Dilong

Dilong (A Genus of Dinosaur.)

Meaning: "Dilong" means "emperor dragon".

Dilong was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs, it’s not closely related to lizards; it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.



Dilong was a Theropod - a member of a group of related bipedal dinosaurs that included the ancestors of birds (although Dilong was not itself an ancestor of birds).

It lived about 130 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period at china. It is one the earliest members of the the Tyrannosauroid superfamily of dinosaurs.


Size:The type specimen of Dilong is about 5¼ feet (1.6 meters) long, however it is believed this is a juvenile individual and that adults may have grown to perhaps 6½ (2 meters) or more in length.

Skin:It shows fossilized skin imitation around the tail and jaw.

Feathers: It seems to show proto-feathers which totally varies from the modern birds where there is a absence of middle shafts.

Dilong was not able to fly or glide. It is therefore thought that the primary function of its feathers must have been for warmth.


For more information:

http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/