Chaoyangia

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Chaoyangia 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (120 Mya)
Place
China
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.

Chaoyangia is an extinct genus of euornithean birds, containing the single species Chaoyangia beishanensis. This species is known from a single fossil specimen consisting of a partial skeleton including vertebra, ribs, hips, and upper legs. The specimen (museum catalog number IVPP V9934) was discovered in the Jiufotang Formation near the city of Chaoyang in Liaoning province, China. This rock formation has been dated to the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous period, 120 million years ago.

What we know

  • Named by Hou & Zhang, 1993.
  • Fossils found in China.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Chaoyangia — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.