Caudipteryx sp.
"tail feather"

Caudipteryx sp. was described, but not named, in 2000, and continues to go without an official name. It was a mid-sized Caudipteryx, slightly smaller than Caudipteryx zoui but larger than C. dongi. All three lived in the smae time and place, along with the similar Similicaudipteryx yixianensis. Like C. dongi, C. sp. seems to have some secondary feathers, and its wing proportions are similar to a sub-adult Similicaudipteryx (the tail of C. sp. is unknown, I restored it larger than C. zoui but smaller than S. yixianensis).

The skeleton of C. sp. is generally more robust, the neck shorter, and the skull more square, than other Caudipteryx. Overall it is nearly identical to Similicaudipteryx, except for its hands, which show the characteristic reduced third finger of Caudipteryx (its second wing claw is also very small compared to other species). Currently, C. sp. is known from two specimens.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Image Details:
Media: Digital, Adobe Photoshop CS3 with WACOM Graphire 3
License: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED