Sinornithosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
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S. millenii fossil, Hong Kong Science Museum | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Family: | †Dromaeosauridae |
Clade: | †Microraptoria |
Genus: | †Sinornithosaurus Xu, Wang & Wu, 1999 |
Type species | |
†Sinornithosaurus millenii Xu, Wang, & Wu, 1999
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Species | |
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Sinornithosaurus (derived from Latin and Greek, meaning 'Chinese bird-lizard') was a feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous, a dromaeosaur. It was found in the Yixian Formation in what is now China.
This new fossil supports the idea that these dinosaurs did not have scaly, reptile-like skin, but had a softer, downy coat. No fossil skin impressions of these dinosaurs had been found previously.