An article by Carly Callessa in a Nature Science Alert unveils analysis of a ten-year-old discovery of a 120-million-year-old fossil, a link between dinosaurs and birds. (This is based on a technical paper by five American and Chinese scientists.) Callessa:
Dubbed “the dancing dragon”, or Wulong bohaiensis, this newly described species is a strange mix between bird and dinosaur, ancient and new.
Now, the only reason I have much interest in this is my vague understanding that cranes belong to an ancient family, one closer to the “original bird” than most families. Will I make any sense out of this idea? Who knows but in the meantime I’m taking a keen interest.
Amazingly, a paleoartist has recreated what Wulong bohaiensis might look like. Isn’t Gabriel Serpenillus’s image above fantastical and beautiful? Doesn’t this nail why this fossil is seen as a “link,” far more than words could?