🎨 RestorationRestoration: Matt Martyniuk · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Life restorations are artistic reconstructions based on fossil evidence; true coloration and soft-tissue details remain uncertain.
Microraptor
Microraptor zhaoianus (Microraptor · Microraptor)
Known only from fossils. The IUCN Red List assesses only species extant since 1500 CE, so fossil taxa are not assigned a category.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its estimated body length of about 0.8 m (representative value for the genus) is similar to a baseball bat (about 85 cm), and its weight of about 1 kg is similar to a 1 L carton of milk (Comparison).
- 💡 The museum notes that one famous specimen had been used as part of the 'Archaeoraptor' fake fossil pieced together from multiple fossils.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
Microraptor zhaoianus (genus Microraptor) was a small feathered dinosaur (dromaeosaurid) that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous, and its name means 'small plunderer.' With about 300 specimens found, it was a common dinosaur.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It had wings on its legs as well as its arms, and its body length was about 0.8 m. In 2012, pigment cells preserved in a fossil showed that it likely had glossy black feathers.
🔍 3. Fossil Record & Paleoecology
It could likely glide or fly by flapping. Stomach contents containing mammals, birds, and fish show that it ate these animals, and it may also have scavenged carrion.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • Fossil taxon — the IUCN Red List assesses only species living or extinct since 1500
- • paleobiodb.org — basicTaxonInfo
- • wikidata.org — Q20718738
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Microraptor zhaoianus.jpg
- • nhm.ac.uk — microraptor.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Brad McFeeters (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.