Very HardZhenyuanlong
Zhenyuanlong suni
zhen-yoo-AN-long· “Zhenyuan's dragon”
🦕 Dinosaur🕰️ Cretaceous🥩 carnivore🦴 Dromaeosauridae
1.6 m
Length
0.7 m
Height
20 kg
Weight
A large-winged dromaeosaur from China preserved with big, layered wing feathers — despite being far too heavy to fly. It hints that many raptors wore bird-like wings for display or brooding rather than flight.
When
Early Cretaceous, ~125 million years ago
Found in
China
Discovered
Junchang Lü, 2015
Did you know?
- Preserved with large, complex wing feathers although it couldn't fly.
- A close cousin of Velociraptor, but bulkier and even more bird-like.
- Suggests raptor wings first evolved for display or brooding, not flight.
Artwork: Emily Willoughby, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.