China discovery of Norellraptor barsboldi suggests independent evolution of flight

The discovery of a new feathered dinosaur species, Norellraptor barsboldi, in northeastern China suggests that the ability to fly evolved independently in dinosaurs and birds through convergent evolution. The fossil, a 57-centimeter microraptorine predator, was found in the Jiufotang Formation and dates back to the Early Cretaceous period.

An international team of scientists from China and Italy analyzed the exceptionally well-preserved specimen, which was approximately three years old at the time of death. While the dinosaur shared roughly 30% of the morphological flight characteristics found in primitive birds (Avialae), researchers determined that the evolutionary paths to flight were distinct. The study, published in Nature Communications, indicates that the bone transformations and anatomical adaptations required for flight occurred through parallel experimentation rather than being inherited from a single common ancestor.