Tag Archives: Microraptorine
Microraptorine Dinosaur Footprints Shed New Light on Origin of Flight
Top Stories Tamfitronics Theropod dinosaur trackways can be used as indirect evidence of pre-avian aerial behavior, according to new research.The animal responsible for Dromaeosauriformes are rare tracks is believed to be a small microraptorine dinosaur related to the ancestors of birds. Image credit: Julius Csotonyi.In the study, University of Maryland paleontologist Thomas Holtz Jr. and his colleagues examined two-toed footprints produced by a small, bird-like microraptorine dinosaur moving at high speed.Scientifically named Dromaeosauriformes are rarethese footprints are nearly 100 million years old (Cretaceous period) and were found preserved in a slab of rock in South Korea.“This guy is dinky — one of the smallest dinosaurs that we have fossils of,” Dr. Holtz said.“These tracks were a puzzle because their footprints are so tiny but they’re so far apart.”The paleontologists found that the producer of Dromaeosauriformes...
