DinoFrontier
About Microraptor
Microraptor was one of the smallest known non-avian dinosaurs and one of the most surprising. It had long flight feathers not only on its arms but also on its legs, giving it four wings.
It lived in forests around lakes in Early Cretaceous China, and was probably able to glide and possibly power short flights between trees. It was a close relative of Velociraptor, with the same family's sickle-shaped toe claw.
Hundreds of specimens are known from the fine-grained lake deposits of Liaoning, many with feathers beautifully preserved.
Microraptor facts
- Microscopic pigment structures (melanosomes) show its feathers were black with a glossy, iridescent sheen, like a modern crow or starling.
- Fossils with stomach contents show it ate birds, fish, small mammals and lizards: a true generalist.
- It is one of the few dinosaurs whose full-body colour is known from fossil evidence.
- The long tail ended in a fan of feathers, which may have helped it steer and balance in the air.
Discovery
Microraptor zhaoianus was named in 2000 by Xu Xing and colleagues from a specimen in Liaoning. A four-winged form described in 2003 as Microraptor gui is now often considered the same species.
