Changyuraptor
Name:
Changyuraptor.
Phonetic: Chang-yu-rap-tor.
Named By: G. Han, L. M. Chiappe, S. Ji,
M. Habib, A. H. Turner, A. Chinsamy & L. Han
- 2014.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae,
Species: C. yangi (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: About 1.2 meters long.
Known locations: China, Liaoning Province -
Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian? of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individual
preserved flat on a slab of rock which includes feather impressions.
Changyuraptor
is another of an increasing number of dromaeosaurid
dinosaurs that have
been dubbed ‘four-winged dromaeosaurs’. This is because
Changyuraptor did not just have well developed
pennaceous feathers on
the arms; they also grew from the back of the legs. The first of
these dromaeosaurs to be described was Microraptor
which is speculated
to have used its wings to glide for short distances. However,
Changyuraptor is both a little bit longer and much
more heavily built
than Microraptor, casting serious doubts that
Changyuraptor would
have been capable of even gliding flight. Changyuraptor
however would
have still been a fast and nimble predator, easily capable of chasing
down everything from small lizards to perhaps even smaller dinosaurs.
When
Changyuraptor was first described in 2014 it was
heralded as the
largest ‘four-winged dromaeosaur’ known, being a little bit
longer, but significantly more heavily built than earlier described
forms. However just one year later a new genus called Zhenyuanlong
was named and this threatens to take away the title from
Changyuraptor. Feather impressions of Zhenyuanlong
are only known
from the forward portion of the body and the arms. No feathers are
known of the legs, but there is every possibility that this may just
be a result of the feathers decaying before they were preserved. If
Zhenyuanlong was another four-winged dromaeosaur
then it would take the
title from Changyuraptor given that the holotype
individual of
Zhenyuanlong is easily larger in both length and
body weight than the
holotype individual of Changyuraptor.
Further reading
- A new raptorial dinosaur with exceptionally long feathering
provides insights into dromaeosaurid flight performance. - Nature
Communications 5(4382):1-9. - G. Han, L. M. Chiappe,
S. Ji, M. Habib, A. H. Turner, A. Chinsamy &
L. Han - 2014.
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