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Prehistoric Life

How wide was Yi qi?

An adult Yi qi had a wingspan of about 60 cm (2 ft).

What is measured: adult wingspan estimate

Yi qi (60 cm) drawn to scale beside a bowling pin (38.1 cm) and an adult person (1.7 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Bowling pin (38.1 cm), Yi qi (60 cm) and Adult person (1.7 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 1.6× the height of a bowling pin
  • About 35% of the height of an adult person
  • About 30% of the height of a doorway
  • About 4.1× the height of a smartphone
  • About 7× the length of a credit card

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Facts about Yi qi

Yi qi had a membrane supported by an unusually long wrist bone, giving it a wing design unlike that of most other known dinosaurs.

Source: Nature — A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Yi qi

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Yi qi
Paradoxides davidis45 cm (1 ft 6 in)0.75×
Archaeopteryx50 cm (1 ft 8 in)0.83×
Yi qi60 cm (2 ft)this page
Thylacinus cynocephalus60 cm (2 ft)same size
Leaellynasaura amicagraphica60 cm (2 ft)same size
Acanthostega gunnari60 cm (2 ft)same size
Meganeura monyi70 cm (2 ft 4 in)1.2×
Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis70 cm (2 ft 4 in)1.2×
Confuciusornis sanctus70 cm (2 ft 4 in)1.2×
Microraptor gui77 cm (2 ft 6 in)1.3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Yi qi or Archaeopteryx?

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