Dinosaurs Around the World · Drawing 28 of 40
Microraptor
Asia · Cretaceous
Microraptor carried long feathers on its arms and legs. This small dinosaur still had four limbs, like the others.
Did you know?
Its fossils preserve feather impressions.
Look together
Do feathers add new legs?
An idea to try
Find this continent on the opening map, then compare two outlines.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Microraptor gui is known from Early Cretaceous China. Fossils document its limb feathers. Flight posture and wing use require models and experiments; the pose on the log is not a measured flight.
Look together: Do feathers add new legs? Find this continent on the opening map, then compare two outlines.
Sources and illustration notes (1)
Simplified reconstruction. Pose, unpreserved tissues and setting are interpreted. Choose your own colours; animals are not to one scale.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Natural History Museum: MicroraptorObserve fossil evidence of long feathers on both forelimbs and hindlimbs.
Source review: 2026-10-03. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
