Fossil specimen, with white arrows pointing at preserved feathers
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
Saurischia
Clade:
Theropoda
Family:
†Dromaeosauridae
Clade:
†Microraptoria
Genus:
†Microraptor Xu et al., 2000
Type species
†Microraptor zhaoianus
Xu et al., 2000
Other species
†M. gui Xu et al., 2003
†M. hanqingi Gong et al., 2012
Synonyms
Cryptovolans Czerkas et al., 2002
"Tetrapterornis" Miller, 2004 (nomen nudum)[1]
Microraptor (Greek, μικρός, mīkros: "small"; Latin, raptor: "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They date from the early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (Aptian stage), 125 to 120 million years ago. Three species have been named (M. zhaoianus, M. gui, and M. hanqingi), though further study has suggested that all of them represent variation in a single species, which is properly called M. zhaoianus. Cryptovolans, initially described as another four-winged dinosaur, is usually considered to be a synonym of Microraptor.[2]
Like Archaeopteryx, well-preserved fossils of Microraptor provide important evidence about the evolutionary relationship between birds and earlier dinosaurs. Microraptor had long pennaceous feathers that formed aerodynamic surfaces on the arms and tail but also on the legs. This led paleontologist Xu Xing in 2003 to describe the first specimen to preserve this feature as a "four-winged dinosaur" and to speculate that it may have glided using all four limbs for lift. Subsequent studies have suggested that Microraptor was capable of powered flight as well.
Microraptor was among the most abundant non-avialan dinosaurs in its ecosystem, and the genus is represented by more fossils than any other dromaeosaurid, with possibly over 300 fossil specimens represented across various museum collections.[3]
^Miller, Z.M. (2004). "A new phylogeny of Dromaeosauridae". Student Showcase Journal, University of Alaska Anchorage. 20: 123–158.
^Senter, P.; Barsold, R.; Britt, B.B.; Burnham, D.A. (2004). "Systematics and evolution of Dromaeosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda)". Bulletin of the Gunma Museum of Natural History. 8: 1–20.
^Cite error: The named reference alexanderetal2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Microraptor (Greek, μικρός, mīkros: "small"; Latin, raptor: "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved...
used as a stabilizer or counterweight while running or in the air; in Microraptor, an elongate diamond-shaped fan of feathers is preserved on the end of...
times, due to its close relation to flying or gliding dromaeosaurs like Microraptor. Chatterjee and Templin 2004 found S. millenii as grouping within dinosaurs...
2002 study found that the tail belongs to a small winged dromaeosaur, Microraptor, named in 2000. The legs and feet belong to an as-yet-unknown-animal...
Pyroraptor was also covered in feathers, as many of its relatives, like Microraptor and Sinornithosaurus, also had plumage. Although Pyroraptor olympius...
marine, and there is evidence that some non-avian dinosaurs (such as Microraptor) could fly or at least glide, and others, such as spinosaurids, had semiaquatic...
ground. Most microraptorians were relatively small; adult specimens of Microraptor range between 77–90 centimetres long (2.53–2.95 ft) and weigh up to 1 kg...
legs and feet, showing that it was a four-winged dinosaur similar to Microraptor. While only a few specimens have been described in detail, many more...
feathers in Velociraptor, including dromaeosaurids such as Daurlong, Microraptor, or Zhenyuanlong. The skull of Velociraptor was rather elongated and...
several dinosaur species. These include Anchiornis, Sinosauropteryx, Microraptor, and Archaeopteryx. In 2016, the discovery was announced of a feathered...
colleagues analyzed BMNHC PH881, a specimen of Microraptor, and determined that the coloration of typical Microraptor feathers was iridescent black. The melanosomes...
paravians like Microraptor were capable of flapping flight and powered launching from the ground into the air without relying on climbing. Microraptor in particular...
feathered genus Microraptor is one of the oldest-known dromaeosaurids and is phylogenetically more primitive than Utahraptor. Since Microraptor and other dromaeosaurids...
feathers have been collected. There are even very small dinosaurs, such as Microraptor and Anchiornis, which have long, vaned arm and leg feathers forming wings...
non-avialan paravians, including dromaeosaurids, such as Rahonavis and Microraptor. Zhenyuanlong suni, a dromaeosaurid, was too heavy to fly but still had...
exists for several related dromaeosaurids, including Velociraptor and Microraptor, though no direct evidence is yet known for Deinonychus itself. When...
group called Paraves. Some basal members of Deinonychosauria, such as Microraptor, have features which may have enabled them to glide or fly. The most...
speed and bite strength of Tyrannosaurus, or the flight mechanics of Microraptor. It is relatively commonplace to study the internal details of fossils...
'hind wings', but those of Pedopenna differ from those of animals like Microraptor. Pedopenna hind wings were smaller and more rounded in shape. The longest...
reproductive maturity. For example, one of the smallest known theropods was Microraptor zhaoianus, which had a body mass of 200 grams, grew at a rate of approximately...
Indrasaurus wangi. Its fossil remains were found as stomach contents of a Microraptor fossil specimen found in the Liaoning province, China in 2003. It was...
the Sherwood Ranger, and the Murphy Renegade. The feathered dinosaur Microraptor gui glided, and perhaps even flew, on four wings, which may have been...
[permanent dead link] Li, Quanguo (9 March 2012), "Reconstruction of Microraptor and the Evolution of Iridescent Plumage", Science, 335 (6073): 1215–1219...
find as "remarkable"; the previously youngest known microraptorine was Microraptor itself from the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous, so the discovery...
tail, similar to the extinct Microraptor and Confuciusornis and the extant quetzal. However unlike the related Microraptor, there is no evidence that Wulong...
Dromaeosaurus and all the other dromaeosaurs closer to it than to Velociraptor, Microraptor, Passer and Unenlagia. Cladogram (2012): The exact consensus for the...
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