Daurlong
"Daur dragon"
Type species Daurlong wangi
- Lived
- 121 to 120 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Dromaeosauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Wang et al. 2022
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
120 million years ago
Habitat
A landscape with freshwater lakes in what is now China. Migmanychion and early birds lived in the same region.
Field notes
About Daurlong
What it was like
Daurlong was a feathered raptor known from a nearly complete skeleton. Its fossil preserves traces of feathers and even the outline of its gut, one of the first such finds in a raptor.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous in what is now northeastern China. Its skeleton comes from the Longjiang Formation, where it shared the land with the small Migmanychion.
How it was found
Wang and colleagues named Daurlong in 2022, from a single find.
Field gallery
More views of Daurlong
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Daurlong.
The evidence
The science behind Daurlong
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A nearly complete skeleton preserves the skull, backbone, limbs and long tail.
- Feathers survive behind the head, along the back and around the tail.
- A dark patch inside the belly preserves remnants of the intestine.
Borrowed from relatives
- Most of its body shape comes from its own skeleton.
- Broad feathered arms in a restoration follow relatives such as Zhenyuanlong.
Still unknown
- Whether its arms carried broad wings like those of Zhenyuanlong.
- Its feather colors.
- Which animals it hunted.
Discovery timeline
- 2015Close relativeLü & Brusatte
- 2022Named itWang et al.
- 2023Same rocksWang et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Daurlong
Close relative
Described Zhenyuanlong, a short-armed raptor with broad feathered wings and long tail feathers, useful for comparisons with Daurlong.
A large, short-armed, winged dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of China and its implications for feather evolution. Scientific Reports 5
Read the paper : A large, short-armed, winged dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of China and its implications for feather evolution (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named a feathered raptor whose preserved intestine resembles that of more distant meat-eating dinosaurs.
Intestinal preservation in a birdlike dinosaur supports conservatism in digestive canal evolution among theropods. Scientific Reports 12
Read the paper : Intestinal preservation in a birdlike dinosaur supports conservatism in digestive canal evolution among theropods (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Named Migmanychion from the same locality as Daurlong, adding another small dinosaur with an unusual hand to the local fauna.
A new theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Longjiang Formation of Inner Mongolia (China). Cretaceous Research 151: 105605
Read the paper : A new theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Longjiang Formation of Inner Mongolia (China) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Dromaeosauridae
Sources: Wikidata