A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hu D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5768872 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution.
Hu Dongyu D Clarke Julia A JA Eliason Chad M CM Qiu Rui R Li Quanguo Q Shawkey Matthew D MD Zhao Cuilin C D'Alba Liliana L Jiang Jinkai J Xu Xing X
Nature communications 20180115 1
The Jurassic Yanliao theropods have offered rare glimpses of the early paravian evolution and particularly of bird origins, but, with the exception of the bizarre scansoriopterygids, they have shown similar skeletal and integumentary morphologies. Here we report a distinctive new Yanliao theropod species bearing prominent lacrimal crests, bony ornaments previously known from more basal theropods. It shows longer arm and leg feathers than Anchiornis and tail feathers with asymmetrical vanes formi ...[more]
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