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Name: Dilong
Pronunciation: Dy-long Translation: Emperor Dragon Diet: Carnivore Height: 3 feet ( .9 meters) Length: 5 feet (1.6 meters) Weight: 25 Pounds (11 kg.) Location: Plains of Asia Time: Cretaceous Period |
Discovered in 2004, Dilong is one of the most primitive known tyrannosaurs, a group that includes Tyrannosaurus and other similar dinosaurs, and the first tyrannosauroid discovered with feathers. Dilong differs from Tyrannosaurus in having proportionally larger forelimbs and three-fingered, grasping hands. It also shared many advanced features of the skull with later tyrannosaurs—such as fused nasal bones, extensive sinuses, and a rounded snout.
Dilong was the first primitive tyrannosaur known from reasonably complete remains. One of the fossil specimens includes impressions of protofeathers. This is the first evidence that, like many other coelurosaurs (that is, theropod dinosaurs closely related to birds), tyrannosaurs were feathered. The protofeathers that would have resembled a coat of hair rather than the contour feathers of birds. Dilong and most other feathered coelurosaurs could not fly and were not descended from flying animals. This evidence suggests that feathers first evolved as insulation and only later were co-opted for flight. The presence of feathers in Dilong raises the possibility that later tyrannosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus, were also feathered
Dilong was the first primitive tyrannosaur known from reasonably complete remains. One of the fossil specimens includes impressions of protofeathers. This is the first evidence that, like many other coelurosaurs (that is, theropod dinosaurs closely related to birds), tyrannosaurs were feathered. The protofeathers that would have resembled a coat of hair rather than the contour feathers of birds. Dilong and most other feathered coelurosaurs could not fly and were not descended from flying animals. This evidence suggests that feathers first evolved as insulation and only later were co-opted for flight. The presence of feathers in Dilong raises the possibility that later tyrannosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus, were also feathered