The Microraptor Gui: Link Between Bird and Dinosaur

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The Microraptor Gui: Link Between Bird and Dinosaur

The Debate:

For years paleontologists have debated intensely about the origin of birds. How did air-borne birds evolve? How did they learn to take flight? Are they linked to dinosaurs? If they are, which species of these reptiles are the birds closest related to?

The Find:

From 2001 and 2002, six new basal dromaeosaurid specimens from the Lower Cretaceaous Jehol Group in Chaoyang Basin in western Liaoning, China, were found. These six specimens of the Microraptor gui, previously known genus Microraptor, were discovered by Xing Xu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. Microraptor gui gets its name in honor of Gu Zhiwei, a renowned paleontologist who contributed greatly to the study of Jehol biota. So far over 60 species of fossil plants, 1000 species of fossil invertebrates, and 70 species of fossil vertebrates have been found in these rocks, dating back to the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous periods. Recently there has been much media attention to these rocks that yield such vital information in the evolution of birds, and origins of feathers. The Microraptor gui is 77 cm in length. It is believed to have lived between 124 and 145 million years ago. The Microraptor Gui has four wings in total. Interestingly, it has a wing on each hind-limb.

The Microraptor gui is a bird:

Some will argue that the Microraptor gui was a bird. Feathers cover its entire body. It has forelimbs much like the wings of modern birds, and modified for flight. The pelvis characteristics derived from basal birds. The Microraptor gui had a vane on one side of the feather’s spine that was wider than the other. “This nuance of design strongly suggests these fe...

... middle of paper ...

... and theropauds has also been illustrated in popular modern movies such as Jurassic Park III. Here Steven Spielberg accurately depicts the newly found details of the raptors. Contrary to the first two editions of the movie, this time the raptors have feathers at the top of their heads. In order to allow the audience to easily recognize these fierce carnivores from the prequels of the movie the change was not drastic, but it was a positive step in accurately depicting dinosaurs in movies.

To solve the whole question of linking birds and dinosaurs one would need to find a feathered dromaeosaur adapted to life in the trees as opposed to on the ground, and the Microraptor gui seems to be just this. Through the discovery of Microraptor gui it is clear that birds share a common ancestry with small carnivorous dinosaurs called dromaesaurs found in the theropod group.

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