- Similicaudipteryx
Taxobox
name = "Similicaudipteryx"
fossil_range =Early Cretaceous
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo =Dinosaur ia
ordo =Saurischia
subordo =Theropoda
infraordo =Oviraptorosauria
familia =Caudipteridae
genus = "Similicaudipteryx"
genus_authority = He, Wang & Zhou, 2008
subdivision_ranks =Species
subdivision ="S. yixianensis" He, Wang & Zhou, 2008 (type)"Similicaudipteryx" is a
genus oftheropod dinosaur of the familyCaudipteridae . Itsfossil remains were recovered from theJiufotang Formation of northeasternChina , dating to the earlyCretaceous Period (Aptian stage) about 120 million years ago. The genus contains one described species, "Similicaudipteryx yixianensis", which was named in 2008 by He, Wang, and Zhou. The name refers to its similarity to the closely related "Caudipteryx " and its location near the Chinese Yixian beds.He, T., Wang, X.-L., and Zhou, Z.-H. (2008). "A new genus and species of caudipterid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China." "Vertebrata PalAsiatica", 46(3): 178-189.]He and colleagues assigned "Similicaudipteryx" to the Caudipteridae based on its similarity to "Caudipteryx" (from the older
Yixian Formation , 125 million years ago), especially in the shape of the pubic bones, though these bones are differently proportioned than in "Caudipteryx". "Similicaudipteryx" also differed from its relatives by possessing a dagger-shapedpygostyle (the bone at the end of the tail to which feathers anchor in birds) and several unique features of the back vertebrae. The only other oviraptorosaur reported to have a pygostyle is "Nomingia ", though the feature is widespread in more advanced birds and appears to have evolved at least twice.References
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