Long Tail Feathers Adorned Four-Winged Dinosaur

[n2doc]

Dan Vergano
National Geographic
PUBLISHED JULY 15, 2014

In the process of adapting to flight, feathered dinosaurs also evolved a way to land safely, suggests a 125-million-year-old four-winged flier from China. A surprisingly long feathered tail on the ancient creature, scientists reported on Tuesday, served as a landing brake.

Discovery of the feathered dinosaur, dubbed Changyuraptor yangi ("great feather" in Chinese), adds to the roster of feathered raptor dinosaurs with hind wings found in northeastern China in the past two decades. It is the biggest one found so far, and the fifth such species. (Related: "Dinosaur-Era Fossil Shows Birds' Feathers Evolved Before Flight.&quot

The finds add to our understanding of how dinosaurs evolved to take advantage of feathers in the era of the earliest birds. Weighing about nine pounds (four kilograms) and measuring four feet (1.2 meters) long, Changyuraptor (JHONG-YU-rapp-tor) likely swooped down on early birds and mammals, researchers report in the journal Nature Communications.

"An animal that size that came down flying has to slow down or else crash," says study co-author Luis Chiappe of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "They could adjust the tail to change their pitch as they landed."

more

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140715-four-winged-raptor-dinosaur-science

[tclambert]

1. Shake your tail feathers!

[littlemissmartypants]

2. Kicking. Thank you. nt

[hunter]

3. Artist's interpretation...

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28295571

[Demeter]

4. Thanks!

I was wondering how 4 wings were even possible.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Here's an artist's rendering

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28295571

[chknltl]

6. Very cool thanks for posting, nt