--- description: The creature was feathered, but likely could not fly title: Scientists Discover New Winged Dinosaur, Ancestor of Velociraptor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46ab90c0f15717fc/69885b5d0b72e39f256e4f77/velociraptor-ancestor-dinosaur.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Paleontology](/tag/paleontology/) ## Paleontology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Scientists Discover New Winged Dinosaur, Ancestor of Velociraptor by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 17, 2015 1:03 PM CUT  An artist's reconstructed impression of the new short-armed and winged feathered dinosaur Zhenyuanlong suni from the Early Cretaceous (ca. 125 million years ago) of China. An artist's reconstructed impression of the new short-armed and winged feathered dinosaur Zhenyuanlong suni from the Early Cretaceous (ca. 125 million years ago) of China.Chuang Zhao—Ministry of Land and Resources of China/AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 17, 2015 1:03 PM CUT Scientists have found a [new dinosaur](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33510288 "undefined") that was large, winged and feathered—but probably unable to fly. The creature, which measures 6 ft., 6 in. long, was well preserved in limestone in northeast China about 125 million years ago. It is an ancestor of the velociraptor, and is believed to be a precursor to the true bird, since this species was too large for its wings to support flight. The dinosaur is called “Zhenyuanlong,” meaning Zhenyuan’s dragon, after the man who obtained the fossil for the museum that studied it. One researcher told the BBC that even though it is a dinosaur, its feathers mean it would have looked “exactly like a turkey or a vulture.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33510288 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3962406/dinosaur-velociraptor-wings-feathers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3962406/dinosaur-velociraptor-wings-feathers/"},"headline":"Scientists Discover New Winged Dinosaur, Ancestor of Velociraptor","datePublished":"2015-07-17T13:03:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:21:02.088Z","description":"The creature was feathered, but likely could not fly","url":"https://time.com/3962406/dinosaur-velociraptor-wings-feathers/","keywords":["Paleontology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46ab90c0f15717fc/69885b5d0b72e39f256e4f77/velociraptor-ancestor-dinosaur.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46ab90c0f15717fc/69885b5d0b72e39f256e4f77/velociraptor-ancestor-dinosaur.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Velociraptor Dinosaur","caption":"Velociraptor Dinosaur","creditText":"Chuang Zhao—Ministry of Land and Resources of China/AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/paleontology/","name":"Paleontology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3962406/dinosaur-velociraptor-wings-feathers/","name":"Scientists Discover New Winged Dinosaur, Ancestor of Velociraptor"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life","description":"Conservationists and scientists have a saying, \"extinction is forever.\" But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to \"DE-extinction is forever.\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7mURxfr4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-03-12T14:27:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3962406/dinosaur-velociraptor-wings-feathers/","duration":"PT4M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3962406/dinosaur-velociraptor-wings-feathers/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```