#caihong

Caihong was an Anchiornithid from Late Jurassic China. It was relatively small, estimated at 40 cm (16 inches) long, with a wingspan of approximately 44 cm (17 in), and weighing 475 grams (16.8 oz). It could be distinguished from its cousins and contemporaries Eosinopteryx and Anchiornis by the longer pennaceous feathers on its forelimbs, hindlimbs, and tail. Caihong was covered almost entirely in feathers, with only the snout and claws uncovered. Like Anchiornis, Caihong’s feathers were so well-preserved that the melanosomes could be analyzed, and interpreted as iridescent black. The platelet-like melanosomes on its head, chest, and base of the tail were similar to those found in the shimmering feathers of modern trumpeters (genus Psophia). Its feather coat was also very thick, with a silky or shaggy appearance, and a ruff of longer feathers around the neck.

Caihong was likely less common than Anchiornis, as only one specimen has been found so far. Like other anchiornithids, it was probably a carnivore, hunting arthropods and other small animals in the underbrush. Also like Anchiornis, it most likely wasn’t a strong flier, instead using its shimmering plumage for display.

The Tiaojishan Formation was subtropical to temperate, warm and humid, and dominated by gymnosperm trees like ginkgopsids (including Ginkgo), conifers, cycads, and ferns. Caihong would have lived in these Late Jurassic forests with fellow anchiornithids Anchiornis, Aurornis, Serikornis, Xiaotingia, and Eosinopteryx, as well as the bizarrely-winged scansoriopterygids Yi and Scansoriopteryx. Pterosaurs were also common here, including Changchengopterus, Darwinopterus, Wukongopterus, and the small, nocturnal anurognathids Cascocauda, Sinomacrops, and Luopterus. Oddly enough, this formation known for small, flying things also included the earliest known gliding mammal: Volaticotherium antiquum.

(I was unsure what the consensus is on the lacrimal crests and sickle claw, so here is another version 🙃)