Caudipteryx zoui

Number 8 of the feathered dinosaur illustrations for the book. This is Caudipteryx, a flightless, feathered, basal oviraptorosaur from the Yixian Formation of China. It's currently the oviraptorosaur with the best-preserved feathers. This dinosaur was around the size of a large turkey and is named after its rather impressive tail fan, the feathers of which are clearly preserved in its fossil.

Though not as birdlike as certain other dinosaurs, Caudipteryx did have pennaceous-like feathers on its arms, similar to modern birds but without interlocking barbules, to the best of my knowledge.

Watercolor and Prismacolor pencil, September 2009.