New species of feather-winged dinosaur unearthed in China

But bigger species in the group tend to have shorter forelimbs not well-suited for flight, and paleontologists had never found feathers on one of those big-boned raptors — until now.Zhenyuanlong suni probably didnt fly, according to researchers analysis of its fossilized remains.

Study’s co-author Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences was of the view that though the bird is the closest cousin of Velociraptor, it looks like a bird.

Researchers have discovered a new dinosaur species covered with feathers. Scientists believe the feathered dinosaurs lived during the early Cretaceous period, roughly 125 million years ago, stated National Geographic.

The near-complete skeleton, discovered in China’s Liaoning Province, was described as being remarkably well preserved by scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences who studied it.

After analyzing the fossils, the paleontologists concluded the new species of dinosaur had wings that resembled those of modern birds of prey, such as vultures and eagles.

Quite possibly, winged dinosaurs with larger and more complex feathers were more diverse than previously thought, the release said. The wings were used either for brooding eggs in the nest or for show, just like a peacock uses them. The discovery offers a glimpse of what Velociraptor looked like in real life, as fossils preserving Velociraptor’s feathers are scarce.

Despite the large wings, which have a span the size of an average human’s arm, it’s a mystery as to whether or not the raptor cousin could fly.

The study detailing the finding is featuring in the Scientific Reports journal.

The debate over how many dinosaurs were feathered is still ongoing.

And the 125-million year-old fossil suggests many other dinosaurs, including Velociraptors, would have looked like “big, fluffy killer birds”. Recent hit film Jurassic World, for all its lack of feathers, has renewed interest in the study of dinosaurs.

Dr Brusatte said:

“It will blow some people’s minds to realise that those dinosaurs in the movies would have been even weirder, and I think even scarier – like big fluffy birds from hell.”

Claim to fame: Feathers didn’t evolve for flight.

Even though dense feathers covered the dinosaur’s wings and tail, the meat-eating theropod dinosaur likely couldn’t fly.