? Sinosauropteryx Conservation status: Fossil
Model of Sinosauropteryx at American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Theropoda (unranked) Coelurosauria Family: Coeluridae Genus: Sinosauropteryx Species: S. prima
Binomial name
Sinosauropteryx prima Ji Q. & Ji S., 1996

Sinosauropteryx prima ("first Chinese lizard-feather") was the first non-avian dinosaur found with the fossilized impressions of feathers. It lived in China during the Cretaceous period and is related to Compsognathus. It was around 3 feet long, most of which was taken up by its extremely long tail. The remarkably well-preserved fossils show that Sinosauropteryx was covered with a furry down of very simple feathers. These feathers consisted of a simple two-branched structure, similar to the secondarily primitive feathers of the modern kiwi. Image File history File linksMetadata Amnh29sinosaur. ... The American Museum of Natural History is a landmark of Manhattans Upper West Side in New York, USA, at 79th Street and Central Park West. ... New York City portal The Empire State Building (right) and the Chrysler Building (left) are easily recognized symbols of New York City to the world. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anenomes) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text Reptiles are tetrapods, and also are amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that ranged in form from reptile-like to bird-like. ... Groups Sauropodomorpha    Saturnalia    Prosauropoda    Sauropoda Theropoda    Eoraptor    Herrerasauridae    Ceratosauria    Tetanurae       Avis (extant) Saurischians (from the Greek Saurischia meaning lizard hip) are one of the two orders/branches of dinosaurs. ... Subdivisions Coelophysidae Ceratosauria Abelisauridae Spinosauroidea Carnosauria Coelurosauria Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal saurischian dinosaurs. ... Subclades Nqwebasaurus Proceratosaurus Tyrannoraptora ?Coeluridae ?Compsognathidae Tyrannosauroidea Maniraptoriformes [incertae sedis] Alvarezsauridae Maniraptora Ornithomimosauria Coelurosauria is a group of theropod dinosaurs that includes the subgroups Tyrannosauridae, Ornithomimidae, and Maniraptora. ... Subclades Coelurus Tanycolagreus ?Compsognathinae Coeluridae is a family of generally small, carnivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. ... your mom goes to coloege LOL // Value of binomial nomenclature The value of the binomial nomenclature system derives primarily from its economy, its widespread use, and the stability of names it generally favors: Every species can be unambiguously identified with just two words. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that ranged in form from reptile-like to bird-like. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period (about 135 mya) to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65 mya). ... Compsognathus (komp-sog-NAY-thus) lived in Late Jurassic of Germany, France and perhaps Portugal. ... The word tail in the English language has a number of meanings: Tail (anatomy) is used to describe the rear end of an animals body, especially when it forms a distinct, flexible appendage to the trunk; Tail can describe anything like an animals tail in form or position... Species n. ...

Sinosauropteryx is important because it had feather-like structures, yet was not very closely related to true birds. There are many dinosaur families that were more closely related to birds than Sinosauropteryx, including the deinonychosaurs, the oviraptosaurs and therizinosaurs. This indicates that feathers may have been a characteristic of many theropod dinosaurs, not just the obviously bird-like ones, making it quite possible that equally distant animals such as Ornitholestes, Coelurus and even Tyrannosaurus rex may have had feathers. Orders Many - see section below. ... Binomial name Deinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969 Deinonychus antirrhopus (pronounced , or approximately dyn-ON-ik-us) meaning terrible claw, referring to the large claws on its feet (Greek deinos = terrible + onyx, onychos = claw) was a jaguar-sized, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous Clovery Formation of Montana. ... Oviraptor philoceratops was a small Mongolian theropod dinosaur named by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1924. ... ... Families See text Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, belonging to the saurischian (lizard-hip) family. ... Ornitholestes hermanii (bird robber) was a small theropod dinosaur of the late Jurassic of North America. ... This Dinosaur was an amazing hunter, related to the infamous Velociraptor. ... Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Tyrannosaurus rex (ty-RAN-o-sawr-us) meaning king tyrant lizard because of its size and large teeth and claws (Greek tyrannos = tyrant + sauros = lizard; Latin rex = king), also known colloquially as T. rex and The King of the Dinosaurs, was a giant carnivorous...

References

• Chen, P., Dong, Z., Zhen, S. (1998). An exceptionally well-preserved theropod dinosaur from the Yixian Formation of China. Nature, 391, 147-152.

• Ji Qiang & Ji Shuan, (1996). On discovery of the earliest bird fossil in China and the origin of birds. Chinese Geology 10 (233): 30-33.