This is the specimen we ve been waiting for, says Ji Qiang. It makes it indisputable that a body covering similar to feathers was present in non-avian dinosaurs. Because dromaeosaurs are more primitive than birds, this fossil helps make the case that feathers developed before flight. In small, flightless dinosaurs like this one, feathers may have evolved as an essential piece of equipment for staying warm. It s conceivable that smaller dinosaurs like this one and even the young of larger species like Tyrannosaurus rex may have needed featherlike body coverings to maintain their body temperature.
Scientists have yet to determine if the new dromaeosaur represents a new species.
A Treasure Trove of Fossils in China Consisting of layers of volcanic and sedimentary rock, the Yixian Formation in China s Liaoning Province has yielded an enormous variety of fossil fish, birds, insects, reptiles, shrimp, flowers, mammals, and dinosaurs dating back to late Jurassic and early Cretaceous times between 145 and 120 million years ago. At that time, the region was dotted with freshwater lakes and volcanoes. Volcanic explosions rained fine ash into the lakes, and animals that died or fell into the water were quickly buried in the fine-grained sediment at the bottom. Because they were buried so quickly, with so little oxygen available to promote decay, the fossil animals found in the Yixian Formation have delicate features almost impossibly preserved from feathers and fish scales to patterns on insect wings. These fossils have dramatically changed the way we understand what life was like during late Jurassic and early Cretaceous times, said Ji Qiang.