Expand the dinosaur category options

Close the dinosaur category options

Expand the dinosaur A-Z category

Close the dinosaur A-Z category

Expand the dinosaur time period category

Close the dinosaur time period category

Expand the dinosaur country category

Close the dinosaur country category

Expand the type of dinosaur category

Close the type of dinosaur category

Expand what they ate dinosaur category

Close what they ate dinosaur category

Protarchaeopteryx

Prot-archaeopteryx

Pronunciation:: pro-tark-ee-op-ter-iks
Name meaning:: 'before Archaeopteryx'

Protarchaeopteryx

small theropod silhouette

Type of dinosaur:: small theropod
Length:: 2.0m

Diet:: carnivorous
When it lived:: Early Cretaceous, 122-120 million years ago
Found in:: China

Taxonomic details

Taxonomy:: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda, Paraves, Eumaniraptora
Named by:: Ji and Ji (1997)
Type species:: robusta

Related

Dinosaurs

How dinosaurs evolved into birds

The humble pigeon is a distant relative of the mighty T. rex.
Dinosaurs

Dinosaur family tree gets major makeover

Dinosaurs have a new family tree. Find out how it has changed and what the new tree reveals about dinosaurs' origins and evolution.
Dinosaurs

What's wrong with these dinosaurs?

These popular dinosaur reconstructions from the 1960s are no longer scientifically accurate. Can you spot the errors?
What is a coprolite?

Fossil poo may not be a glamorous fossil find, but it can reveal a lot about prehistoric animals.

Step back in time

Find out more about dinosaurs' lives and the world they lived in.

Walk alongside a giant

Discover the colossal Patagotitan mayorum at Titanosaur: Life as the Biggest Dinosaur, open now.

Dinosaurs gallery

Roarrr. Come face-to-face with some of the Museum's most famous dinosaurs.