Jian changmaensis — a four-winged raptor in China

A new species described on June 4, 2026

A team described, on June 4, 2026, in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, a small feathered dinosaur named Jian changmaensis. The fossil was excavated from the Changma Basin, in Gansu province, northwestern China, and dated to about 120 million years ago — the Early Cretaceous. The species name, "changmaensis," points directly to the site that yielded it, a deposit already known for its primitive birds.

The animal was identified from shoulder and arm bones, enough to tie it unambiguously to a precise group. Jian changmaensis belongs to Microraptoria, small predatory theropods nested within the dromaeosaurid family — the "raptors" that The Isle and Path of Titans players know well in their larger forms.

Four wings to glide between trees

What sets microraptors apart is their plumage: long pennaceous feathers grow on both the forelimbs and the hind legs, giving a "four-winged" profile. Jian changmaensis was no exception. With a wingspan estimated around 1.2 m — the size of a snowy owl — it ranked among the largest microraptor specimens ever found.

Researchers lean toward an arboreal gliding lifestyle: the animal likely dropped from one tree to the next, somewhat like a flying squirrel, rather than sustaining powered flight. Found at a site rich in primitive birds, it was probably one of their predators — a hunter that swooped from the canopy onto feathered prey.

Why this find matters

Until now, every confirmed microraptor came from northeastern China, around the famous Jehol formation. Jian changmaensis is the first definitive microraptorine identified in the country's northwest. It pushes the group's known range about 2,000 km westward — a major geographic extension showing these small feathered gliders were far more widespread than thought.

For bird paleontology, the stakes go beyond geography. Microraptors hold a key position in the transition between dinosaurs and birds: studying how their wings worked helps explain how flight emerged. A new large specimen, in an unexpected region, adds a concrete piece to that puzzle.

The link to our encyclopedia raptors

Dromaeosaurids span an enormous range, from the one-kilo Microraptor to the encyclopedia-staple Deinonychus. Jian changmaensis sits at the very bottom of that scale, on the feathered-glider side. It's a reminder of one simple thing: most real "raptors" were small, feather-covered, and far closer to a bird of prey than to the scaly reptile of popular culture. That's exactly the gap between science and game we aim to show in our paleo encyclopedia.