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A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus
The early evolution of the major groups of derived non-avialan theropods is still not well understood, mainly because of their poor fossil record in the Jurassic. A well-known result of this problem… Expand
An Archaeopteryx-like theropod from China and the origin of Avialae
- Xing Xu, Hailu You, Kai Du, Feng-lu Han
- Biology, Medicine
- Nature
- 28 July 2011
Archaeopteryx is widely accepted as being the most basal bird, and accordingly it is regarded as central to understanding avialan origins; however, recent discoveries of derived maniraptorans have… Expand
A therizinosauroid dinosaur with integumentary structures from China
Therizinosauroidea (‘segnosaurs’) are little-known group of Asian dinosaurs with an unusual combination of features that, until recently, obscured their evolutionary relationships. Suggested… Expand
Exceptional dinosaur fossils show ontogenetic development of early feathers
- Xing Xu, Xiao-ting Zheng, Hailu You
- Biology, Medicine
- Nature
- 1 April 2010
Recent discoveries of feathered dinosaur specimens have greatly improved our understanding of the origin and early evolution of feathers, but little information is available on the ontogenetic… Expand
Fossilized melanosomes and the colour of Cretaceous dinosaurs and birds
- Fucheng Zhang, S. Kearns, +5 authors X. Wang
- Medicine, Biology
- Nature
- 25 February 2010
Spectacular fossils from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Group of northeastern China have greatly expanded our knowledge of the diversity and palaeobiology of dinosaurs and early birds, and contributed to… Expand
A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings
- Xing Xu, Xiao-ting Zheng, +7 authors Y. Pan
- Biology, Medicine
- Nature
- 7 May 2015
The wings of birds and their closest theropod relatives share a uniform fundamental architecture, with pinnate flight feathers as the key component. Here we report a new scansoriopterygid theropod,… Expand
Mosaic evolution in an asymmetrically feathered troodontid dinosaur with transitional features
- Xing Xu, P. J. Currie, +5 authors Congyu Yu
- Biology, Medicine
- Nature communications
- 2 May 2017
Asymmetrical feathers have been associated with flight capability but are also found in species that do not fly, and their appearance was a major event in feather evolution. Among non-avialan… Expand
Histology and postural change during the growth of the ceratopsian dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis.
- Qi Zhao, Michael J. Benton, Corwin Sullivan, P. Martin Sander, Xing Xu
- Biology, Medicine
- Nature communications
- 28 June 2013
A few dinosaurs are inferred to have undergone an ontogenetic shift from quadrupedal-to-bipedal posture, or vice versa, based on skeletal allometry. The basal ceratopsian Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis… Expand
Hind Wings in Basal Birds and the Evolution of Leg Feathers
- Xiao-ting Zheng, Z. Zhou, +6 authors Xing Xu
- Medicine, Biology
- Science
- 15 March 2013
Four-Winged Birds? Recently, nonavialan dinosaurs with feathers on their fore- and hindlimbs have been described. Zheng et al. (p. 1309) describe eleven basal avialan fossils with clear evidence of… Expand
A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution
The Jurassic Yanliao theropods have offered rare glimpses of the early paravian evolution and particularly of bird origins, but, with the exception of the bizarre scansoriopterygids, they have shown… Expand