Microraptor's World
Dinosaur with proto-feathers
Sinosauropteryx
The full name of this animal, Sinosauropteryx prima, means
"first Chinese winged lizard." Its discovery in the mid-1990s
delighted many paleontologists who suspected that birds are close
kin to dinosaurs. This fossil offered evidence in the form of downy,
short feathers all along the animal's head, back, and tail. A
carnivorous dinosaur about the size of a greyhound,
Sinosauropteryx likely ran swiftly on its two hind legs. With
fuzzy feathers just a few millimeters long, it is unlikely that it
ever flew. The feathers could, however, help keep the dinosaur warm
through cool nights in the temperate forest.