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A dromaeosaurid dinosaur with a filamentous integument from the Yixian Formation of China

Author

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  • Xing Xu

    (The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica)

  • Xiao-Lin Wang

    (The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica
    Natural History Museum, Changchun University of Science and Technology)

  • Xiao-Chun Wu

    (The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica
    Vertebrate Morphology Research Group, The University of Calgary)

Abstract

Dromaeosaurids, despite their notoriety, are poorly characterized meat-eating dinosaurs, and were previously known only from disarticulated or fragmentary specimens1. Many studies have denied their close relationship to birds2,3. Here we report the best represented and probably the earliest dromaeosaurid yet discovered, Sinornithosaurus millenii gen. et sp. nov., from Sihetun, the famous Mesozoic fish–dinosaur–bird locality in China4,5. Sinornithosaurus not only greatly increases our knowledge of Dromaeosauridae but also provides evidence for a filamentous integument in this group. It is remarkably similar to early birds postcranially. The shoulder girdle shows that terrestrial dromaeosaurids had attained the prerequisites for powered, flapping flight6, supporting the idea that bird flight originated from the ground up7,8. The discovery of Sinornithosaurus widens the distribution of integumentary filaments among non-avian theropods5,9,10. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that, among known theropods with integumentary filaments or feathers2,5, Dromaeosauridae is the most bird-like, and is more closely related to birds than is Troodontidae.

Suggested Citation

  • Xing Xu & Xiao-Lin Wang & Xiao-Chun Wu, 1999. "A dromaeosaurid dinosaur with a filamentous integument from the Yixian Formation of China," Nature, Nature, vol. 401(6750), pages 262-266, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:401:y:1999:i:6750:d:10.1038_45769
    DOI: 10.1038/45769
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    Cited by:

    1. Yaser Saffar Talori & Jing-Shan Zhao & Yun-Fei Liu & Wen-Xiu Lu & Zhi-Heng Li & Jingmai Kathleen O'Connor, 2019. "Identification of avian flapping motion from non-volant winged dinosaurs based on modal effective mass analysis," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza & Anthony R Fiorillo & Ronald S Tykoski & Paul J McCarthy & Peter P Flaig & Dori L Contreras, 2020. "The first juvenile dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Arctic Alaska," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-30, July.

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