Small Chinese Four-Winged Dinosaur Boasts Peacock Tail, Reframes Flight Origins

A new small, four-winged pennaraptoran dinosaur from Early Cretaceous China, Changzhousaurus sinensis, reveals a peacock-like tail with 16 elongated feathers and oversized wings, suggesting feathered wings and tail length can evolve independently and highlighting the complex early evolution of pennaraptorans and avian origins; the nearly complete fossil was found in the Jiufotang Formation and described in Vertebrata PalAsiatica.