Protarchaeopteryx by Moondawg

Protarchaeopteryx

Protarchaeopteryx was a turkey-sized feathered dinosaur from China. Well-developed, vaned feathers extended from the short, stubby tail; the hands were long and slender, and had three-fingered clawed hands. It appears to be one of the most primitive members of the Oviraptorosauria and the large incisor teeth suggest that it is closely related to, or synonymous with, Incisivosaurus. It was probably an herbivore or omnivore, but its hands are very similar to small carnivorous dinosaurs.

Protarchaeopteryx, known from the Jianshangou bed of the Yixian Formation, lived in the early Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous, 124.6 million years ago. It is probably more primitive than Archaeopteryx, making it a non-avian theropod dinosaur rather than a true avian bird. At around 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length, it would have been larger than Archaeopteryx. Protarchaeopteryx had symmetrical feathers on its arms. Since modern birds that have symmetrical feathers are flightless, and the skeletal structure of Protarchaeopteryx would not support flapping flight, it is assumed that it was flightless as well.