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Feathered dinosaurs of ChinaRecent discoveries in China demonstrate that birds evolved from small, meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods. Skeletons of several kinds of small dinosaurs and primitive birds have been unearthed by farmers since 1994 in the north-eastern Chinese province of Liaoning. These dinosaurs are the first to be found covered with feathers. The bird-like dinosaurs and dinosaur-like birds were found near the villages of Jianshangou and Sihetun, in rocks aged between 120 and 145 million years old. The fossils show several different stages in the evolution of feathers and flight, revealing how grasping arms transformed into flying wings.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2002 |
