Sinornithosaurus
| Sinornithosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
| |
|---|---|
| S. millenii fossil, Hong Kong Science Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Dromaeosauridae |
| Clade: | †Microraptoria |
| Genus: | †Sinornithosaurus Xu, Wang & Wu, 1999 |
| Type species | |
| †Sinornithosaurus millenii Xu, Wang, & Wu, 1999
| |
| Species | |
| |
Sinornithosaurus (derived from Latin and Greek, meaning 'Chinese bird-lizard') was a feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous, a dromaeosaur. It was found in the Yixian Formation in what is now China.
This new fossil supports the idea that these dinosaurs did not have scaly, reptile-like skin, but had a softer, downy coat. No fossil skin impressions of these dinosaurs had been found previously.