Still, this dinosaur differed from more famous raptors like Velociraptor in some important respects: the skull, jaws, and teeth of Dromaeosaurus were relatively robust, for instance, a very tyrannosaur-like trait for such a small animal. Small size powerful jaws and teeth probably feathersĭromaeosaurus is the eponymous genus of dromaeosaurs, the smallish, speedy, bipedal, probably feather-covered dinosaurs better known to the general public as raptors. Yinan Chen/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domainĭromaeosaurus (Greek for "running lizard") pronounced DRO-may-oh-SORE-us Adding to the mystery, one scientist insists that Cryptovolans not only merits its own genus but was more evolved toward the bird end of the dinosaur-bird spectrum than even Archaeopteryx-and thus should be considered a prehistoric bird rather than a feathered dinosaur! Some experts believe that Cryptovolans is actually a "junior synonym" of the better known Microraptor, a four-winged raptor that made a big splash in paleontology circles a couple of years ago, while others maintain that it deserves its own genus, mainly because of its longer-than-Microraptor tail.
True to the "crypto" in its name, Cryptovolans has occasioned its share of disputes among paleontologists, who aren't quite sure how to classify this early Cretaceous feathered dinosaur. Long tail feathers on front and hind limbs At the very least, though, Changyuraptor should shed new light on the process by which the feathered dinosaurs of the early Cretaceous period learned to fly.Ĭryptovolans (Greek for "hidden flyer") pronounced CRIP-toe-VO-lanzĮarly Cretaceous (130-120 million years ago) While it's true that the tail feathers of Changyuraptor were a foot long, and may have served some navigational function, it may also be the case that they were strictly ornamental and only evolved as a sexually selected characteristic.Īnother clue that Changyuraptor's aerial bona-fides are being overstated is that this raptor was fairly large, about three feet from head to tail, which would render it much less airworthy than Microraptor (after all, modern turkeys have feathers, too!).
Specifically, the media have been touting the hypothesis that this raptor-a relative of the much smaller, and also four-winged, Microraptor-was capable of powered flight.
Clearly, Balaur's anatomical traits were an adaptation to the limited flora and fauna of its island habitat, and this dinosaur evolved in its strange direction thanks to millions of years of isolation.Įmily Willoughby/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0Ĭhangyuraptor (Greek for "Changyu thief") pronounced CHANG-yoo-rap-toreĪs is often the case when a brand-new dinosaur is discovered, there has been a lot of speculation about Changyuraptor, not all of which is warranted. Why did Balaur occupy a position so far outside the raptor norm? Well, it seems that this dinosaur was restricted to an island environment, which can produce some strange evolutionary results-witness the "dwarf" titanosaur Magyarosaurus, which only weighed a ton or so, and the comparably shrimpy duck-billed dinosaur Telmatosaurus. In fact, Balaur possessed such a low center of gravity that it may have been capable of tackling much larger dinosaurs (especially if it hunted in packs).
First, unlike other raptors, Balaur sported two oversized, curved claws on each of its hind feet, rather than one and second, this predator cut an unusually squat, muscular profile, very unlike its lithe, speedy cousins like Velociraptor and Deinonychus.
Its full name, Balaur bondoc, makes it sound like the supervillain from a James Bond movie, but if anything this dinosaur was even more interesting: an island-dwelling, late Cretaceous raptor with a host of weird anatomical features. Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago) Jaime Headden/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0īalaur (Romanian for "dragon") pronounced BAH-lore