Flight may have opened twice

An exceptionally preserved, 57-centimetre feathered dinosaur from China's Early Cretaceous rocks has been named Norellraptor barsboldi. Comparing 194 flight-related traits, researchers found that about 30 percent of the microraptorine features also arose in the bird lineage, but in a different sequence. That supports separate evolutionary routes toward flight; the fossil cannot tell us exactly how well this individual flew.