Fun Haplocheirus Facts For Kids

They were members of the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, and clade Theropod. The oldest known Alvarezsauroid called Hap was a genus of Maniraptoromorph theropod dinosaur.

It was in the year 2010 that the fossil of this dinosaur was found which was probably 160 million years ago.

The Haplocheirus fossil was found from the Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin of the northwestern region of China. H. sollers.

Paleontologist Jonah N. Choiniere was a member of that research team that worked on the excavation of the fossils of this dinosaur They were different from Alvarezsauroid features in terms of using the three-fingered hand for skillful activities, which the Alvarezsauroid was unable to perform.

Many paleontologists are of the opinion that Haplocheirus has evolved many times from the Mesozoic Era.

They were like an early genus of the bipedal dinosaurs called Alvarezsaurs. It mainly fed on insects and the hands were very useful for the purpose.

As a small dinosaur Haplocheirus must have been careful of Asian theropods such as Sinraptor and Monolophosaurus.

Haplocherius is very different from the features of other dinosaurs of their time because of its relatively very early origins which are about 63 million years because of alvarezsaurs which were known later and more advanced forms of cretaceous.

Haplocherius is also predated by 15 million years from the famous dino-birds Archaeopteryx who was the first birds-like dinosaur with feathers.

Here you can learn more about the Pawpawsaurus and the Palaeoscincus dinosaur species.

Haplocheirus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Haplocheirus'?

Haplocherius was a small dinosaur founded in the forests of north-western China. We can pronounce it as ‭'h‬ap-low-ky-rus' of genus Haplocheirus Choiniere.

By at least 63 million years, Haplocheirus was the oldest recorded alvarezsaur. This places Haplocheirus solidly in the Oxfordian stage of the early late Jurassic of Xinjiang China, indicating that the Alvarezsaurids began at least 160 million years ago, instead of the Cretaceous period as previously assumed.

What type of dinosaur was a Haplocheirus sollers?

Haplocherius was a therapod a primitive alvarezsaur dinosaur with a length of about 6.56168 ft (2 m) The type of species is Haplocheirus sollers which means "simple-handed skillful one", because of its hypothesized behavior of using its three-fingered hands for that other alvarezsaurids could not perform, such as catching prey.

In which geological period did the Haplocheirus roam the earth?

Haplocherius is 63 million years old bird-like alvarezsaur-related species within the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic revealing that the primitive alvarezsaurs began at least this time of existence in the early cretaceous period. The specimen was discovered in the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, people’s republic of china in the middle-upper Jurassic Shishugou formation.

The holotype-fossil-bearing bed is located between two volcanic tuff layers.

When did the Haplocheirus become extinct?

Haplocherius a genus of Maniraptoromorph theropod dinosaur became extinct around 160 million years ago.

Where did Haplocheirus live?

Haplocheirus was a carnivore. It lived in the Jurassic period and inhabited forests in china. Its fossils were discovered in Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, the people’s republic of china.

What was Haplocheirus' habitat?

Haplocheirus the basal alvarezsauroid theropod habitat was mainly forest as there were plenty of food and ready water resources available and the cover to hide so as not to be the meal for Jurassic eras Asian theropods such as Monolophosaurus and Sinraptor theropod.

Who did Haplocheirus live with?

Halpocheiurs live alone in forests so as not to be seen by other predators like Sinraptor and Monolophosaurus.

How long did a Haplocheirus live?

Not much content is available on the lifespan of this species. They were found in the plains of central Asia. Haplocheirus was the oldest‭ ‬known‭ ‬alvarezsaur. Haplocherius is also predated by 15 million years from the famous dino-birds Archaeopteryx who was the first bird-like dinosaur with feathers.

Haplocheirus Fun Facts

What did the Haplocheirus look like?

These birds-like Haplocheirus had a very large thumb claw as same as the Alvarezsaurids and also had unique features. Features of having two more fingers were used very effectively, unlike other dinosaurs such as Alvarezsaurids who used just the thumb claw. These dinosaurs had long legs and were very good runners.

These dinosaurs were one of the largest members of their clade. The weight of this dinosaur was around 90 lb (41 kg) and the length was around 6.2-7.5 ft (1.88-2.28 m). Their tail was long.

How many bones did a Haplocheirus have?

The exact number of bones in the Haplocheirus skeleton is not known yet. Haplocheirus was the oldest‭ ‬known‭ ‬alvarezsaur.

How did they communicate?

There is not much information available on the communication ways of this dinosaur. Dinosaurs used to communicate verbally by producing many loud sounds for their mates. Haplocherius is also predated by 15 million years from the famous dino-birds Archaeopteryx who was the first bird-like dinosaur with feathers.

How big was the Haplocheirus?

At 6.56 ft (2 m) Haplocheirus was not a big dinosaur in fact it was small compared to Monolophosaurus which was 16.4 ft (5 m).

How fast could a Haplocheirus move?

On its legs, it could run pretty fast and the reason why it is called "simple-handed skillful one".

How much did a Haplocheirus weigh?

It weighed around 90 lbs (41 kgs). Haplocherius is also predated by 15 million years from the famous dino-birds Archaeopteryx who was the first bird-like dinosaur with feathers.

What were the male and female names of the species?

No content is available on whether any specific name was given to the male and female of this species of dinosaurs. In general, no specific name was given to differentiate between the sexes.

What would you call a baby Haplocheirus?

The baby of this dinosaur does not have any particular name to get called by. They were called 'baby 'Haplocheirus'. The paleontologist Jonah N. Choiniere was a member of that research team that worked on the excavation of the fossils of this dinosaur. The team members were from George Washington University.

What did they eat?

These dinosaurs were carnivores. But unlike other carnivorous animals who like who eat heavy flesh materials, these dinosaurs mostly ate insects. Although still there are pieces of evidence that they consumed meat of other small mammals as well.

How aggressive were they?

There are not many pieces of evidence of these dinosaurs showing aggressive features or behavior. It was a small dinosaur and was smaller by even more than half of the height of humans.

Did you know...

The type species meaning ‘ simple-handed skillful one’. The Haplocheirus size was not very large but was smaller in size from Bonapartenykus.

How did the Haplocheirus get its name?

Because of their unique features of huge thumb-like claws and two fingers which they used very skilfully, the name which they have - Haplocheirus, actually meant 'simple-handed skillful one'. Haplocheirus is the oldest‭ ‬known‭ related species of ‬alvarezsaurs theropods. Haplocheirus was one of those dinosaurs that evolved a lot.

How strong were its teeth?

The teeth of Haplocheirus were very small. Two factors support that the teeth of this dinosaur were very strong, first they were carnivores and used to tear the flesh of animals which automatically made them the dinosaurs with strong teeth, and secondly the presence of serrations.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Niobrarasaurus facts and Crichtonsaurus facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Haplocheirus dinosaur coloring pages.

*The first image is an illustration by Nobu Tamura.