New dinosaur Norellraptor barsboldi with feathers found in Liaoning, China
A brand-new dinosaur, Norellraptor barsboldi, has been uncovered in Liaoning, China.
This little dinosaur lived more than 100 million years ago, was about 22-inch long, and had feathers on its arms, legs, and tail, suggesting it might have been able to fly.
It's part of the microraptorine group, which are basically ancient cousins of today's birds.
Norellraptor barsboldi suggests multiple flight origins
Scientists say Norellraptor barsboldi was at least three years old when it died.
What's really cool is that this discovery challenges old ideas about how flight evolved: about 30% of the changes seen in these dinosaurs also happened in birds, but not always in the same order.
So instead of inheriting flight from a single ancestor, it looks like these features may have popped up separately along the way.