Scientists discover nightmarish dinosaur that has bat wings

[Reefa]

Paleontologists scouring ancient bedrock in northeast China have discovered a bizarre new species of dinosaur, which they’ve named Yi qi. That translates roughly as “strange wing,” and strange it is. Yi qi is believed to have had featherless, membranous wings with a bone structure similar to modern bats. All the artist’s renderings of Yi qi have turned out rather frightening.

Yi qi was about the size of a large pigeon (about 63 cm in length) when it existed some 160 million years ago in the Jurassic era. Scientists know from the fossil find (which is remarkably complete) that Yi qi did have feathers like other dinosaurs, but not on its wings. Instead, the fingers of this creature evolved into long support structures for membranes that could have allowed it to flap or glide.

The long bone structure is completely new to dinosaurs. Scientists aren’t quite sure how well it would have flown, but Yi qi was clearly an interesting evolutionary experiment in the development of flight. Analysis of the rest of the fossil indicates it might have been somewhat back-heavy, making it hard to remain in the air under its own power for extended periods of time. Even if it couldn’t flap to generate lift, it may still have glided long distances. The consensus among researchers is that it probably glided from tree to tree and snatched large insects out of the air.

This animal was probably an evolutionary cousin of modern birds rather than a direct ancestor. It existed early in the development of flight, long before dinosaurs began to resemble birds (the flying pterosaurs were technically reptiles). Scientists think Yi qi was an experiment that didn’t work out, but the long bones supporting a wing apparently had some utility, as it showed up again millions of years later in bats.

geek.com

[nIGHT]

Chicken!

Which came first then?