--- title: A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Discovered in China description: A new chicken-like feathered dinosaur was recently discovered in China. canonical: https://time.com/4764726/feathered-chicken-dinosaur-china/ author: Madeline Farber article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-03T12:50:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:43:19.635Z article:section: Science og:title: A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China og:description: It has been named "Jianianhualong tengi" og:url: https://time.com/4764726/feathered-chicken-dinosaur-china/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c456e7f3ee3e87/6988cbc87cdbac2f6fd582f3/jianianhualong-teng.jpg?branch=production&width=1157&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1157 og:image:height: 651 og:image:alt: Jianianhualong-teng og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China twitter:description: It has been named "Jianianhualong tengi" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c456e7f3ee3e87/6988cbc87cdbac2f6fd582f3/jianianhualong-teng.jpg?branch=production&width=1157&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Madeline Farber](https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber May 3, 2017 12:50 PM UTC  An illustrated life reconstruction of Jianianhualong tengi shows off its asymmetrical feathers. An illustrated life reconstruction of Jianianhualong tengi shows off its asymmetrical feathers. Julius T. Csotonyi and Xu, Currie, Pittman et al. by [Madeline Farber](https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber May 3, 2017 12:50 PM UTC A team of paleontologists in [China](http://time.com/4758931/china-corrupt-official-overseas-addresses/) recently discovered a new species of feathered, chicken-like [dinosaur](http://time.com/4713679/largest-dinosaur-footprint-australia/). The feathered beasts, which are the the earliest known bird ancestor, were found in the country’s region of Liaoning, according to [_USA_](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/05/02/new-feathered-dinosaur-discovered/101196868/)[ _Today_](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/05/02/new-feathered-dinosaur-discovered/101196868/), which cites the study published in _Nature Communications,_ a British journal. The 125 million year-old fossilized skeletons are well well-preserved, _USA_ _Today_ reports. The prehistoric animal is about three-feet long, and has been named _Jianianhualong tengi._ While it’s not clear if the animal could fly, it does have asymmetrical feathers—which is a key factor in the history of animal flight, notes _USA Today_. “Asymmetrical feathers have been associated with flight capability, but are also found in species that do not fly, and their appearance was a major event in feather evolution,” the authors write in the study, according to _USA Today_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4764726/feathered-chicken-dinosaur-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4764726/feathered-chicken-dinosaur-china/"},"headline":"A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China","datePublished":"2017-05-03T12:50:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:43:19.635Z","description":"It has been named \"Jianianhualong tengi\"","url":"https://time.com/4764726/feathered-chicken-dinosaur-china/","keywords":["dinosaurs","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c456e7f3ee3e87/6988cbc87cdbac2f6fd582f3/jianianhualong-teng.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeline Farber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c456e7f3ee3e87/6988cbc87cdbac2f6fd582f3/jianianhualong-teng.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jianianhualong-teng","caption":"An illustrated life reconstruction of Jianianhualong tengi shows off its asymmetrical feathers.","creditText":"Julius T. 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