Bizarre four-winged dinosaur discovered in China
Paleontologists have identified a new species of four-winged microraptorine dinosaur, named Norellraptor barsboldi, from a fossil found in Liaoning, China. The discovery provides further insight into the diverse evolutionary paths dinosaurs took toward flight.
Why it matters
This discovery expands the scientific understanding of Early Cretaceous biodiversity and the unique flight mechanisms of small dinosaurs.
An exquisitely preserved fossil found in western Liaoning, China, has just been described as a brand-new species of microraptorine dinosaur.
The tiny dinosaur, named Norellraptor barsboldi , looks like a bird, but with four wings and a long, feathered tail, it’s clear it belongs to an entirely different group of trailblazing dinosaurs - one that had taken a unique approach to flight.
The microraptorines are among the smallest dinosaurs known to science, not to mention some of the most bizarre.
Known for possessing four wings instead of the standard two seen in avialan dinosaurs (i.e. those that evolved into birds), microraptorines have become the poster children for doing things differently, proving that different groups of dinosaurs took to the skies in different ways.
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