Sinornithosaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Sinornithosaurus (derived from Latin and Greek, meaning 'Chinese bird-lizard') was a feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous, a dromaeosaur. It was found in the Yixian Formation in what is now China.
| Sinornithosaurus | |
|---|---|
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| S. millenii fossil, Hong Kong Science Museum | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Dromaeosauridae |
| Clade: | †Microraptoria |
| Genus: | †Sinornithosaurus Xu, Wang & Wu, 1999 |
| Type species | |
| †Sinornithosaurus millenii Xu, Wang, & Wu, 1999
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| Species | |
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This new fossil supports the idea that these dinosaurs did not have scaly, reptile-like skin, but had a softer, downy coat. No fossil skin impressions of these dinosaurs had been found previously.
