Sinovenator
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Sinovenator is a small troodontid dinosaur, about the size of a chicken. It is from the early Cretaceous period, 128.2 million years ago. Two fossils were found in the older (lower) portion of the Yixian Formation in China. It was part of the Jehol biota.[1]
| Sinovenator Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous
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| Genus: | Sinovenator
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The type specimen of Sinovenator changii was described in 2002.[2] The specimen is a partial skull and disarticulated skeleton. A second specimen has connected bones, but lacks the skull. Both are in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China.
Sinovenator was a basal troodontid. It shares features with the most primitive dromaeosaurids and Avialae. This shows the common descent of these three members of the Paraves. [2]