Scientists in a flap over new fossil finds

A “weird” dinosaur found in China has made experts rethink how the first birds came about. The fossilised remains of the dino, called Fujianvenator prodigiosus, were discovered near the city of Nanping. The creature would have lived around 150 million years ago, which would make it one of the earliest bird-like dinosaurs.
Birds developed from dinosaurs, and the first bird has long been thought to be a 150-millionyear-old dinosaur called Archaeopteryx. However, this new discovery complicates that story, suggesting that there were already many kinds of bird-like dinosaurs around. “Early bird evolution is complicated,” said Hai-Lu You from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and co-author of the study, which was published in Nature magazine.
The pheasant-sized dinosaur had several bird-like features, including long legs and arms shaped like wings. However, unlike modern birds it had three claws on its wing, and a long, bony tail like a dinosaur. The leader of the study, Min Wang described Fujianvenator as “bizarre” and “far from similar to any modern birds”. Experts think that it wouldn’t have flown, and instead it was either a fast runner or wading bird. However, they can’t say which without seeing the ends of its toes, and unfortunately, these were not well-preserved.
Bhart-Anjan Bhullar fr...