FEATHERED DINOSAUR DISCOVERY SOLVES FOSSIL BED MYSTERY IN CHINA

Palaeontologists have identified a newly discovered feathered dinosaur from northwestern China that may explain the presence of shattered bird bones at a fossil site. The species, named Jian changmaensis, belongs to the microraptor family and represents a carnivorous relative of Velociraptor. Researchers believe the animal hunted the ancient birds whose fossilised remains dominate the location. The study appears in the Annals of Carnegie Museum.

The fossil site in northwestern China has long puzzled scientists due to hundreds of well-preserved bird fossils mixed with clusters of crushed bones compressed into pellet-like masses. These bone clusters resemble regurgitated remains left by modern birds of prey, suggesting a predator was responsible for their formation. However, no suitable predator had been identified at the site until now. Jian changmaensis stands as the only known non-avian carnivorous dinosaur recovered from the location and is significantly larger than other animals found there.

Jingmai O'Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago and senior author of the paper, stated that the discovery provides the strongest evidence yet for the predator responsible for the bone clusters. The partial fossil remains confirm that a carnivorous dinosaur inhabited the site alongside the ancient birds. The finding resolves a long-standing question about the fossil bed's composition and the relationships between species in this ancient ecosystem.