Xiaotingia

Xiaotingia zhengi is a genus of feathered dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic Epoch. Discovered in the Liaoning deposits of China, Xiaotingia is similar in age to Archaeopteryx, a fossil once considered the oldest known bird.1

The discovery of Xiaotingia and other birdlike fossils has led some paleontologists to reclassify Archaeopteryx as a dinosaur. Xiaotingia possessed features such as feathers, three-fingered hands, a wishbone, and long forelimbs, which are also found in Archaeopteryx and other theropod dinosaurs. These shared characteristics suggest that Xiaotingia belongs to the Paraves, a group of theropod dinosaurs that includes birds.12