<p>A feathered <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/tag/dinosaurs/" title="">dinosaur</a> unearthed in a Chinese quarry has added another solid piece of evidence to the theory that <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/tag/birds/" title="">birds</a> descended from dinosaurs. The newly uncovered fossil of the species <em>Anchiornis huxleyi</em> dates from the Late Jurassic period, 151-161 million years ago, and therefore predates the earliest known bird, the <em>Archaeopteryx</em>. Paleontologists say this </p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p>represents the final proof that dinosaurs were ancestral to birds. "Drawing the tree of life, it's fairly obvious that feathers arose before <em>Archaeopteryx </em>appears in the fossil record" [<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8273938.stm" title="">BBC News</a>], </p><p> says paleontologist Michael Benton. The creature, described in a <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7264/pdf/nature08322.pdf" title="">paper</a> [pdf] in <em>Nature</em>, was covered in the short feathers known as "dino-fuzz," and had longer feathers on both its forelimbs and its back legs that formed primitive wings. </p><div data-embedid="dcfb67aa-fdf4-4a19-b4c7-75c497a8de9c" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div><p>The four-winged dinosaurs also had feathers on their feet and wing-like attachments on the arms and legs. But they could probably only glide, as their plumage was insufficient for powered flight [<a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090925/full/news.2009.949.html" title=""><em>Nature News</em></a>].</p><p> Related Content: 80beats: <a href="/planet-earth/new-fossil-suggests-that-fuzzy-dinosaurs-were-plentiful" title="">New Fossil Suggests That Fuzzy Dinosaurs Were Plentiful</a> 80beats: <a href="/planet-earth/to-attract-mates-this-dino-may-have-shaken-a-tail-feather" title="">To Attract Mates, This Dino May Have Shaken a Tail Feather </a> 80beats: <a href="/planet-earth/bizarre-and-fluffy-dino-may-have-used-feathers-to-attract-mates" title="">“Bizarre” and Fluffy Dino May Have Used Feathers to Attract Mates</a><em>Image: Zhao Chuang, Xing Lida</em><em>. An artist's rendering of Anchiornis huxleyi.</em></p>

four-winged-dino.jpg

Discover how the Anchiornis huxleyi fossil solidifies the idea that birds descended from dinosaurs, revealing feather evolution.

Planet Earth

Four-Winged Dino Clinches the Case for Bird Evolution

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News

Eliza Strickland

Science

A feathered dinosaur unearthed in a Chinese quarry has added another solid piece of evidence to the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs. The newly uncovered fossil of the species Anchiornis huxleyi dates from the Late Jurassic period, 151-161 million years ago, and therefore predates the earliest known bird, the Archaeopteryx. Paleontologists say this represents the final proof that dinosaurs were ancestral to birds. "Drawing the tree of life, it's fairly obvious that feathers arose before Archaeopteryx appears in the fossil record" [BBC News], says paleontologist Michael Benton. The creature, described in a paper [pdf] in Nature, was covered in the short feathers known as "dino-fuzz," and had longer feathers on both its forelimbs and its back legs that formed primitive wings. The four-winged dinosaurs also had feathers on their feet and wing-like attachments on the arms and legs. But they could probably only glide, as their plumage was insufficient for powered flight [Nature News]. Related Content: 80beats: New Fossil Suggests That Fuzzy Dinosaurs Were Plentiful 80beats: To Attract Mates, This Dino May Have Shaken a Tail Feather 80beats: “Bizarre” and Fluffy Dino May Have Used Feathers to Attract MatesImage: Zhao Chuang, Xing Lida. An artist's rendering of Anchiornis huxleyi.

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