Dinosaurs Around the World · Drawing 14 of 34
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
Can you see feathers on its arms and legs?
An idea to try
Find the four limbs with long feathers.
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: Can you see feathers on its arms and legs? Find the four limbs with long feathers.
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: 2026-10-04. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
