A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus

@article{Hu2009APT,
  title={A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus},
  author={Dongyu Hu and Lian-hai Hou and Lijun Zhang and Xing Xu},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2009},
  volume={461},
  pages={640-643}
}
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 is the ‘temporal paradox’ argument that is sometimes made against the theropod hypothesis of avian origins. Here we report on an exceptionally well-preserved small theropod specimen collected from the earliest Late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of western Liaoning, China. The specimen is referable… 
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312 Citations

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