Caudipteryx

Caudipteryx (meaning "tail feather") is a <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> of small <a href="/facts/Oviraptorosaur/C6puS7KW">oviraptorosaur</a> <a href="/facts/Dinosaur/JRdMqBnq">dinosaurs</a> that lived in <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> during the <a href="/facts/Early_Cretaceous/5uWEJGYC">Early Cretaceous</a>, around 124.6 million years ago. They were <a href="/facts/Feather/sxbf96nF">feathered</a> and extremely <a href="/facts/Bird/RJF6zwLP">birdlike</a> in their overall appearance, to the point that some <a href="/facts/Paleontologists/60n5yldd">paleontologists</a> suggested it was a <a href="/facts/Bird/RJF6zwLP">bird</a>. Two <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a> have been described: C. zoui (the <a href="/facts/Type_(zoology)/mTM1beKX">type species</a>), in 1998, and C. dongi, in 2000.
It had a stout trunk, long legs and was probably a swift runner. The discovery of Caudipteryx has led to many intensive studies and debate over the relationship of birds and dinosaurs.

Caudipteryx open-in-new

Caudipteryx