Huge Feathered Dinosaur Specimens Found
April 5, 2012
Scientists announced the discovery of fossils of a large feathered dinosaur in China on April 4. The dinosaur is far larger than other feathered dinosaurs scientists have discovered in recent years. Paleontologists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, the capital, have named the new species Yutyrannus huali–”beautiful feathered tyrant”–because it is similar in size and shape to Tyrannosaurus rex. The Yutyrannus huali was 29 feet (9 meters) long and weighed more than 3,000 pounds (1,400 kilograms).
Three complete specimens–dating from the early Cretaceous Period, 125 million years ago–were found in a small quarry in Liaoning Province in northeast China. They were discovered alongside the fossilized remains of a sauropod, which suggests that they may have been stalking the sauropod when all four were killed. This led the scientists to theorize that Yutyrannus huali may have hunted in packs.
The dinosaur was too large to fly, and its feathers were hairlike filaments rather than flight feathers. The feathers probably served as insulation to keep the dinosaur warm.
“To have a complete skeleton with all the beautiful feathers preserved is a big discovery,” noted Professor Xu Xing, the lead author of the study.
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