Changyuraptor

long-feather plunderer (long-feathered thief)

• chang · Chinese (Mandarin) · long
• yu · Chinese (Mandarin) · feather
• raptor · Latin · plunderer, robber

The name combines the Mandarin words for "long" and "feather" with the Latin "raptor", meaning plunderer. It refers to the very long tail feathers of the type specimen, which are the longest known of any non-avian dinosaur relative to body size. The type species is Changyuraptor yangi.

Named by

Han et al.

Year named

2014

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China

A four-winged dromaeosaurid (microraptorine) theropod. It is known from a single, well-preserved specimen with long tail feathers, which may have helped with control while gliding or landing.