The smallest known non-avian theropod dinosaur
Abstract
Non-avian dinosaurs are mostly medium to large-sized animals, and to date all known mature specimens are larger than the most primitive bird, Archaeopteryx. Here we report on a new dromaeosaurid dinosaur, Microraptor zhaoianus gen. et sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. This is the first mature non-avian dinosaur to be found that is smaller than Archaeopteryx, and it eliminates the size disparity between the earliest birds and their closest non-avian theropod relatives. The more bird-like teeth, the Rahonavis-like ischium and the small number of caudal vertebrae of Microraptor are unique among dromaeosaurids and improve our understanding of the morphological transition to birds. The nearly completely articulated foot shows features, such as distally positioned digit I, slender and recurved pedal claws, and elongated penultimate phalanges, that are comparable to those of arboreal birds. The discovery of these in non-avian theropods provides new insights for studying the palaeoecology of some bird-like theropod dinosaurs.
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The ilium of DLXH 1218 is small compared to the femur (ilium/femur length ratio approximately 0.60), a condition in Archaeopteryx and basal dromaeosaurids; in most other theropods the ilium is more than 70% the length of the femur.
“The ilium is small in size in comparison to the femur (ilium/femur length ratio is ∼0.60), which is the condition in Archaeopteryx and basal dromaeosaurids41. In most other theropods, the ilium is more than 70% the length of the femur.”
From Mosaic evolution in an asymmetrically feathered troodontid dinosaur with transitional features (2017) · cites this paper as [41]
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- Authors
- Xu, X., Zhou, Z., & Wang, X.
- Affiliations
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Xu, Xing
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2000-12
- Volume
- 408
- Issue
- 6813
- Pages
- 705-708
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1677119557
- Cited by
- 539
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 33
- FWCI
- 39.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fossil Insects in Amber
- Keywords
- dromaeosaurids, Archaeopteryx, dinosaur-bird transition, Jiufotang Formation, Lower Cretaceous, foot morphology, caudal vertebrae, paleoecology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Biological Evolution, Fossils, Reptiles
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