--- description: A new chicken-like feathered dinosaur was recently discovered in China. title: A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c456e7f3ee3e87/6988cbc87cdbac2f6fd582f3/jianianhualong-teng.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [dinosaurs](/tag/dinosaurs/) ## dinosaurs Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 3, 2017 12:50 PM CUT  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](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 3, 2017 12:50 PM CUT A team of paleontologists in [China](http://time.com/4758931/china-corrupt-official-overseas-addresses/ "undefined") recently discovered a new species of feathered, chicken-like [dinosaur](http://time.com/4713679/largest-dinosaur-footprint-australia/ "undefined"). 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/ "undefined")[ _Today_](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/05/02/new-feathered-dinosaur-discovered/101196868/ "undefined"), 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. Csotonyi and Xu, Currie, Pittman et al.","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/dinosaurs/","name":"dinosaurs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4764726/feathered-chicken-dinosaur-china/","name":"A New Chicken-like Dinosaur Was Just Discovered in China"}}]}] ```