New dinosaur is a primitive bird

A dinosaur from the Middle-Late Jurassic period, found in China, gives scientists new understandings of how birds evolved, according to a Wednesday report from the journal Nature.

The newly discovered species is called Aurornis xui. "Aurora" is Latin for "daybreak" or "dawn." Ornis is Greek for "bird." The last part of the name, xui, honors paleontologist Xu Xing.

The dinosaur lived about 150 million years ago, said Pascal Godefroit, lead author and researcher at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.

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Post by: CNN's Elizabeth Landau
Filed under: Dinosaurs • Discoveries • News • On Earth

soundoff (4 Responses)

RMatrix

Hey! You know what!? Sometimes its not about Evolution! Sometimes its straight out Creation! Or Re-Creation-formation! Period. Thats all i have to say.

May 31, 2013 at 10:15 pm |
Ned

((salivating)) mmmmmmm. dinosaur chicken.

May 31, 2013 at 11:01 am |
Astrophysicist

They taste just like chicken.

May 30, 2013 at 9:29 pm |
Abraham

I bet that thing would be delicious.

May 30, 2013 at 8:54 am |