Wulong bohaiensis

Wulong; Temporal range: Early Cretaceous Aptian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Skeleton of the holotype DNHM D2933
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Family:	†Dromaeosauridae
Clade:	†Microraptoria
Genus:	†Wulong; Poust et al., 2020
Type species
	†Wulong bohaiensis; Poust et al., 2020

Wulong (meaning "dancing dragon") is a genus of microraptorine dromaeosaurid dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Jiufotang Formation of China. It includes one species, Wulong bohaiensis. The skeletal remains represent a juvenile.[1][2][3]

Discovery

The holotype specimen of the dinosaur was found by a farmer in the fossil-rich Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, China. Since then the fossil skeleton has been housed in the collection of the Dalian Natural History Museum in Liaoning. The skeletal bones were analyzed by Ashley William Poust alongside her former advisor David Varricchio from Montana State University and Dalian paleontologists Chunling Gao, Jianlin Wu, and Fengjiao Zhang.[1]

Description

The long and bony tail of Wulong bohaiensis is double its body length. Its skeleton had hollow bones. The dinosaur has feathers on its limbs and two long plumes at the end of its tail. In addition, it has a narrow head that carries thin jaws filled with small and sharp teeth. It is closely related to Sinornithosaurus from the Yixian Formation.[1]

The long skull of Wulong is large in relation to the body. It is in 1.15 times the length of the femur. The lighty built premaxilla, one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw, is relatively short dorsoventrally for a dromaeosaurid.[1]

The quadratojugal of most dromaeosaurids is T-shaped, but in Wulong this bone is L‐shaped. The ascending process of this theropod is about 6 mm tall, the jugal process is 5 mm long.[1]

References

Poust, AW; Gao, C; Varricchio, DJ; Wu, J; Zhang, F (15 January 2020). "A new microraptorine theropod from the Jehol Biota and growth in early dromaeosaurids". The Anatomical Record. American Association for Anatomy. doi:10.1002/ar.24343. PMID 31943887.
Hodge, Rae (17 January 2020). "Pocket-size raptor sheds new light on the links between dino and bird life - This "dancing dragon," a new species of feathered dinosaur, was discovered in one of the richest fossil deposits in the world". CNET. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
Rayne, Elizabeth (18 January 2020). "This New Dinosaur Just Called It: Even Feathered Dinos Were Nothing Like Birds". SyfyWire. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

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[Poust2020-1] Poust, AW; Gao, C; Varricchio, DJ; Wu, J; Zhang, F (15 January 2020). "A new microraptorine theropod from the Jehol Biota and growth in early dromaeosaurids". The Anatomical Record. American Association for Anatomy. doi:10.1002/ar.24343. PMID 31943887.

[CNET-20200117-2] Hodge, Rae (17 January 2020). "Pocket-size raptor sheds new light on the links between dino and bird life - This "dancing dragon," a new species of feathered dinosaur, was discovered in one of the richest fossil deposits in the world". CNET. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

[SYFY-20200118-3] Rayne, Elizabeth (18 January 2020). "This New Dinosaur Just Called It: Even Feathered Dinos Were Nothing Like Birds". SyfyWire. Retrieved 19 January 2020.