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Newfound velociraptor cousin probably glided on four 'wings' and hunted early birds

Phys · 🇨🇳 public China · · 669 words · By Field Museum
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What to know about Newfound velociraptor cousin probably glided on four 'wings' and hunted early birds

Researchers have identified a new species of microraptor dinosaur, Jian changmaensis, in China's Changma Basin. Scientists hypothesize that this predator may be responsible for the clusters of broken bird bones found at the site and suggest it likely glided using four wings.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Newfound velociraptor cousin probably glided on four 'wings' and hunted early birds Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor A fossil bed in northwestern China is littered with the remains of hundreds of prehistoric birds—including some whose…

Why it matters

For years, scientists guessed that a larger predatory animal must have hunted these ancient birds, but they never found direct fossil evidence of this predator.

Common ground

Now, in a new paper published in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, researchers announce the discovery of a new species of dinosaur from this fossil bed—a cousin of the velociraptor with long feathers on its front and back limbs.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Researchers have identified a new species of microraptor dinosaur, Jian changmaensis, in China's Changma Basin. Scientists hypothesize that this predator may be responsible for the clusters of broken bird bones found at the site and suggest it likely glided using four wings.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-newfound-velociraptor-cousin-glided-wings.html

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0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “The piece of its upper arm bone that we have is about 4 inches long”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific length of the upper arm bone of Jian changmaensis.
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Claim 2: “The new species, Jian changmaensis, belongs to a clade within the dromaeosaur family called microraptors.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Jian changmaensis belongs to a clade of microraptors within the dromaeosaur family.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 4, 2026 ... Jian changmaensis, gen. et sp. nov. (Figs. 2, 3). Holotype.—GSGM ... clade containing Jian, Microraptor, and Zhongjianosaurus. (recovered ...
https://carnegiemnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Jian-chan…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... For years, a fossil bed in the Changma Basin · Jian belongs to a clade within the dromaeosaur family called microraptors · Based on its anatomy, ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1txkuhx/scientists…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 4, 2026 ... Microraptor being the now pretty much world-famous iridescent four-winged dromaeosaur. And yeah, Jian may not have been on the same scale as ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZLQxLVOijp/
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Claim 3: “Dromaeosaurs, like birds, were covered in feathers and tended to be relatively small and speedy.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Simple English Wikipedia, TikTok/Dino Doug, and other dinosaur guides) describe dromaeosaurs as feathered, relatively small to medium-sized, and fast/active.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dromaeosaurs are a family of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. They include the famous Velociraptor and Deinonychus. They were small to medium-sized feathered carnivores which flourished in the Cretaceous…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromaeosaur
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web search NEUTRAL — 250 Likes, TikTok video from Dino Doug! (@dinodougofficial): “Dromaeosaurs (often called “raptors”) were small to medium-sized feathered theropod dinosaurs that lived from about 165–66 million years a…
https://www.tiktok.com/@dinodougofficial/video/7588579830728…
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web search NEUTRAL — Dromaeosaurs (”running lizards”) are small to medium-sized theropod dinosaurs, which inhabited every continent except Australia from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous periods. They are characteri…
https://dinosaur-discourse.tumblr.com/post/142189327487/drom…
schedule
Claim 4: “the fossil was found in the Changma Basin in China's Gansu province.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “Our team has recovered more than a hundred bird fossils at Changma, but only this single non-avian dinosaur specimen.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 6: “birds and their fellow dinosaurs lived together for tens of millions of years in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries on the 'Evolution of birds' and 'Origin of birds' confirm that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic and coexisted with other dinosaurs through the Cretaceous.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fossil archosaur research published in 2026 includes the description of new taxa, as well as other peer-reviewed publications on discoveries related to archosaur paleontology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_archosaur_paleontology
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The evolution of birds began in the Jurassic Period, with the earliest birds derived from a clade of theropod dinosaurs named Paraves. Birds are categorized as a biological class, Aves. For more than …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_birds
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The scientific question of which larger group of animals birds evolved within has traditionally been called the "origin of birds". The present scientific consensus is that birds are a group of manirap…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_birds
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 7: “One group of dinosaurs, the dromaeosaurs, were close cousins of the bird-dinosaurs.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and scientific sources confirm that dromaeosaurs are a family of bird-like theropod dinosaurs and are closely related to birds.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dromaeosaurs are a family of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. They include the famous Velociraptor and Deinonychus.The Dromaeosaur skeleton suggests they were active, fast-running, and closely related to…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromaeosaur
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — There is significant evidence that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs, specifically, that birds are members of Maniraptora, a group of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and oviraptorids, among …
https://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/Bird_evolution.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Coelurosaurian dinosaurs are thought to be the closest relatives of birds, in fact, birds are considered to be coelurosaurs.Fragmentary remains of possible dromaeosaurs are also known from the Late Ju…
https://web.archive.org/web/20030806195929/http://www.ucmp.b…
verified
Claim 8: “Now, in a new paper published in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, researchers announce the discovery of a new species”
VERIFIED
Web search results explicitly state the discovery was published in the 'Annals of Carnegie Museum', and Wikipedia confirms that this is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Annals of Carnegie Museum is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It was established in 1901 by the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute. The jo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annals_of_Carnegie_Museum
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH or CM) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Museum_of_Natural_His…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Macrocheira longirostra is a fossil species of crab that lived in Japan during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrocheira_longirostra
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “A fossil bed in northwestern China is littered with the remains of hundreds of prehistoric birds”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (ScienceDaily, Field Museum Instagram, and another news report) confirm that a fossil bed in northwestern China (Changma Basin) contains hundreds of prehistoric bird remains.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 23, 2026 ... A remarkable fossil site in northwestern China has yielded hundreds of prehistoric bird remains, including clusters of shattered bones ...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260621060311.h…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 11, 2026 ... Since 2002, researchers have unearthed more than a hundred prehistoric bird remains in the Changma Basin of northwestern China. Some consist of ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZdQMc4H_no/?hl=en
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 13, 2026 ... ... a fossil bed filled with ancient bird remains ... The area contains hundreds of fossilized birds, many remarkably well preserved.
https://scitechdaily.com/new-feathered-dinosaur-may-have-sol…
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Claim 10: “researchers announce the discovery of a new species of dinosaur from this fossil bed—a cousin of the velociraptor with long feathers on its front and back limbs”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the discovery of a new dinosaur species (Jian changmaensis) from this bed, described as a relative of the velociraptor with four wings/long feathers on limbs.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Now, in a new paper published in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, researchers announce the discovery of a new species of dinosaur from this fossil bed—a cousin of the velociraptor with long feathers on …
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-newfound-velociraptor-cousin-g…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A new dinosaur discovery has proved you don't have to be big to be fierce. Scientists have found a new relative of the Velociraptor family that was roughly the size of a barn owl, after examining shou…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c0jy8d4w59lo
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A newly discovered feathered dinosaur called Jian changmaensis may be the missing predator responsible for mysterious piles of crushed prehistoric bird bones in China.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260621060311.h…
verified
Claim 11: “Modern birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the aftereffects of a meteorite hitting Earth 66 million years ago.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other scientific summaries confirm that the K-Pg extinction event occurred 66 million years ago and that modern birds are the only surviving lineage of dinosaurs.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Democrats 66 (Dutch: Democraten 66; D66) is a social-liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a mem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrats_66
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The TOZ-66 (Russian: ТОЗ-66) is a Soviet double-barreled shotgun.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOZ-66
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. Established on November 11, 1926, with signage erected the following…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 12: “the most well-known species [of microraptors] is about the size of a crow.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific size of the most well-known microraptor species relative to a crow.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.