Tiny bat wing dinosaur fossil discovered

Researchers have announced the discovery of a 160-million-year-old dinosaur fossil, as scientists grapple with what this may mean for the evolution of flight. 

Beijing's Chinese Academy of Sciences found the fossils, discovered in Hebei Province, indicated the dinosaur was small, covered in feathers and possessed a large bone extending from its forearms – appearing to support a wing.

It is the first such fossil found and is thought to belong to a previously unknown species of obscure smaller dinosaurs (scansoriopterygids), related to the famous primitive bird, Archaeopteryx.

The dinosaur, named Yi Qi meaning 'Strange Wing' in Mandarin, is not thought to be related to the origin of mammalian bats but instead is thought to be an example of convergent evolution.

This occurs when species independently evolved similar characteristics – such as developing a large bone in their wrist or hand and a supporting membrane, as found in Yi Qi's fossilised remains from the Jurassic period.

The find is significant because it is unusual to see such membrane development in a dinosaur and further complicates study into the development of flight.

“It definitely evolved a wing that is unique in the context of the transition from dinosaurs to birds,” Prof Xu Xing, lead author of the study from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, in Beijing, said.

Dr Mike Habib of the University of Southern California, who was not involved in the study, said that the “exciting” discovery could change views on the evolution of flight in dinosaurs.