Drag to rotate the Anchiornis, scroll or pinch to zoom, and click the head, the body, the tail, or a leg to read what fossils tell us about it. The panel beside the model carries the real figures.
Anchiornis was a small, four-winged paravian - long feathers grew on both the arms and the legs. Turn on the human figure to see how a 1.8 m person compares to an animal that measured well under a meter from beak to tail tip.
The colors and skin here are an artistic reconstruction, though this species is one of the rare cases where fossil evidence actually points to a real color pattern: melanosome analysis reconstructed a mostly grey-black body with a reddish-brown crown and white, black-tipped wing feathers. This model is not a fossil-accurate skeleton. The measurements in the panel follow published estimates.
Anchiornis 3D Viewer
This page renders Anchiornis as a 3D model you can spin in the browser - drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom, toggle a 1.8 m person beside it for scale, and click the head, the body, the tail, or a leg to read a fact about that part.
Anchiornis lived in the Late Jurassic, about 160 million years ago, in what is now Liaoning, China, and was named by Xu Xing and colleagues in 2009. It is one of the oldest known feathered dinosaurs and a four-winged paravian - long, pennaceous feathers grew on both the arms and the legs, not just the arms. The holotype specimen measures about 34 cm long and roughly 110 g; the largest known specimens reach around 60 to 62 cm with a wingspan near 57 cm and a mass cited in the range of 0.6 to 1 kg across published individuals.
Anchiornis is also one of the very few dinosaurs whose original color pattern has been read directly from the fossil rather than guessed. Li and colleagues (2010) examined fossilized melanosomes preserved in its feathers and reconstructed a mostly grey-black body with a reddish-brown crown and white wing feathers tipped in black - a real, published color map, not an artist's invention. For a younger four-winged relative from the Early Cretaceous, see the Microraptor 3D Viewer.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Length | about 34 cm (holotype) to 60-62 cm (largest known specimens) |
| Weight | about 110 g (holotype) to 0.6-1 kg (largest known specimens) |
| Wingspan | about 57 cm (largest known specimens) |
| When it lived | about 160 Mya (Late Jurassic) |
| Diet | Carnivore - likely small animals such as insects and lizards |
| Described | 2009 (Xu Xing and colleagues), Tiaojishan Formation, Liaoning, China |
Everything runs on your device with WebGL, so the model works without an account and without sending anything to a server. The skin tone and feather pattern shown here follow the published melanosome color reconstruction as closely as a simple 3D model can, but the exact feather texture and fine detail are still an artistic reconstruction - this model is not a fossil-accurate skeleton.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Anchiornis important?
It is one of the oldest known feathered dinosaurs, from about 160 million years ago, and a four-winged paravian - long feathers grew on both its arms and its legs. It is also one of the very few dinosaurs whose original color has been read directly from fossil evidence rather than guessed.
Do we actually know what color it was?
Yes, unusually. Li and colleagues (2010) studied the fossilized melanosomes preserved in its feathers and reconstructed a mostly grey-black body with a reddish-brown crown and white wing feathers tipped in black. Fine feather texture and small details are still an artistic reconstruction.
How big was Anchiornis?
The holotype specimen measures about 34 cm long and roughly 110 g. The largest known specimens reach around 60 to 62 cm long with a wingspan near 57 cm and a mass cited in the range of 0.6 to 1 kg. Turn on the human figure in the viewer to compare scale against a 1.8 m person.
What does "four-winged" mean?
Anchiornis grew long, pennaceous (vaned) feathers on both its arms and its legs, giving it four wing-like limbs rather than the two seen in modern birds. The same body plan appears in the younger, Early Cretaceous Microraptor.
What did it eat?
Anchiornis was a small carnivore, likely feeding on small animals such as insects and lizards, based on its size and tooth shape.
When and where was it found?
Fossils come from the Tiaojishan Formation in Liaoning Province, China, and the species was named Anchiornis huxleyi by Xu Xing and colleagues in 2009. The rock layer dates to the Late Jurassic, about 160 million years ago.
Do I need to install anything to view it?
No. The model renders in your browser with WebGL - no app, no account, and nothing about your visit is sent to a server. A free-licensed glTF model swaps in for the procedural body after first paint.