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'''Sinovenator''' is a genus of dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period. Its fossils have been found in older Yixian Formation in China which is dated between 139 and 128 million years old (Ma), which places it in the Valanginian to early Barremian. The type specimen, ''Sinovenator changiae'', was described by Xu, Norell, Wang, Makovicky and Wu in 2002. Their description was based on a partly-complete skeleton. ''Sinovenator'' was a theropod, specifically a basal troodontid. It is the oldest and most basal member of this family (older is WDC DML 001, from Kimmeridgian of Morrison Formation from United States but it is undescribed). Scientists were excited to find that some of its bones were similar to the bones of dromaeosaurids, showing that both types of small meat-eating dinosaurs are closely related. Its body was about the size of a chicken, and it had a long, thin tail. It probably had a feather-like covering, but the fossils found so far don't preserve any soft tissues.

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★ http://www.users.qwest.net/~jstweet1/troodontidae.htm