Norellraptor: China fossil shows flight evolved twice — SkimNews
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- Norellraptor barsboldi was identified as a new microraptorine species from a near-complete 57-cm feathered fossil found by a farmer in Liaoning, China, and dated to 100–145 million years ago.
- Ji Qiang and colleagues at Hebei GEO University examined the specimen — donated to the university's museum in 2023 — and concluded it was a young adult at least 3 years old, with plumage, teeth, wings, an articulated spine, and an Archaeopteryx-like long tail.
- The researchers found roughly 30% of anatomical changes in microraptorines also evolved in the bird lineage, but in a different order — evidence the two groups independently developed flight-related traits.
- The species name honors paleontologists Mark Allen Norell and Rinchen Barsbold, with the finding published in Nature Communications.
- Jacqueline Nguyen of the Australian Museum noted Norellraptor's forelimb growth pattern differs from that of living birds, reinforcing the case that flight evolved along multiple evolutionary trajectories.
Why it matters: Convergent flight adaptations in Norellraptor barsboldi — detailed in Nature Communications — show microraptorines and birds hit roughly 30% of the same anatomical changes in a different order, meaning the textbook 'linear' march from dinosaur to bird is now bracketed by a clearly separate, parallel pathway.
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