(CNN)Chinese
scientists say they have discovered a new dinosaur species, with
bat-like wings, that sheds light on how dinosaurs may have evolved into
birds.
Based on a fossil specimen
discovered in China's Hebei province a decade ago, scientists estimate
the bird-like dinosaur existed for a very short time 160 million years
ago during the Jurassic Period, according to a new paper published in
scientific journal Nature on Wednesday.
The flying creature weighed about 230 grams and was 63 centimeters in length.
Xu
Xing, a paleontologist with China's Institute of Vertebrate
Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, and lead author of the report, told
CNN the dinosaur's fossilized remains highlighted the complexity of
evolution.
Named Yi qi, or "strange
wing" in Chinese, Xu said it was one of the earliest dinosaurs to show
some capacity for flight -- even though it wasn't very successful.
Only known specimen of the new dinosaur Yi qi.
Unlike other bird-like dinosaurs, its wings were made from membranes -- like a bat -- rather than composed of feathers.
It didn't become the birds we see today -- it tried but failed.
"It's a failed experiment, it's an evolutionary dead end," Xu said.
"Over
the last 30 years, there were so many discoveries made that demonstrate
birds are really descendants of dinosaurs," he said.
"It's a great example showing how dinosaurs evolved into birds."
Artist reconstruction of dinosaur Yi qi.
Even
though the dinosaur had wings, Xu said it's unclear whether it could
flap them and most likely moved through the air mostly by gliding.
He
told CNN the fossil is now held in a museum in Shandong Province, and
the next step would be trying to find more fossils of the same species
to be able to better understand, for example, its flight capability.
Thanks to a robust economy, China has become a major center for dinosaur discovery and research.
"We
have more funding for paleontological expeditions," he said. "So now
there are more expeditions in this country than 30 years ago, which
means you can find more fossils.
Widespread construction work also helps to expose more rocks and fossils, he added.
