Fossil of new feathered dinosaur Norellraptor from China adds to evidence that flight evolved more than once
2 October 2026
A 57-centimetre fossil from Liaoning province, China, was named Norellraptor barsboldi by an international team from China, Italy and Slovakia in Nature Communications on 29 September 2026; Nature reported it on 2 October.
It is a microraptorine, a group of small meat-eating dinosaurs of about one kilogram with feathers on their limbs, living between 145 million and 100 million years ago.
The specimen shows traces of feathers on its fore and hind limbs and at the end of its tail, and was found by a local farmer.
The team found that 30% of the 194 flight-related adaptations identified in microraptorines also evolved in the bird lineage, Avialae, but not in the same order.
That adds to evidence that birds and their close relatives evolved flight several times rather than once.
In plain words
Microraptorine Member of the dinosaur group Microraptorinae — Small feathered meat-eaters closely related to birds, with hundreds of specimens found.
Avialae The clade that includes birds — The bird lineage whose flight adaptations were compared with those of microraptorines.