![]() That was until Anchiornis huxleyi was announced in 2009. Sinornithosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs discovered with feathers.Īlthough it is widely accepted that a small group of theropod dinosaurs gave rise to birds, finding feathered dinosaurs in the fossil record that predate the earliest known bird Archaeopteryx (150myo) has proven elusive. Whether this helped in attacking prey or leaping among tree branches is difficult to say. Its rigid tail acted as a counterbalance, allowing pinpoint accuracy and freeing the powerful feet claws. Sinornithosaurus may have been adapted for leaping. Classification: Theropoda Dromaeosauridae. Fossils from China, Early Cretaceous, 130-122 million years ago. ![]() Its name means ‘first Chinese reptilian wing’. The shape of melanosomes (tiny pigment packages in cells) in its feathers suggests it had a ginger body and white and ginger stripes on its tail. It was the first non-avian dinosaur found with feather-like structures, providing further evidence for the link between dinosaurs and birds. The discovery of Sinosauropteryx prima in 1996 was one of the most important fossil finds of the century. Classification: Theropoda Compsognathidae. Fossils from China, Early Cretaceous, 130–122 million years ago. The rest of the body was covered in short primitive feathers with longer feathers on its arms and tail. Caudipteryx means ‘tail feather’, referring to the tail plume that this non-avian dinosaur possessed, and may have fanned out for display. Classification: Theropoda Oviraptorosauria. Such inferred behaviour strengthens the link between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. This posture resembles the ‘sleeping’ pose commonly used by modern birds. The fossilised skeleton of Mei long, a non-avian coelurosaur from China, was preserved with its head ‘tucked’ under its forelimb. Considering who came first, perhaps we should stop describing dinosaurs as having bird-like behaviour and start thinking of birds as behaving like dinosaurs. The latter group includes such members as Bambiraptor and Velociraptor, which share a more recent common ancestor with birds. Coelurosaurs are the theropod group that includes tyrannosaurs and dromaeosaurs.
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