Name:
Anchiornis (Greek for "almost bird"); pronounced ANN-chee-OR-niss
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Jurassic (155 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About one foot long and a few ounces
Diet:
Probably insects
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; feathers on front and back limbs
About Anchiornis:
The small, feathered "dino-birds" dug up in China's Liaoning fossil beds have proved an endless source of confusion. The latest genus to ruffle the feathers of paleontologists is Anchiornis, a tiny dinosaur (not a bird) with unusually long front arms and feathers on its front limbs, hind limbs, and feet. Despite its similarity to Microraptor--another four-winged dino-bird--Anchiornis is believed to have been a troodont, and thus a close relative of the much bigger Troodon. Like other feathered dinosaurs of its kind, Anchiornis may have represented an intermediate stage between dinosaurs and modern birds, though it may also have occupied a side branch of avian evolution destined to die out with the dinosaurs.
Recently, a team of scientists analyzed the fossilized melanosomes (pigment cells) of a specimen of Anchiornis, resulting in what may be the first full-color depiction of an extinct dinosaur. It turns out that this dino-bird had an orange, mohawk-like crest of feathers on its head, and alternating white- and black-striped feathers running along the width of its wings. Anchiornis also seems to have sported black and red "freckles" on its beaked face.
