Norellraptor barsboldi discovery provides clues to flight evolution

Researchers have identified a new species of small, feathered dinosaur, Norellraptor barsboldi, discovered in the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China. The fossil, which dates back between 145 and 100 million years, consists of a nearly complete 57-centimeter skeleton with preserved traces of plumage.

An international team of scientists from China and Italy published their findings in Nature Communications. The study suggests that the ability to fly may have evolved independently in both birds and microraptorine dinosaurs through convergent evolution, rather than being inherited from a single common ancestor.

While the two groups share approximately 30 percent of certain anatomical changes related to flight, the order in which these characteristics developed differs between them. This indicates that different selection pressures likely shaped the flight-related traits in each lineage.