Microraptor's World
Feathered dinosaur
Sinornithosaurus
When his Chinese colleague Ji Qiang first showed Mark Norell
this fossil in 1999, Norell thought it was the greatest dinosaur specimen he had
ever seen. The feathers on this small dinosaur, which Norell affectionately
calls "Dave," are much more pronounced than those on the
"first feathered dinosaur," Sinosauropteryx prima. Dave's feathers also come in three types:
simple hair-like fibers (primarily on the head and tail), sprays of fibers
(apparent on the hind limbs and shoulders), and asymmetrical feathers like
those of a modern bird (on the trailing edge of the arm).