Tagged: microraptor

Evolution of flight : Flying from Gliding

  While many animals are able to fly, birds are the creatures that have mastered flight. They evolved feathers and an aerodynamic body shape. But how exactly did they evolve the ability for complex flight? Were birds first capable of gliding then modified this advantage into powered flight? Or did they begin flapping their wings […]

The Microraptor: Missing Link or Evolutionary Dead End?

  Ten years ago a pair of archaeologists dug up a remarkable dinosaur fossil in the Liaoning Province of northeastern China. It appeared to be very similar to other small raptors that had been found around the world. It had a feathered body, adding to the prominent theory that many raptors had feathers. The remarkable aspect of this dinosaur […]

Microraptor: A Link Between Birds and Dinosaurs?

Humans have always looked at birds awed at the grace and ease with which the soar through the air. We strived to achieve the power of flight for thousands of years and only mastered the ability in the last century with the help of propellor and jet turbine powered flight. But what has puzzled scientists […]