CHINESE REPTILIAN WING: SINOSAUROPTERYX

Sinosauropteryx prima

This glorious specimen is Sinosauropteryx, a small theropod caught in a traditional death pose. 

Only one species of Sinosauropteryx has been named: S. prima, meaning "first" in reference to its status as the first feathered non-avialian dinosaur species discovered. Three specimens have been described. The third specimen previously assigned to this genus represents either a second, as-yet unnamed species or a distinct, related genus.

Sinosauropteryx lived in what is now northeastern China during the early Cretaceous period. It was among the first dinosaurs discovered from the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, and was a member of the Jehol Biota. Well-preserved fossils of this species illustrate many aspects of its biology, such as its diet and reproduction.

They had unusually long tail and very short arms. The longest known specimen reaches up to 1.07 metres (3.51 feet) in length, with an estimated weight of 0.55 kilograms (1.21 pounds) It was a close relative of the similar but older genus Compsognathus, both genera belonging to the family Compsognathidae. 

Described in 1996, it was the first dinosaur taxon outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. Quite amazingly, we know what this lovely may have looked like in life, right down to its colouring! It was covered with a coat of very simple filament-like feathers with the wee structures that tell us what colour those feathers were. Sinosauropteryx is the first non-avialian dinosaur where we are able to do this. 

And what colour were they? They had a lovely reddish hue with a lighter banded tail. Some contention has arisen with an alternative interpretation of the filamentous impression as remains of collagen fibres, but this has not been widely accepted.

Sinosauropteryx (meaning "Chinese reptilian wing", simplified Chinese: 中华龙鸟; traditional Chinese: 中華龍鳥; pinyin: Zhōnghuá lóng niǎo; lit. 'Chinese dragon bird') is a compsognathid dinosaur.