Changyuraptor

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Theropoda > Neotheropoda > Tetanurae > Avetheropoda > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Pennaraptora > Paraves > Dromaeosauridae > Microraptorinae

Overview: Fossil preservation varies wildly depending on the conditions present - both before and during fossilization itself. Depending on these conditions, some fossils may be scant, preserving little detail, but the opposite can also be true. In the northeast of China, the famous Yixian Formation, formed during the Early Cretaceous, is particularly famous for its beautifully preserved fossils. Some theropod dinosaurs are so well preserved that traces or impressions of feathers or proto-feathers can be found surrounding their skeletons, preserved in the fine volcanic sediment that entombed them. Changyuraptor is one such dinosaur. Described in 2014, its generic name is a combination of Mandarin Chinese and Latin, meaning “long-feathered thief”, referring to its plumage. This took the form of not just fur-like proto-feathers, but of long-veined, pennaceous feathers like those on the wings of modern birds. Unsurprisingly, Changyuraptor is classified close to the lineage from which birds descend.

Pennaceous feathers appear to have been the norm for dinosaurs in the family Dromaeosauridae, like Changyuraptor. Dromaeosaurids are commonly known as “raptor” dinosaurs to the public, with famous members including Deinonychus and Velociraptor. Changyuraptor was, of course, related to both, but was somewhat more basal. It belonged to the subgroup Microraptorinae (also known as the Microraptoria), which included mostly smaller-sized dromaeosaurids from the Early Cretaceous, largely from Asia. Microraptorines possessed long feathers on their arms, but also on their hind limbs, giving them a “four-winged” appearance. Changyuraptor and its kin were possibly capable of some degree of flight, though they were probably not overly graceful in the air. Gliding was another possibility. Even dromaeosaurids incapable of flight had many potential uses for their “wings”. They could be used to insulate clutches of eggs (evidence suggests they brooded in a fashion similar to birds), for display or to give themselves a boost up steep terrain.