from it for display, with the ribbon feathers ending in little circles. It was a weaker flier than the related Protopterys, and it probably did a lot of climbing in an arboreal environment.
Sources:
Martyniuk, M. P. 2012. A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and other Winged Dinosaurs. Pan Aves; Vernon, New Jersey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprotopteryx
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