Zhenyuanlong suni - a new dromaeosaurid taxon found with feather impressions!

[Patrx]

Pretty exciting find, a roughly Velociraptor-sized dromaeosaur with its feathers preserved!
Check out Brian Switek's article here.

[DinoLord]

Those are some nicely feathered wings! Hopefully future finds will help suggest whether or not such elongated arm feathers were present in other dromaeosaurs as well. Imagine a Utahraptor with huge arm feathers - it would be absolutely terrifying!

[suspsy]

What a beauty!

[Everything_Dinosaur]

Just when we were getting used to birds as dinosaurs, here's a dinosaur that thinks its a bird!  Expect more announcements from S. Brusatte and co. in the near future re our feathered friends.

[Patrx]

I am annoyed by many of the headlines going out with this discovery, which are claiming it's the "largest feathered dinosaur". That is misleading on the grounds that we already knew that dromaeosaurs and ornithomimids of all sizes had wings. This is simply the largest fossil found with preserved wings.

[stargatedalek]

I am annoyed by many of the headlines going out with this discovery, which are claiming it's the "largest feathered dinosaur". That is misleading on the grounds that we already knew that dromaeosaurs and ornithomimids of all sizes had wings. This is simply the largest fossil found with preserved wings.

I thought changyuraptor was the largest dromaeosaur found with intact feathers? If this is velociraptor sized it would be smaller.

[Patrx]

I thought changyuraptor was the largest dromaeosaur found with intact feathers? If this is velociraptor sized it would be smaller.

Hm. Maybe the numbers I'm looking at are wrong? I don't generally pay much mind to dinosaur sizes for whatever reason. I've got Velociraptor at 2.7 metres, Zhenyuanlong at 2 metres, and Changyuraptor at 1.2 metres.

[Dinoguy2]

I thought changyuraptor was the largest dromaeosaur found with intact feathers? If this is velociraptor sized it would be smaller.

Hm. Maybe the numbers I'm looking at are wrong? I don't generally pay much mind to dinosaur sizes for whatever reason. I've got Velociraptor at 2.7 metres, Zhenyuanlong at 2 metres, and Changyuraptor at 1.2 metres.

These numbers are about right. Zhenyuanlong is the largest known dinosaur with actual preserved pennaceous feathers. Of course, there were much larger winged dinosaurs that we know had wings by inference, like Gigantoraptor and Utahraptor.

Keep in mind 2.7m is the absolute largest known specimen of Velociraptor, not typical size. There are adult Velociraptor specimens that are the same size as Zhenyuanlong, which is itself a subadult specimen. So it would be fair to say that Zhenyuanlong and Velociraptor were about the same size, on average.

[E.D.G.E. (PainterRex)]

I thought a fossils of Ornithomimus with preserved ostrich-like wings on the arms were found? Ornithomimus was far larger than this new dromeasaur.

[Patrx]

I thought a fossils of Ornithomimus with preserved ostrich-like wings on the arms were found? Ornithomimus was far larger than this new dromeasaur.

That's true! I considered bringing that up; it is a slightly different case in that the fossil feathers were not still associated with the rest of the skeletons, if memory serves. Still, they are feather remains.

[Dinoguy2]

I thought a fossils of Ornithomimus with preserved ostrich-like wings on the arms were found? Ornithomimus was far larger than this new dromeasaur.

No, that was just quill nodes. The "ostrich-like" wings were imagined by the artist who did the press release picture.

A juvenile of the same species preserved actual filaments in a few spots but no pennaceous feathers.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

there you go, the paper for the dinosaur. I linked to the abstract, but if you click the link for the PDF .......

http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150716/srep11775/full/srep11775.html

[Arul]

Another new discovery in 2015, great year and very good job