Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Letter
Nature 455, 1105-1108 (23 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature07447; Received 14 June 2008; Accepted 19 September 2008
Open Innovation Challenges
-
Anion Exchange Membranes for Acid-Salt System
As part of a new electrochemistry process, the Seeker desires a novel anion exchange membrane that …
-
Small Volume Blood Collection Without Haemolysis
The Seeker requires mechanisms that will allow collection of blood from the fingers and/or hand.
…
A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran from China with elongate ribbon-like feathers
Fucheng Zhang1, Zhonghe Zhou1, Xing Xu1, Xiaolin Wang1 & Corwin Sullivan1
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China
Correspondence to: Fucheng Zhang1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to F.Z. (Email: zhangfucheng@ivpp.ac.cn).
Abstract
Recent coelurosaurian discoveries have greatly enriched our knowledge of the transition from dinosaurs to birds, but all reported taxa close to this transition are from relatively well known coelurosaurian groups1, 2, 3. Here we report a new basal avialan, Epidexipteryx hui gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle to Late Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. This new species is characterized by an unexpected combination of characters seen in several different theropod groups, particularly the Oviraptorosauria. Phylogenetic analysis shows it to be the sister taxon to Epidendrosaurus4, 5, forming a new clade at the base of Avialae6. Epidexipteryx also possesses two pairs of elongate ribbon-like tail feathers, and its limbs lack contour feathers for flight. This finding shows that a member of the avialan lineage experimented with integumentary ornamentation as early as the Middle to Late Jurassic, and provides further evidence relating to this aspect of the transition from non-avian theropods to birds.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Ground rules for early birdsNature News and Views (15 Apr 1993)
A new missing linkNature News and Views (22 May 1997)
See all 3 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
A therizinosauroid dinosaur with integumentary structures from ChinaNature Letters to Editor (27 May 1999)
Four-winged dinosaurs from ChinaNature Article (23 Jan 2003)
See all 38 matches for Research