The Dinosaurs of China

Map of China highlighting the province of Liaoning

LIAONING
Rise of the Dragon
Some of the finest fossils in the world have been discovered in Liaoning Province of northeastern China. The unusually fine details preserved in these 125 million-year-old fossils reveal the delicate wings of insects, the veins of leaves, and the feathers of dinosaurs and primitive birds. The fossils of Liaoning shed light on the evolution of flight and provide some of the most convincing evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs.

Changchengornis
(chahng-chuhng-OR-nis)

Sometime during the Jurassic Period (200-145 million years ago), the first bird evolved from a gliding dinosaur. Very primitive birds like Changchengornis could fly, but they were probably quite clumsy when airborne. Still, they show some hallmarks of today's birds, such as a toothless beak, a short, stumpy tail, and an enlarged breastbone for the attachment of flight muscles.

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Changchengornis - Illustrations by Martin Hsu