Chinese scientists discovered the bones of a tiny bird-like dinosaur with long legs. The “bizarre” fossil indicates that this odd pheasant-sized dinosaur lived in southeast China between 148 and 150 million years ago. It has extended legs and limbs that resemble wings. It also had a perplexing anatomy, implying that it was either a rapid runner or lived a lifestyle similar to that of a current wading bird. The fossilized remains, discovered in 2022, suggest it to be one of the oldest Jurassic period bird-like dinosaurs. Researchers named it Fujianvenator prodigiosus and documented their discovery in a paper published in the journal Nature on Wednesday (September 6).
Fujianvenator is far from similar to any modern birds
As quoted by the journal, Mark Loewen, who is a paleontologist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said: “This is really a weird animal within the group of birds.” Notably, Loewen was not involved in the discovery. The fossil was discovered by scientists in Fujian Province. They believe the creature gives information on an important evolutionary stage in the evolution of birds. According to the news agency Reuters, study leader Min Wang, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, claimed that the description of Fujianvenator will be based on the classification of this blend of skeletal traits.
On being asked about how Fujianvenator should be described, Wang replied, “I would say ‘bizarre’. Fujianvenator is far from similar to any modern birds.” “The forelimb is generally built like a bird’s wing, but with three claws on the fingers, which are absent from modern birds. So you can call it wing. It cannot be determined whether it could fly or not. Based on the skeletal features, Fujianvenator probably is at least not good at flying,” Wang said. “The fossil itself does not preserve feathers. However, its closest relatives and nearly all the known avialan theropods have feathers, and feathers are widely distributed among dinosaurs. Therefore, it would not be a surprise if Fujianvenator had feathers,” Wang added.
The study of dinosaurs reveals that a crucial event in their development occurred late in the Jurassic
The study of dinosaurs reveals that a crucial event in their development occurred late in the Jurassic when little feathered two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods gave rise to birds. Archaeopteryx, the oldest known bird, lived in Germany approximately 150 million years ago. Fujianvenator, according to Wang, is an avialan, which includes all birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur descendants. Birds survived the asteroid impact that destroyed their non-avian dinosaur ancestors 66 million years ago, despite their poor origins. The Fujianvenator fossil, discovered last October, is mostly complete save for the animal’s skull and foot portions, making interpretation of its nutrition and lifestyle challenging.
The tibia, or lower leg bone, of Fujianvenator was twice as long as the femur, or thigh bone. Such dimensions are exceptional among theropods, which include all meat-eating dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus and others. It has a long bony tail as well. (Tapentadol)