View source for Biology:Wulong bohaiensis

{{Short description|Extinct species of dromaeosaurid dinosaur}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Earth:Early Cretaceous|Early Cretaceous]] ([[Earth:Aptian|Aptian]]) {{fossilrange|120.3}}
| image = Wulong bohaiensis full skeleton.png
| image_caption = Skeleton of the holotype
| parent_authority = Poust ''et al.'', [[Biology:2020 in archosaur paleontology|2020]]
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Wulong
| species = bohaiensis
| authority = Poust ''et al.'', 2020
}}

'''''Wulong''''' (meaning "dancing dragon") is a genus of microraptorine [[Biology:Dromaeosauridae|dromaeosaurid]] dinosaurs from the [[Earth:Early Cretaceous|Early Cretaceous]] ([[Earth:Aptian|Aptian]]) [[Earth:Jiufotang Formation|Jiufotang Formation]] of China. The genus includes a single species, '''''Wulong bohaiensis'''''. The skeletal remains, which include preserved feathers, represent a juvenile.<ref name=Poust2020>{{cite journal |last1=Poust |first1=AW |last2=Gao |first2=C |last3=Varricchio |first3=DJ |last4=Wu |first4=J |last5=Zhang |first5=F |title=A new microraptorine theropod from the Jehol Biota and growth in early dromaeosaurids |journal=The Anatomical Record |publisher=American Association for Anatomy |date=15 January 2020 |doi=10.1002/ar.24343 |pmid=31943887 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="CNET-20200117">{{cite news |last=Hodge |first=Rae |title=Pocket-size raptor sheds new light on the links between dino and bird life - This "dancing dragon," a new species of feathered dinosaur, was discovered in one of the richest fossil deposits in the world. |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/pocket-size-raptor-sheds-new-light-on-links-between-dino-and-bird-life/ |date=17 January 2020 |work=CNET |access-date=19 January 2020 }}</ref><ref name="SYFY-20200118">{{cite news |last=Rayne |first=Elizabeth |title=This New Dinosaur Just Called It: Even Feathered Dinos Were Nothing Like Birds |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/new-dinosaur-proves-feathered-dinos-werent-birds |date=18 January 2020 |work=SyfyWire |access-date=19 January 2020 }}</ref>

== Discovery ==
[[File:Wulong plumage groupings.jpg|thumb|left|Diagram of the preserved plumage]] 
The ''Wulong'' [[Biology:Holotype|holotype]] specimen, DNHM D2933, was found by a farmer in layers of the fossil-rich [[Earth:Jiufotang Formation|Jiufotang Formation]] (Shangheshou locality) of Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, China. The fossil, housed at the Dalian Natural History Museum in Liaoning, consists of a complete, articulated specimen with preserved feathers. In 2014, Ashley William Poust analyzed the skeleton, naming it "Wulong bohaiensis" in a [[Thesis|thesis]].<ref name=Poust2014>{{cite thesis |type=MSc |last=Poust |first=Ashley W. |date=2014 |title=Description and ontogenetic assessment of a new Jehol microraptorine |URL=https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1/9365/PoustA0814.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |publisher=Montana State University}}</ref> This name remained an invalid ''nomen ex dissertatione''. 

In 2020, Poust alongside his former advisor David Varricchio from [[Organization:Montana State University|Montana State University]] and Dalian paleontologists Gao Chunling, Wu Jianlin, and Zhang Fengjiao validly named and [[Biology:Species description|described]] the [[Biology:Type species|type species]] ''Wulong bohaiensis''. The [[Biology:Genus|generic name]], "''Wulong''", is derived from the Chinese 舞, ''wǔ'', meaning "dancing", in reference to the specimen's "sprightly pose and inferred nimble habits", and 龍/龙, ''lóng'', meaning "dragon". The [[Biology:Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], "''bohaiensis''", refers to the museum housing the specimen, located near the Bohai Strait (渤海, Bó Hǎi).<ref name=Poust2020 />

== Description ==
The proportionally long tail of ''Wulong'' is about twice as long as its body. The skeleton has hollow bones. The remains belong to a juvenile individual, about one-year-old.<ref name=Poust2020 /><ref name=Croudace2023 />

The long, narrow skull of ''Wulong'' is large in relation to the body. It is 1.15 times the length of the [[Biology:Femur|femur]]. Its thin jaws are filled with small and sharp teeth. The lightly-built premaxilla—a pair of small bones at the end of the upper jaw—is relatively dorsoventrally short for a dromaeosaurid. The quadratojugal of most dromaeosaurids is T-shaped, but in ''Wulong'' this bone is tiny and L‐shaped. The ascending process is about 6 mm tall, and the jugal process is 5 mm long.<ref name="Poust2020" />

===Feathers and colouration===
[[File:Wulong reconstruction.png|thumb|Life restoration with colouration inferred from the holotype]] 
The specimen displays soft tissue preservation, including feathered wings on its arms and legs, and two long plumes at the end of the tail, similar to the extinct ''[[Biology:Microraptor|Microraptor]]'' and ''[[Biology:Confuciusornis|Confuciusornis]]'' and the extant [[Biology:Quetzal|quetzal]]. However unlike the related ''Microraptor'', there is no evidence that ''Wulong'' had a fan of feathers at the end of the tail. The long pair tail feathers present in an immature individual suggests that they were likely not used for mating, and possibly not other ornamental purposes.<ref name=Poust2020 />

In 2023, Croudace and colleagues described the likely [[Biology:Plumage|plumage]] colouration of the holotype. They indicated the presence of [[Physics:Iridescence#Vertebrates|iridescent]] feathers on the forelimbs and hindlimbs, with grey feathers on the rest of the body. They further hypothesized that iridescence in juvenile paravians may not only indicate sexual signalling, but also intraspecific signalling for communication.<ref name=Croudace2023>{{cite journal|author1=Croudace, A.D.|author2=Shen, C.|author3=Lü, J.|author4=Brusatte, S.L.|author5=Vinther, J.|year=2023|title=Iridescent plumage in a juvenile dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur|journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica|volume=68|doi=10.4202/app.01004.2022|doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11820/6f4df584-274a-45d9-a09b-487425ff9569|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

== Classification ==
Poust ''et al''. (2020) recovered ''Wulong'' as a microraptorine member of the [[Biology:Dromaeosauridae|Dromaeosauridae]], as the sister taxon to the slightly older ''[[Biology:Sinornithosaurus|Sinornithosaurus]]'' from the [[Earth:Yixian Formation|Yixian Formation]]. The results of their phylogenetic analyses are shown in the [[Biology:Cladogram|cladogram]] below:<ref name=Poust2020 />

{{clade
|{{clade
|1=''[[Biology:Hesperonychus|Hesperonychus]]''
|2=''[[Biology:Graciliraptor|Graciliraptor]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Graciliraptor.jpg|70px]]</div>
|3=''[[Biology:Microraptor|Microraptor]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Microraptor Restoration.png|70px]]</div>
|4=''[[Biology:Tianyuraptor|Tianyuraptor]]''
|5={{clade
 |1=''[[Biology:Sinornithosaurus|Sinornithosaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Sinornithosaurus.jpg|65px]]</div>
 |2='''''Wulong''''' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Wulong bohaiensis.png|75px]]</div>
}} }}|label1=Microraptorinae}}

==See also==
* Dinosaur coloration

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q82449124}}

[[Category:Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia]]

{{Sourceattribution|Wulong bohaiensis}}