Pronunciation: ep-id-ecks-IP-ter-iks
Meaning: Display feather
Author/s: Zhang et al. (2008)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Ningcheng, China
Discovery Chart Position: #655
Epidexipteryx hui
Everything we know about Epidexipteryx we know from a single specimen preserved on two slabs of Daohugou sandstone, and everything about it is unusual. Only 25cm in length with insanely long arms and hands with three fingers (the longest of which was on the outside), a high skull with a stumpy snout, broad feet, long pointed "fangs" at the front of the upper jaw and even longer ones in the lower jaw, Epidexipteryx looked like a weird spindly-armed vampire pigeon. But looks can be deceiving.
Okay, it is weird, but its long arms and fingers were ideal for climbing trees and poking at crevices, and its pointy front pegs, far from being for blood sucking, or even flesh eating, were arranged in such a way that those of the upper and lower jaws could interlock when the mouth was closed, which is a design well suited to snagging elusive insects. Although Epidexipteryx preserved two types of feathers, neither were the contour variety so it couldn't fly, or even glide, but we'll bet it was always warm and never short of a mate.
Lovingly referred to as "Hushiyaolong" on Chinese news sites, even after it was officially named, Epidexipteryx was covered in feathery fuzz for insulation and represents the earliest known example of ornamental feathers in the fossil record. It sported two pairs of long ribbon-like display feathers, attached to a pygostyle (parsons nose), which almost doubled its total length and there are only two reasons for such ostentatious finery: to tell the opposite sex you're the bird of their dreams and to let rivals know you're so much better than they are.
Okay, it is weird, but its long arms and fingers were ideal for climbing trees and poking at crevices, and its pointy front pegs, far from being for blood sucking, or even flesh eating, were arranged in such a way that those of the upper and lower jaws could interlock when the mouth was closed, which is a design well suited to snagging elusive insects. Although Epidexipteryx preserved two types of feathers, neither were the contour variety so it couldn't fly, or even glide, but we'll bet it was always warm and never short of a mate.
Lovingly referred to as "Hushiyaolong" on Chinese news sites, even after it was officially named, Epidexipteryx was covered in feathery fuzz for insulation and represents the earliest known example of ornamental feathers in the fossil record. It sported two pairs of long ribbon-like display feathers, attached to a pygostyle (parsons nose), which almost doubled its total length and there are only two reasons for such ostentatious finery: to tell the opposite sex you're the bird of their dreams and to let rivals know you're so much better than they are.
(Hu's display feather)Etymology
Epidexipteryx is derived from the Greek "Epidexi" (display) and "pteryx" (feather or wing) in reference to the four ribbon-like display feathers preserved with its remains.
The species epithet, hui, honors Hu Yaoming, a young deceased Chinese paleomammalogist. Seemingly baffled by modern technology, Fucheng Zhang et al. uploaded their manuscript in which this critter was named to "Nature" in late September 2008 believing that it would undergo a peer-review before its official publication. What they actually did was upload it to the wrong website and make it publicly viewable in all its glory, but this little boo-boo was rectified a month later so the official publication date is October 23rd, 2008. Certain paleontologists rallied to have its name changed to mask this publication error, but to no avail.
Discovery
The remains of Epidexipteryx were discovered in the Daohugou Formation (sometimes referred to as the "Haifanggou" Formation), Ningcheng County, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), China, and prepared by Y. Li.
The holotype (IVPP V15471, housed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing) is a nearly complete skeleton with feather impressions.
