A new dinosaur species named Hushiyaolong, which was very closely related to birds, has been discovered by scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology with the Chinese Academy of Science.
The fossil specimen of "Hushiyaolong" (Xinhua photo)
The "Hushiyaolong" is named after the name of "Hu Yaoming", a young deceased Chinese paleomammalogist. This new species connecting birds to dinosaurs offers new evidence to uncover the mysterious origin of birds, their flight and feathers.
This research finding was published in the latest issue of the British journal "Nature".
The fossil specimen of "Hushiyaolong" will be exhibited at the Paleozoological Museum of China starting October 25.
The recovery image of the "Hushiyaolong" (Xinhua photo)
The "Hushiyaolong" lived during the Jurassic period (between 208 and 144 million years ago) and belongs to the Avialae group. The creature, with a body length of over 40 centimeters and four 20-centimeter-long ribbon-like tail feathers, was one of the dinosaur species that were most closely related to birds. Except the tail feather, it did not have any other feathers with a structure similar to that of birds' flight feathers; so it could not fly.
By People's Daily Online
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