Information AboutCryptovolans |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CRYPTOVOLANS | |
| feathered dinosaurs | |
| dinosaurs of asia | |
| cretaceous dinosaurs | |
| dromaeosaurs | |
''Cryptovolans pauli'' is a 90 cm long Feathered Dromaeosaurid Dinosaur recently discovered in the Jiufotang site, China . Its species name honours Paleontologist Gregory S. Paul . ''Cryptovolans'' belongs to the same family as '' Velociraptor ''. FLIGHT CAPABILITY ''Cryptovolans'' is remarkable for being the first known dinosaur to have flight-capable feathers on its legs as well as on its arms. It also had feathers on the end of its long tail, and probably on the rest of its body. It is believed that ''Cryptovolans'' may have been able to fly better than '' Archaeopteryx '', the animal usually referred to as the earliest known bird. Possessing a keel and ribs with an uncinate process, ''Cryptovolans'' has modern bird features which are absent in ''Archaeopteryx''. The fact that this flight-capable animal is also very clearly a dromaeosaurid suggests that the Dromaeosauridae might actually be a basal bird group, and that later (larger) species such as '' Deinonychus '' were actually secondarily flightless. Current evidence for this theory is inconclusive, and some of the modern bird-like features in ''Crytovolans'' may have evolved independently. Regardless of whether dromaeosaurs are a sister group to birds or actual members of Aves , there is significant evidence that they are part of the Maniraptora suborder and are ultimately Theropod dinosaurs, though some researchers, such as Czerkas (2002), consider dromaeosaurs to be non-dinosaurian birds. Many think that ''Cryptovolans'' is a junior synonym of '' Microraptor ''. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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