Microraptor

Spencer Platt/Getty Images Paleontologist Xing Xu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has helped identify 27 new dinosaur types from the deposits at Liaoning, ranging from a tiny feather duster called Microraptor, at left, to a 3,000-pound plumed bruiser called Gigantoraptor.

Early 'Birds' 2009

In the last eight years alone, Dr. Xu has helped identify 27 new dinosaur types from these deposits, from a tiny feather duster called Microraptor to a 3,000-pound plumed bruiser called Gigantoraptor

An Ancient Quill Rewrites Dinosaur History 2009

According to Peter Makovicky, a palaeontologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, smaller ancestral dromeosaurs such as Microraptor may have been climbers, but their descendants adapted the claw for other purposes, such as latching onto prey, much as big cats with their sharp, curved claws do today.

Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2009

After the writing, before dinner, I watched an episode of Nova online, about the discovery in China of the four-winged, feathered dromaeosaurid theropod Microraptor and the evolution and biomechanics of flight in non-avian and avian theropods.

Howard Hughes and the Little White Pills greygirlbeast 2009

Using models tested in wind tunnels, scientists have determined that Microraptor probably launched from a tree head forward in a dive, with legs extended straight back, forming a canopy over the tail.

Birdology Sy Montgomery 2010

The recent book Journey to Chandara, features some of China's exciting dinosaur discoveries, such as the Microraptor from the Liaoning province, and great discoveries from the Gobi desert, such as Protoceratops and Oviraptor.

Dinotopia in China James Gurney 2010

“We have yet to confirm it, but we suspect that Microraptor may have been venomous, too,” Dr. Burnham said.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

“We have yet to confirm it, but we suspect that Microraptor may have been venomous, too,” Dr. Burnham said.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

But Microraptor was certainly not the first flier; though it may have shared a common ancestor, it is at least 20 million years younger than Archaeopteryx.

Birdology Sy Montgomery 2010

A pair of biologists have figured out that an early winged dinosaur, Microraptor gui, had two pairs of wings arranged like a biplane, thus beating the Wright brothers to the punch by some 125M years.

Waldo Jaquith - Biplane dinosaur. 2007