Editing Archaeoraptor (section)

{{for|the dromaeosaurid genus|Acheroraptor}}
{{Short description|Faked dinosaur discovery in China}}
{{good article}}
[[File:Archaeoraptor IVPP.jpg|alt=|thumb|The "Archaeoraptor" fossil]]
[[File:Archaeoraptor.png|thumb|A hypothetical reconstruction of "Archaeoraptor" and its known constituents, ''[[Yanornis]]'' and ''[[Microraptor]]'']]
"'''Archaeoraptor'''" is the informal [[genus|generic]] name for a [[fossil]] [[Chimera (paleontology)|chimera]] from [[China]] in an article published in [[National Geographic Magazine|''National Geographic'' magazine]] in 1999. The magazine claimed that the fossil was a "[[Transitional fossil|missing link]]" between [[bird]]s and terrestrial [[theropod]] [[dinosaur]]s. Even before this publication, there had been severe doubts about the fossil's authenticity. A further scientific study showed it to be a [[forgery]] constructed from rearranged pieces of real fossils from different species. Zhou ''et al.'' found that the head and upper body belong to a specimen of the primitive fossil bird ''[[Yanornis]]''.<ref name="Zhou02">Zhou, Zhonghe, Clarke, Julia A., Zhang, Fucheng. "Archaeoraptor's better half." ''Nature'' Vol. 420. 21 November 2002. pp. 285.</ref> A 2002 study found that the tail belongs to a small winged [[dromaeosaur]], ''[[Microraptor]]'', named in 2000.<ref name="Mayell02">{{cite journal| last = Mayell | first = Hillary| title = Dino Hoax Was Mainly Made of Ancient Bird, Study Says| journal = National Geographic| date = 2002-11-20| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/11/1120_021120_raptor.html| access-date = 2008-06-13| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080512151354/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/11/1120_021120_raptor.html| archive-date= 12 May 2008 | url-status= dead}}</ref> The legs and feet belong to an as-yet-unknown-animal.<ref name="Holden2000">Holden, Constance. "Florida Meeting Shows Perils, Promise of Dealing for Dinos" ''Science'' 14 April 2000. Vol.288 no.5464 pp.238-239. {{doi|10.1126/science.288.5464.238a}}</ref><ref>Timothy Rowe, Richard A. Ketcham, Cambria Denison, Matthew Colbert, Xing Xu, Philip J. Currie, 2001, "Forensic palaeontology: The Archaeoraptor Forgery", ''Nature'' '''410''', 539 - 540 (29 Mar 2001), {{doi|10.1038/35069145}}</ref>

The scandal brought attention to illegal fossil deals conducted in China. Although "Archaeoraptor" was a forgery,  many true examples of [[feathered dinosaurs]] have been found and demonstrate the evolutionary connection between birds and other theropods.<ref name=padian2004>{{cite book |last=Padian |first=Kevin. |year=2004 |chapter=Basal Avialae |editor=Weishampel, David B. |editor-link=David B. Weishampel |editor2=Dodson, Peter |editor2-link=Peter Dodson |editor3=Osmólska, Halszka |title=The Dinosauria |url=https://archive.org/details/dinosauriandedit00weis |url-access=limited |edition=Second |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dinosauriandedit00weis/page/n228 210]–231 |isbn=978-0-520-24209-8}}</ref>