We were fortunate enough to acquire a skeleton from the Yixian Formation—part of China’s Lower Cretaceous—that had already been prepared. Some parts needed to be cleaned and restored, and the owner of this legally obtained specimen was primarily concerned with its authenticity and completeness. In the end, this drawing still shows some inconsistencies that clearly deviate from known anatomy, such as the tail and the largely artificial skull. Nevertheless, the torso and limbs are indeed a single original specimen and, in all likelihood, one of the Sinovenator specimens that are now frequently found. Such small and primitive troodontids appear even more bird-like than the more derived classical genera, such as Troodon.
About the Reconstruction Drawing
Spindler, F. & Sonnenschein, R. (2026, for 2025): Classification of a privately held dinosaur from China. ARCHAEOPTERYX, 41: 77–83.
