New look at fossils from northern China may show evolution of dinosaurs to birds
Researchers have used advanced imaging technology to learn about the muscle frame of a tiny creature that lived 160m years ago, suggesting it may have flown
Dinosaurs may have developed muscular, webbed wings and powerful legs as they slowly evolved into birds, according to research carried out by Hong Kong and mainland Chinese scientists.
The discovery could shed new light on the origins of birds and feathered flight, the scientists said.
The researchers studied a small feathered dinosaur called Anchiornis, meaning “close to bird”, which was the size of a raven and lived about 160 million years ago.
Fossilised remains of the strange four-winged creature have been found in large numbers in what is now Liaoning province in northern China.
The species filled an important evolutionary gap with its body belonging to dinosaurs, but other features such as a type of feathers and extremely long front limbs having similarities with birds.
The species was discovered in 2009, but many details about the dinosaur remain a mystery, including one lingering question asked by scientists: did the creature walk or fly?
Past studies on the dinosaur’s ability to fly drew clues from its bones and feathers, according to Xu Xing, the discoverer of the species who is based at the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.