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Scientist discovers bat-winged dinosaur fossil in China

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2015-04-30 13:51Ecns.cn Editor: Mo Hong'e

中国科学家发现长"蝙蝠翅膀"奇翼龙 距今1.6亿年

中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所徐星研究员和临沂大学郑晓廷教授带领的科研团队,在对一件珍藏于山东天宇自然博物馆的恐龙化石进行了研究后发现,这种生活于1.6亿年前的小型恐龙具有像蝙蝠一样的膜翼翅膀。科学家们将其命名为“奇翼龙”,成果发表于4月30日在线出版的《自然》杂志上。

A restored picture of a “bat-shaped” dinosaur. (Photo/Guangming Daily)

A restored picture of a "bat-shaped" dinosaur. (Photo/Guangming Daily)

(ECNS) -- Chinese paleontologist Xu Xing and colleagues have discovered a "bat-shaped" dinosaur fossil dating back 160 million years, according to Guangming Daily.

The dinosaur remains were found in Shangdong Province of east China and has been called Qiyilong, which means "dinosaur with strange wings". Its wingspan would have been approximately 60 centimeters and it would have weighed about 380 grams, according to Xu, from Beijing's Institute of Vertebrate Paleotology and Paleoanthropology.

The discovery was published in Nature on April 29.

The special bone structure of the dinosaur has captured the attention of experts. It has a rod-shaped bone approximately 13 centimeters long that extends from each wrist and could have helped to support wing membranes. Such a bone structure has never been seen in dinosaurs before.

The animal lived in the middle Jurassic Period. Its feathers resembled those of primitive animals instead of other dinosaurs or birds. Despite its wing structure, the dinosaur was not a competitive flyer and would only have been able to manage short air-borne trips between trees or down to the ground.

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