New dinosaur species identified in Liaoning

Chinese scientists have identified two new dinosaur species in Northeast China, shedding light on the evolution of small, feathered theropods and the remarkable diversity of the 125-million-year-old Jehol Biota.

The research, published in the National Science Review, details the discovery of Sinosauropteryx lingyuanensis, a new species, and Huadanosaurus sinensis, a new genus and species, both found in Lingyuan, Liaoning province.

A key finding of the study reveals the first direct evidence of dinosaur-mammal predation in this ancient ecosystem. The fossil of Huadanosaurus sinensis contained the remains of two mammals: a complete skeleton of a eutriconodont and fragments of a eutherian.