Similicaudipteryx

Name: Similicaudipteryx ‭(‬Similar Caudipteryx‭).
Phonetic: Sim-il-e-caw-dip-teh-rix.
Named By: He Tao,‭ ‬Wang Xiaolin‭ & ‬Zhou Zonghe‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Avemetatarsalia,‭ ‬Caudipteridae.
Species: S.‭ ‬yixianensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Detail unavailable.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jiufotang Formation‭ & ‬Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.

       The genus Similicaudipteryx was so named because of its similarity to the genus Caudipteryx‭ (‬tail feather‭)‬.‭ ‬Like with Caudipteryx,‭ ‬Similicaudipteryx had a covering of downy feathers all over the body,‭ ‬with vaned feathers on the arms and tail.‭ ‬The end of the tail had a pygostyle-like arrangement which supported a feather growth like in the aforementioned Caupdipteryx and the oviraptosaur Nomingia.‭ ‬The jaws of Similicaudipteryx curved downwards towards the end,‭ ‬which may have been an adaptation towards a specific style of feeding,‭ ‬though the exact diet is still unknown.‭ ‬Also like with Caudipteryx,‭ ‬there is uncertainty to how Similicaudipteryx is related to dinosaurs and birds,‭ ‬if indeed at all depending upon who you ask.




Further reading
-‭ ‬A new genus and species of caudipterid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning,‭ ‬China‭ ‬-‭ ‬He Tao,‭ ‬Wang Xiaolin‭ & ‬Zhou Zonghe‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.
-‭ ‬Exceptional dinosaur fossils show ontogenetic development of early feathers,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Zheng‭ & ‬H.‭ ‬You‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.
Moulting tail feathers in a juvenile oviraptorisaur‭ ‬-‭ ‬R.‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Prum‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.




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