| Microraptor | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biological information | |
| Time period : | Early Cretaceous period |
| Lifestyle : | Insectivore |
| In the series | |
| Brought back : | Four |
| Appearances : | "Dinobirds" "Saving the Sabretooth" |
Microraptor (name meaning "Small thief") is a genus of extinct, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous period.
Portrayal in the series[]
They are shown to be harmless yet illusive gliders that feast on insects left from walking titanosaurs ("Dinobirds"). They are also shown to get along with their modern relatives like macaws ("Saving the Sabretooth").
What made these dinosaurs so odd is that it seemed to have four wings. Its first pair of wings are actually arms and the second pair is legs. It is closely related to animals like Velociraptor and Deinonychus.
In Prehistoric Park[]
"Dinobirds"[]
Nigel tries to capture one of these odd dinosaurs during an expedition to Prehistoric China.
Microraptor lived in dense forests of early Cretaceous China, feeding off grubs, insects and small reptiles it would find on trees, and more rarely on the ground. At the end of the episode Nigel brings back four of these creatures, along with a herd of titanosaurs, after an eruption from a nearby volcano puts them in danger.
Head Veterinarian Suzanne healed one Microraptor that was injured by a panicked titanosaur during the eruption. Nigel goes to his den and his blue-and-yellow macaws were getting along with Nigel's pet Microraptor and Nigel feeds the Microraptor some bird food.
Saving the Sabretooth[]
At the very start of the episode, the Microraptor makes a brief appearance where Nigel pets it shortly before setting out on his next objective. Its wing appears to have fully healed after the previous episode.
Errors[]
- Fossilized melanosomes in the feathers of a Microraptor fossil suggest it was completely black in color, lacking any white like the ones in the show.
- Microraptor evolved 5,000,000 years after the episode is set - at that time, Mei long and Incisivosaurus had already become extinct.
- New evidence showed that Microraptors did not have feather crests like the fossil seemed to show.
- Evidence shows that Microraptor was, in fact, capable of powered flight, instead of being restricted to gliding.
Gallery[]
