Sinornithosaurus

dinosaur · feathered · raptor · Cretaceous

Covered in feathers. Sinornithosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs discovered with actual feathers preserved in the fossil record, proving that feathered dinosaurs really existed.

Tiny meat-eater. Unlike the giant T-Rex, Sinornithosaurus was a small raptor dinosaur that hunted in the forests of early Cretaceous China.

Ancient China resident. This dinosaur lived around 124 million years ago in what is now China, in an area called the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province.

Fossil treasure. Scientists found multiple skeletons of Sinornithosaurus, which gave them lots of clues about how these feathered raptors looked and lived.

Bridge to birds. Sinornithosaurus helps us understand how modern birds evolved from dinosaurs, showing that the connection between these animals is real and proven by fossils.