Editing Microraptor (section)

{{Short description|Extinct genus of dinosaurs}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Early Cretaceous]], {{fossil range|120}}
| image = Microraptor gui holotype.png
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = Fossil specimen, with white arrows pointing at preserved feathers
| taxon = Microraptor
| authority = [[Xu Xing (paleontologist)|Xu]] ''et al.'', 2000
| type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Microraptor zhaoianus'''''
| type_species_authority = Xu ''et al.'', 2000
| subdivision_ranks = Other [[species]]
| subdivision =
* {{extinct}}'''''M. gui''''' <small>Xu ''et al.'', 2003</small>
* {{extinct}}'''''M. hanqingi''''' <small>Gong ''et al.'', 2012</small>
| synonyms = 
* ''Cryptovolans'' <small>Czerkas ''et al.'', 2002</small>
* "Tetrapterornis" <small>Miller, 2004 (''[[nomen nudum]]'')</small><ref name="Miller 2004">{{cite journal |last=Miller |first=Z.M. |date=2004 |title=A new phylogeny of Dromaeosauridae |journal=Student Showcase Journal, University of Alaska Anchorage |volume=20 |pages=123–158 |url=https://core.ac.uk/reader/162574940}}</ref>
}}

'''''Microraptor''''' ([[Greek language|Greek]], μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; [[Latin language|Latin]], ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a [[genus]] of small, four-winged [[dromaeosaurid]] [[dinosaur]]s. Numerous well-preserved [[fossil]] specimens have been recovered from [[Liaoning]], [[China]]. They date from the early [[Cretaceous]] [[Jiufotang Formation]] ([[Aptian]] stage), 125 to 120&nbsp;million [[year]]s ago. Three species have been named (''M. zhaoianus'', ''M. gui'', and ''M. hanqingi''), though further study has suggested that all of them represent variation in a single species, which is properly called ''M. zhaoianus''. '''''Cryptovolans''''', initially described as another four-winged dinosaur, is usually considered to be a synonym of ''Microraptor''.<ref name="senteretal2004">{{cite journal | last1 = Senter | first1 = P. | last2 = Barsold | first2 = R. | last3 = Britt | first3 = B.B. | last4 = Burnham | first4 = D.A. | year = 2004 | title = Systematics and evolution of Dromaeosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) | journal = Bulletin of the Gunma Museum of Natural History | volume = 8 | pages = 1–20 }}</ref>

Like ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', well-preserved fossils of ''Microraptor'' provide important evidence about the evolutionary relationship between [[bird]]s and earlier dinosaurs. ''Microraptor'' had long [[pennaceous feather]]s that formed aerodynamic surfaces on the arms and tail but also on the legs. This led paleontologist [[Xu Xing (paleontologist)|Xu Xing]] in 2003 to describe the first specimen to preserve this feature as a "four-winged dinosaur" and to speculate that it may have [[Gliding flight|glided]] using all four limbs for lift. Subsequent studies have suggested that ''Microraptor'' was capable of powered flight as well.

''Microraptor'' was among the most abundant non-[[Avialae|avialan]] dinosaurs in its ecosystem, and the genus is represented by more fossils than any other dromaeosaurid, with possibly over 300 fossil specimens represented across various museum collections.<ref name=alexanderetal2010/> One specimen in particular shows evidence of active primary feather [[moulting]], which is one of the few known fossil evidence of such behavior among pennaraptoran dinosaurs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kiat |first1=Y. |last2=O'Connor |first2=J. K. |year=2023 |title=Rarity of molt evidence in early pennaraptoran dinosaurs suggests annual molt evolved later among Neornithes |journal=Communications Biology |volume=6 |issue=1 |at=687 |doi=10.1038/s42003-023-05048-x |pmid=37400509 |pmc=10317961 |doi-access=free }}</ref>