“Feathered Poodle From Hell” Dino Found

A newly discovered relative of Velociraptor had abundant plumage and birdlike wings.

kerry grens
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

JUNCHANG LUA fossil discovery by a farmer in northeastern China has led to the identification of a new species of dinosaur, Zhenyuanlong suni, a five-foot-long, turkey-looking critter with layers of feathers and short, winglike arms.

The specimen was “the single most beautiful fossil I have had the privilege to work on,” Stephen Brusatte, a University of Edinburgh paleontologist who published his team’s findings in Scientific Reports last week (July 16), told BBC News.

Although the close relative of Velociraptor was covered in feathers and appears to have wings, the animal likely didn’t fly. “I would expect that muscle power, forelimb bone strength, and stability (the short arms would tend to make it unstable in pitch) might all be issues that could stop Zhenyuanlong from being able to fly,” Michael Habib of the University of Southern California told Live Science.

Brusatte wrote at The Conversation that Zhenyuanlong would have looked just like a bird when alive. “Look at Zhenyuanlong and you ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • kerry grens

    Kerry Grens

    Kerry served as The Scientist’s news director until 2021. Before joining The Scientist in 2013, she was a stringer for Reuters Health, the senior health and science reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, and the health and science reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. Kerry got her start in journalism as a AAAS Mass Media fellow at KUNC in Colorado. She has a master’s in biological sciences from Stanford University and a biology degree from Loyola University Chicago.

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio 
Zymo Research

Zymo Research Launches Microbiome Grant to Support Innovation in Microbial Sciences