Fun Sinornithosaurus Facts For Kids

Our natural history of about a million years ago talks about dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes. During the early cretaceous time, there is this bird-like dinosaur that caught the eyes of paleontologists. This dinosaur is known as the Sinornithosaurus, also known as the Chinese bird lizard. They have this very famous name because of their ability to hunt down smaller reptiles and birds. They are a class of venomous dinosaurs and are extremely dangerous. The discovery of the Sinornithosaurus is also very surprising as they are the first dinosaurs with feathers. A lot of evidence supports the their habit of leaping and it also assumed that they lived and hunted in groups. Their poison is their strong point when it comes to hunting animals or any kind of snake.

They are considered the earliest discovered feathered species. Before the Sinornithosaurus, feather features in a dinosaur was very rare in paleontology. Paleontologists such as Gong discovered that they are also closely related to other non-avian dinosaurs such as the Microraptor. The Museum of China is responsible for uncovering several truths about the Sinornithosaurus. Their complete fossil and feather impressions are gathered from China's Liaoning province. Xing and Wang share a close relationship with the Sinornithosaurus fossil and a lot is learned about this raptor through this fossil.

To uncover more interesting facts about these animals that once roamed the planet, make sure to check out our interesting articles on Pterodaustro and Hamipterus.

How do you pronounce 'Sinornithosaurus'?

The Sinornithosaurus venom is the primitive characteristic of these dinosaurs. This dinosaur bite can indeed be deadly due to their poison, although overall the Sinornithosaurus size is not that huge. You can pronounce the name of this dinosaur like 'SINE-or-nith-oh-SAWR-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Sinornithosaurus?

These Chinese bird lizards have a soft cavity beneath their jaw which is where the venom glands are. Scientists such as Gong and Xing believe that these small features, which are very different from ordinary dinosaurs, may be pointing towards the fact that this dinosaur hunted small prey. The Yixian formation believes that the Sinornithosaurus is a small dromaeosaurid. At first, they were considered to be theropods due to similarities in the teeth and other such features.

In which geological period did the Sinornithosaurus roam the earth?

Sinornithosaurus millenii lived in Asia, especially in China. They lived around 130 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period.

When did the Sinornithosaurus become extinct?

It's known that this feathered dinosaur with fangs lived during the early Cretaceous period and there is evidence to support this time period. All early dinosaurs faced extinction because of asteroid collisions, and this is the same reason for Sinornithosaurus dinosaurs. Evidence to support their extinction due to volcanic eruptions and unfavorable climates on earth can be found in the Museum of China.

Where did a Sinornithosaurus live?

Considering this dinosaur is from the early Cretaceous period, this feathered dinosaur lived in several areas of Asia. There were other related non-avian dinosaurs who shared the same habitat with them and hunted birds. China is known as the main habitat for this venomous dinosaur because a lot of their fossils have been collected from there.

What was a Sinornithosaurus's habitat?

The main habitat of these dinosaurs can be regions that had fewer numbers of large dinosaurs because it would be easy to hunt down the tiny Sinornithosaurs. Around 1 million years ago, the size of the dinosaur mattered a lot. A warm and moist habitat with lots of birds, snakes, and other smaller dinosaurs was the ideal habitat for this dinosaur.

Who did a Sinornithosaurus live with?

Evidence regarding the small size of this Chinese bird lizard is present at the Yixian formation. The small size of a dinosaur is a big liability for dinosaurs because it makes them vulnerable to be hunted by other big dinosaurs. This venomous dinosaur lived and hunted in a pack. The birds of today's age such as the tawny eagle and tawny owl have the same hunting behavior as these dinosaurs, who now rest in the national Museum of China.

How long did a Sinornithosaurus live?

A lot of evidence regarding the lifespan is not known by Millenii or other scientists. Although according to natural history, it can be said that they had a life span of 10-12 years.

How did they reproduce?

 This venomous dinosaur is very similar to the reptiles of the current day. Although their teeth are more curved like theropods, the breeding habits are similar. They lay eggs and protect them like any other reptiles.

What did a Sinornithosaurus look like?

The entire body of this dinosaur was covered with feathers and they also had boomslang fangs, like snakes. They had long feathers like birds and upon close analysis, you cannot distinguish them. They had a length of around 3 ft (0.9 m). A long and fang-like jaw can be noticed in this venomous dinosaur, their teeth are long and they run down towards the outer surface, although their venom is deadly. They used their feathers to catch prey and the tip of their jaw was used to strip away the feathers of other smaller birds. The feathers of this dinosaur played an important role in that way. The national Museum of China has their feathers impression along with their full fossil.

How many bones did a Sinornithosaurus have?

It's not known how many bones they had, but their entire body was covered with feathers. They also lacked secondary branches.

How did they communicate?

Communication among this dinosaur with feathers was done through vocals and visuals signs like other dinosaurs. Any average dinosaur was capable of communicating through calls and visual signs, which was done using their feet or feathers.

How big was a Sinornithosaurus?

A Sinornithosaurus was a very small dinosaur, but not the smallest. They were the smallest in the dromaeosaurs category. They were three times smaller than an ostrich. It can be hard to believe but they were almost as big as a swan.

How fast could a Sinornithosaurus move?

Sinornithosaurus was a small dinosaur and they had long feathers so it can be predicted that they are fast, as their body weight was not weighing them down. Partial flight due to feathers can also be assumed.

How much did a Sinornithosaurus weigh?

A Sinornithosaurus weighed around 6-7 lb (2.7-3.1 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

Both sexes were very close to each other in their anatomy. Both sexes can be addressed with the same scientific name or the common name, that is Sinornithosaurus. In the National Museum of China, both sexes are addressed with the same name.

What would you call a baby Sinornithosaurus?

A baby Sinornithosaurus is called a nestling because they stayed in the nest. The babies who have just hatched are known as hatchlings.

What did they eat?

Scientists such as Wang and many others believe that the Sinornithosaurus draws a very close relationship with modern-day birds and reptiles which hunt smaller birds. This dinosaur could eat anything that was smaller than their size, although their first and foremost target was birds. This was they are very easy to hunt down. Other prey such as smaller reptiles and other smaller dinosaurs also counted in their diet.

How aggressive were they?

They could be very aggressive when it came to hunting prey. Although following the natural history of this dinosaur, it can be said that their venom and long feathers are their primary tools when catching prey.

Did you know...

This dinosaur closely represents and serves as an example to other discovered species with feathers.

Is a Sinornithosaurus a carnivore?

Yes, they were strict carnivores and they preyed on small birds, lizards, or sometimes even snakes. Birds were their main and first target when they went out hunting in a group.

Were there any venomous dinosaurs?

There is no solid proof when it comes to dinosaurs having poison. Although, the natural history of the Sinornithosaurus talks about this dinosaur having venom. They had venom glands beneath their lower jaw. The evidence of poison in their saliva is not present, but they do have poison glands.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our thorny devil facts and Bavarian mountain hound facts for kids.

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

Main image by Michael B. H.

Second image by Laikayiu