Page 70 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

liaoning today
One-third of Liaoning Province is
forested, most of which is in the
eastern mountainous area. The rest
of the Province is flat with fertile
soils and rivers. It is a major source
of minerals, such as oil and coal.
The climate is monsoonal, with a
hot, wet summer and a cold winter.

liaoxioRnis
About the size of a
hummingbird, Liaoxiornis was
the smallest bird from the
Cretaceous. Its feet could
grasp a branch, so it could
perch—most of the other
early birds could not do this.

Conifers were
the main trees

the liaoning FoRest
The area teemed with life. Trees and
ground plants such as horsetails and
ferns covered the land. The first flowering
plants were just appearing, too.
caUdiPteRyx
Discovered in 1998, this birdlike dinosaur
had long feathers on its arms and tail.
Unable to fly, its feathers may have been
used to attract mates, like birds today, sinoRnithosaURUs
or to frighten rivals away.
The downy fluff over much of
its body, and long feathers on
its arms, may have helped to
keep this dinosaur warm.
It was a dromaeosaur—a
small, agile hunter with big
eyes, sharp teeth, and curved
claws on its hands and feet.

did you know?

. The Liaoning forest would have
sinosaURoPteRyx echoed to the clicks of cicadas, the
croaks of frogs, and the buzz of
With its back and tail covered in a coat of featherlike dragonflies. Their fossils—and many
filaments up to 1½ in (4 cm) long, Sinosauropteryx proved more—have all been found there.
that not all dinosaurs had reptilian, scaly skin.

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