A therizinosauroid dinosaur with integumentary structures from China
Abstract
Therizinosauroidea (`segnosaurs') are little-known group of Asian dinosaurs with an unusual combination of features that, until recently, obscured their evolutionary relationships. Suggested affinities include Ornithischia, Sauropodomorpha,, Theropoda and Saurischia sedis mutabilis. Here we describe a new therizinosauroid from the Yixian Formation (Early Cretaceous, Liaoning, China). This new taxon provides fresh evidence that therizinosauroids are nested within the coelurosaurian theropods. Our analysis suggests that several specialized therizinosauroid characters, such as the Sauropodomorpha-like tetradactyl pes,, evolved independently within this group. Most interestingly, this new dinosaur has integumentary filaments as in Sinosauropteryx,. This indicates that such feather-like structures may have a broad distribution among non-avian theropods, and supports the hypothesis that the filamentous integumentary structures may be homologous to the feathers of birds,.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- May 1999
- DOI:
- 10.1038/20670
- Bibcode:
- 1999Natur.399..350X