Sinosauropteryx

Sinosauropteryx is a lately discovered feathered dinosaur. It lived in China during the Cretaceous time and is related to Compsognathus. It was around 3 feet long, most of which was taken up by its very long tail. The remarkably well-preserved fossils show that Sinosauropteryx was enclosed with a furry down of very simple feathers.

Sinosauropteryx is significant because it appears to have had feathers, and yet was not very closely related to birds. There are many dinosaur families that were more intimately related to birds than Sinosauropteryx, counting the deinonychosaurs, the oviraptosaurs and therizinosaurs. This indicates that feathers may have been a trait of many theropod dinosaurs, not just the clearly bird-like ones, making it quite possible that equally distant animals such as Ornitholestes, Coelurus and even Tyrannosaurus rex may have had feathers.

Sinosauropteryx was establish in Liaoning, China, which is now considered to be a "hotspot" for dinsoaurs, chiefly those with birdlike features such as Caudipteryx