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- Title
Basal tyrannosauroids from China and evidence for protofeathers in tyrannosauroids.
- Authors
Xu, Xing; Norell, Mark A.; Kuang, Xuewen; Wang, Xiaolin; Zhao, Qi; Jia, Chengkai
- Abstract
Tyrannosauroids are one of the last and the most successful large-bodied predatory dinosaur groups, but their early history remains poorly understood. Here we report a new basal tyrannosauroid from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China, which is small and gracile and has relatively long arms with three-fingered hands. The new taxon is the earliest known unquestionable tyrannosauroid found so far. It shows a mosaic of characters, including a derived cranial structure resembling that of derived tyrannosauroids and a primitive postcranial skeleton similar to basal coelurosaurians. One of the specimens also preserves a filamentous integumentary covering similar to that of other coelurosaurian theropods from western Liaoning. This provides the first direct fossil evidence that tyrannosauroids had protofeathers.
- Subjects
CHINA; DINOSAURS; EVIDENCE; SKELETON; FOSSILS; HISTORY
- Publication
Nature, 2004, Vol 431, Issue 7009, p680
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/nature02855