MICRORAPTOR
Microraptor gui
Meaning: "Small Thief"
📊 STATS
Size comparison:
About the size of a crow or a large pigeon!
📖 ABOUT MICRORAPTOR
Meet Microraptor, the tiny 'small thief' with FOUR wings! This feathered dinosaur soared through the skies of ancient China, hunting for its next meal.
Imagine a dinosaur that could fly! Microraptor, whose name means 'small thief', was a small, feathered dinosaur that lived about 125 million years ago in what is now China. But what makes Microraptor super special is that it had FOUR wings – one pair on its arms like birds, and another pair on its legs! These wings weren't quite like bird wings, but they helped Microraptor glide from tree to tree.
Microraptor was a carnivore, which means it ate meat. Scientists believe it hunted small animals like insects, lizards, and maybe even small mammals that lived in the forest. Because it was so small, about the size of a crow, it probably couldn't take down big prey.
Microraptor belonged to a group of dinosaurs called Dromaeosauridae, which includes Velociraptor! While Velociraptor was much bigger and lived later, both were theropods, meaning they walked on two legs (at least on the ground!). Microraptor's discovery has helped scientists understand how dinosaurs evolved into birds, making it a very important piece of the dinosaur puzzle.
🔬 CLASSIFICATION
- Group
- Theropoda
- Family
- Dromaeosauridae
- Period
- Early Cretaceous (145-100 Ma)
- Era
- 125.0 - 120.0 million years ago
🗺️ DISCOVERY
- Year
- 2000
- Discovered by
- Xu Xing
- Location
- Liaoning, China
- Fossils found in
- China
🎨 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION
Artistic reconstruction of Microraptor based on fossil evidence
🗺️ WHERE FOSSILS WERE FOUND
China
🤓 FUN FACTS
- ✨ Microraptor had black, iridescent feathers, like a raven!
- ✨ Scientists think Microraptor could glide as far as a football field!
- ✨ Even though it had four wings, Microraptor probably wasn't a very powerful flyer.
- ✨ Microraptor's fossils were found in Liaoning, China, a place famous for its amazing dinosaur fossils.
- ✨ Microraptor's long tail helped it steer while gliding through the air!
💡 DID YOU KNOW?
Hold on to your hats! Scientists discovered that Microraptor might have hunted at night, using its big eyes to see in the dark!
