SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY NEW FEATHERED DINOSAUR SPECIES IN CHINA

Researchers have described a new species of feathered, winged dinosaur found in northeastern China, adding evidence to the theory that flight-related features evolved independently across different dinosaur lineages. The species, named Norellraptor barsboldi, was identified from an exceptionally well-preserved fossil skeleton recovered from the Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning province, dated to between 145 million and 100 million years ago. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications by a team including Andrea Cau, of the OPHIS Paleontological Museum and Herpetological Centre in Italy, along with Qiang Ji and Xuri Wang. The species belongs to the microraptorine group, small, bird-like predatory dinosaurs regarded as close relatives of birds. The complete skeleton measures 57 centimetres in length, with sections of its plumage preserved.

Analysis of the fossil indicates the animal was at least three years old when it died. Scott Hartman, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved in the study, said the dinosaur had sharply curved predatory teeth and claws typical of a small generalist hunter, and probably fed on early mammals, lizards, amphibians and juvenile dinosaurs rather than larger prey. The researchers identified 194 anatomical changes across microraptorine evolution, and found that around 30% of these also evolved separately in the bird lineage, including fused rib projections forming a rigid torso, relatively robust forelimb bones, and an ulna longer than the humerus. The order in which these features appeared differed between microraptorines and birds, the study found.

The authors said the findings challenge the idea that microraptorines and birds inherited a shared flight apparatus or developmental process, suggesting instead that different selective pressures shaped each lineage's flight-related features separately. Microraptorines are described as close relatives of birds rather than direct ancestors, with birds belonging to a separate group called Avialae that includes Archaeopteryx, dated to around 150 million years ago. The researchers said further fossil and bone-growth evidence would be needed to establish how widespread this pattern was among bird-like dinosaurs.