# Microraptor (Microraptor zhaoianus) — DinoLand

> Field Journal — free dinosaur encyclopedia: 33 species with photos and video, catalog, ancient world maps (Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Gondwana), quiz, and paleontology glossary.

### id=26: Microraptor (Microraptor zhaoianus)

- URL: https://www.dinoland.ai/species.html?lang=en&id=26
- Diet: Flying
- Era: Cretaceous
- Period: 120 million years ago
- Length: 0,8 m
- Weight: ≈1 кг
- Height: 0,3 m
- Speed: планирование
- Habitat: Lacustrine volcanic pond complexes rimmed by conifers
- Region: China (Liaoning Province)
- Discovered: 2000, Xu Xing

Fact: “Four-winged paravian—iridescent black-blue plumage in fossil melanosomes.”

Description: Microraptor gui preserves asymmetric pennaceous feathers on both fore- and hindlimbs, forming a biplane-like airfoil suited to controlled glides between Araucarian canopies of Early Cretaceous Liaoning. Preservation of melanosomes indicates glossy iridescent coloration reminiscent of starlings. Gut contents document opportunistic predation on birds, mammals, and lizards.

Features:
  - Hindwing feathers created unique aerodynamic regimes
  - Iridescence is reconstructed from fossilized pigment organelles
  - Stomach masses include enantiornithine birds

Related genera: Archaeopteryx, Anchiornis, Velociraptor


## Citation

Field Journal — Dinosaur Encyclopedia — https://www.dinoland.ai

Web: https://www.dinoland.ai/species.html?lang=en&id=26
Index: https://www.dinoland.ai/llms-en.txt