New Jurassic Non-avian Theropod Dinosaur Sheds Light on the Origin of Flight in Dinosauria

摘要

A new Jurassic non-avian theropod dinosaur from 163 million-year-old fossil deposits in northeastern China provides new information regarding the incredible richness of evolutionary experimentation that characterized the origin of flight in the Dinosauria. Published in Nature, Drs. WANG Min, Jingmai K. O’Connor, XU Xing, and ZHOU Zhonghe of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing describe and analyze the well-preserved skeleton of a new species of the Jurassic scansoriopterygid dinosaur with associated feathers and membranous tissues.