Dinosaurs · Small theropod

Anchiornis

Say it an-kee-OR-niss. The name means ‘near bird’.

Anchiornis beside a person 1.75 m tall. Ticks mark every metre.Body shape drawn for this site, showing the general build of small theropods

Length: 0.6 m
Diet: Meat-eatersmall lizards and fish
Walked: On 2 legs and by gliding
When: Late Jurassic165 to 153 million years ago
Fossils found in: China
Named by: Xu, Zhang, Hou and Hu (2009)
Family tree: Dinosauria › Saurischia › Theropoda › Paraves

Where Anchiornis sits in the age of dinosaurs.Periods from the ICS chart; dinosaur dates from the Natural History Museum

Small theropods. Small two-legged dinosaurs, many feathered, the group that includes birds. See all 60

Lived at the same time

Sinraptor · same country
Yangchuanosaurus · same country
Agilisaurus · same country
Bellusaurus · same country
Chinshakiangosaurus · same country
Chungkingosaurus · same country
Monolophosaurus · same country
Omeisaurus · same country

Other small theropods

Proceratosaurus Mid Jurassic
Gasosaurus Mid Jurassic
Guanlong Late Jurassic
Nqwebasaurus Mid Jurassic
Coelurus Late Jurassic
Juravenator Late Jurassic
Ornitholestes Late Jurassic
Archaeopteryx Late Jurassic

Source: Anchiornis in the Natural History Museum Dino Directory, read 12 November 2026. Sizes are the museum's estimates for a typical adult. "Lived at the same time" lists dinosaurs whose dates overlap, which does not always mean they met.