Feathered Dinosaur Fossil Found

Researchers have identified a new species of feathered dinosaur in northeastern China, dating back to the Early Cretaceous period, over 100 million years ago. The fossil was discovered by a local farmer in Liaoning province's Jianchang County and donated to Hebei Geo University's museum in 2023.

The Norellraptor barsboldi belongs to the microraptorines, a group of small, feathered predators closely related to birds. Fossils of some members show long feathers on both their forelimbs and hindlimbs, suggesting they were adapted to move through the air.

Comparing Norellraptor with other fossils, researchers found that roughly 30% of the anatomical changes they traced through microraptorine evolution also appeared in the bird lineage. However, the changes occurred in a different order in the two lineages.

Growth marks in Norellraptor's forearm bone suggest it was at least 3 years old and still growing when it died. This age estimate was factored into comparisons with other fossils, challenging the idea that microraptorines and birds inherited the same flight apparatus.

The genus name Norellraptor honors the late American paleontologist Mark Allen Norell, and the species name barsboldi refers to the late Mongolian paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Both made significant contributions to the study of bird-like dinosaurs.

The discovery of Norellraptor barsboldi adds evidence to the debate over whether birds and their close dinosaur relatives inherited flight-related anatomy from a common ancestor or developed it separately. The finding suggests that the evolution of flight may be more complex than previously thought.

Michael Pittman, a paleontologist at the University of Hong Kong, said the current paradigm shift involves recognition that flight was arising independently from different, closely-related groups at nearly the same time. This moves away from the traditional idea that flight is a rare gem.