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DVL-0089Specimen Record

Microraptor

Microraptor gui

MY-crow-RAP-tor

AI Reconstruction of Microraptor gui, generated in 2026
  • Hindwing Feathers: Long flight feathers grew from the back legs — something no bird alive today has. Fossils show these feathers attached along the shin and foot bones, turning the legs into a second set of wings for gliding through the air.
  • Shimmering Feathers: Tiny pigment structures called melanosomes preserved in the feathers reveal the actual colour of this dinosaur — a glossy blue-black that shimmered like a starling's feathers. This is one of the earliest dinosaurs where scientists can say exactly what colour it was!
  • Sickle Claw: Each foot had a curved, razor-sharp claw on the second toe that could swing up and down like a switchblade. This claw probably worked double-duty — gripping tree bark when climbing and pinning down small prey like lizards and early birds (both found preserved in its stomach!).
  • Ribbon Tail: Two long, streamer-like feathers at the tip of the tail formed a diamond-shaped fan. This fancy tail wasn't just for show — it helped keep the animal stable while gliding, working like the back fins on a paper aeroplane.
  • True Flight Feathers: The wing feathers are lopsided on purpose — narrower on one edge, wider on the other. Every flying bird alive today has feathers shaped exactly this way because it's what makes flight actually work. This proves Microraptor wasn't just a feathery runner — it really could glide through the air.
●Early Cretaceous145–100.5 myaSaurischiaDromaeosaur🥩 Carnivore🦵 Biped

A crow-sized dinosaur with four wings. Microraptor glided through the forests of Early Cretaceous China, hunting fish and small prey — a snapshot of the evolutionary moment when dinosaurs became birds.

Did you know?
  • Microraptor had iridescent feathers — fossilized color cells show it shimmered blue-black like a modern starling

About

Microraptor is one of the most extraordinary animals ever discovered. About the size of a crow, it had large feathered wings on both its arms and its legs — four wings in total — making it the smallest known four-winged dinosaur.

For a long time, scientists debated whether Microraptor flapped or glided. The current consensus is that it was primarily a glider, spreading all four wings to soar between trees in the dense forests of Early Cretaceous China. Its feathers were iridescent — preserved show it likely shimmered with a blue-black sheen, like a modern starling.

Microraptor's diet was surprisingly varied. Fossilized stomach contents have revealed fish, lizards, and small birds — meaning this tiny animal was an active and versatile predator that hunted across multiple environments.

Microraptor belongs to the family — the same group as Velociraptor — but it represents a separate evolutionary experiment in flight. Birds didn't descend from Microraptor specifically, but it shows that winged, gliding dinosaurs evolved multiple times.

Quick Facts

Scientific name
Microraptor gui
Group
Theropod · Dromaeosauridae
Lived
Early Cretaceous, 121.4–113.2 million years ago
Diet
Carnivore
Movement
Walked on two legs
Fossils found in
Yixian Formation (Liaoning, China)
Discovery credited to
2000, Xu Xing et al.
Holotype
IVPP V 13352 · Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing
DinoVault record
DVL-0089

Where fossils were found

Yixian Formation prehistoric landscape

Yixian Formation

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Modern location

Liaoning · China

When it lived

121.4–113.2 million years ago(8.2m year span)

Where Microraptor Roamed

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Microraptor gui inhabited the lush, temperate forests of the Jehol Biota in what is now northeastern China, a region characterized by ancient lakes, volcanic activity, and dense coniferous and ginkgo woodlands during the Early Cretaceous. This corner of the eastern Asian landmass supported an extraordinary diversity of feathered dinosaurs, early birds, and flowering plants beneath ash-laden skies that would ultimately preserve them in exceptional detail.

Keep exploring the vault

Dilong
🦖 Predator

Dilong

Microraptor at 0.65m and 0.6kg was much smaller than Dilong (1.6m, 11kg).

Sinosauropteryx
⚔️ Rival

Sinosauropteryx

Sinosauropteryx prima

Both small feathered theropods from the Yixian Formation with carnivorous diets and similar body sizes (Microraptor 0.65m/0.6kg vs Sinosauropteryx 1.0m/1kg).

Yi
🔀 Evolutionary echo

Yi

Both are small feathered theropods from the Middle-Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of China that independently evolved aerial locomotion capabilities.

Deinonychus
🧪 Close relative

Deinonychus

Deinonychus antirrhopus

Same family: Dromaeosauridae

Velociraptor
🧪 Close relative

Velociraptor

Velociraptor mongoliensis

Same family: Dromaeosauridae

Archaeopteryx
🔀 Evolutionary echo

Archaeopteryx

Both small feathered paravian theropods that independently explored powered or gliding flight.

Sources & Citation

Cite this record

Records are updated as research changes, so citations include the date you accessed this page.

Original descriptiondoi:10.1038/421705a

Length estimates
Multiple Yixian Formation specimens
Height estimates
Estimated from skeletal reconstructions
Weight estimates
Estimated from skeletal proportions