A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran from China with elongate ribbon-like feathers

Fucheng Zhang (), Zhonghe Zhou, Xing Xu, Xiaolin Wang and Corwin Sullivan
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Fucheng Zhang: Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Zhonghe Zhou: Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Xing Xu: Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Xiaolin Wang: Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Corwin Sullivan: Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China

Nature, 2008, vol. 455, issue 7216, 1105-1108

Abstract: Theropod evolution: a trick of the tail feathers Here's another chapter in the transition from non-avian theropods to birds — the discovery of a bizarre pigeon-sized feathered dinosaur from the Mid-Late Jurassic of China. Living a little before Archaeopteryx, this creature is birdlike in many ways including the presence of four very long ribbon-like tail feathers and a short tail. But there is no sign of the flight feathers of the kind seen on the limbs of birdlike dinosaurs such as Microraptor. In today's birds, elongated tail feathers are usually ornamental, and that could be the case here. This new fossil adds yet more complexity to the early history of evolution from dinosaurs to birds.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07447

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