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Fossil Supports Theory That Birds Evolved From Dinosaurs

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Chinese researchers have unearthed what could be the smallest fossil ever of an adult dinosaur: a crow-sized creature that could help prove the theory that birds evolved from little dinosaurs. The 125-million-year-old dinosaur, called Microraptor zhaoianus, appeared to have feathers and perch in trees, the researchers said. There is no evidence that it flew, though.

It lived about 20 million years after the first known bird, the Archaeopteryx. The Chinese researchers who reported the discovery in today’s Nature believe the two creatures had a common ancestor. Many paleontologists believe birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs like Microraptor. But previous theropod fossils were bigger than typical birds, weakening the theory.

--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II

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