辽宁发现体型最大带羽毛恐龙,不为能飞为保温。
Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur, the largest-ever feathered one, in Liaoning Province.
科学家在辽西发现了一种新的暴龙类恐龙——华丽羽王龙,是迄今发现的体型最大的带羽毛恐龙。
A statement released by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday said that the new species is a close relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Its name "Yutyrannus huali" is a combination of Latin and Chinese and means "beautifully feathered tyrant."
这批化石标本发现于朝阳市北票上园镇四合屯村,至少包括3个相当完整的个体。
Fossils previously discovered in the province have indicated that some small dinosaurs had bird-like feathers, whereas three fossil specimens of the new tyrannosauroid from the same region show that at least one much larger dinosaur had a feathery coat as well.
“华丽羽王龙”生存在大约距今一亿两千五百万年的白垩纪早期,成年时体长约9米,重达约1.4吨,比此前已知最大的带羽毛恐龙“意外北票龙”要大40倍。因此“华丽羽王龙”代表了已知体型最大的带羽毛的恐龙。
The Yutyrannus is believed to have lived during the Early Cretaceous period around 125 million years ago. The researchers estimate that an adult Yutyrannus would have been about 9 meters long and weighed about 1,400 kilograms. This makes it considerably smaller than the Tyrannosaurus rex, but some 40 times heavier than the largest previously-known feathered dinosaur, the statement said.