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00:00we're living through the golden age of dinosaur discoveries from all over the
00:10world a whole new generation of dinosaurs has been revealed from the
00:15biggest giants and the deadliest killers to the weird and wonderful
00:30from the arctic to africa from south america to asia
00:43with the most extraordinary fossils from dinosaur embryos to the exquisitely preserved
00:52and using the latest imaging technology cutting-edge research has allowed us to probe
00:57deeper and reveal more than ever before
01:05it gives us our first truly global view of these incredible animals
01:18in this episode we look at the new bizarre and extraordinary feathered dinosaurs many of
01:31which have only just been discovered some conquered new worlds others grew to gigantic sizes
01:40as we learn more about the evolution of these feathered beasts
01:51they're revolutionizing our understanding of life on earth
01:55blurring the boundaries between dinosaurs and birds
01:59for over a century the great dinosaur discoveries came from north america and europe but in the last
02:08decade or so the focus shifted one country now sits at the center of the new dinosaur revolution
02:16china in recent years spectacular fossils have been uncovered here
02:28amazingly preserved these fossils revealed exquisite new details and they're giving us incredible glimpses
02:35into an alien world a world full of the most bizarre dinosaurs we've ever seen
02:40possibly the strangest of all lived 154 million years ago in the late jurassic period
02:53an animal that looks like nothing else on earth
02:58hiding in these lush forests is epidexipteryx
03:02the size of a pigeon everything about this creature is odd from the length of its arms to the shape of its teeth
03:21this forest is home to many predators and being small makes it vulnerable
03:32this is
03:55this is synraptor
03:56a small dinosaur like epidexipteryx would be of no interest to a seven meter adult but this is a juvenile
04:09an epidexipteryx is a perfect size snack
04:26a small
04:50being small does have its advantages
04:52this is
04:54because it can escape to the safety of the trees
05:01everything we know about epidexipteryx comes from an incredible fossil first revealed in 2008
05:10it showed an animal with a small skull and large eye sockets and unusually long teeth
05:16with toes suited to gripping branches and very long arms and hands
05:26it suggests that this was a dinosaur well suited to living in the trees
05:35the extraordinary elongated third finger is another distinctive feature of the group
05:44the
05:47the
05:48the
05:50the
05:52the
05:53the
05:53with this and its projecting front teeth
05:56epidexipteryx has the perfect tools to hunt for insects among the trees
06:01and one of its favorite foods are burrowing beetle grubs that are hiding within the trees
06:17the trees themselves
06:37prey like this which is difficult to catch is quite a prize
06:40a prize that can attract unwanted attention
06:49here it's another larger epidexipteryx
06:52the
06:59stealing food is a common tactic particularly where an animal possesses an expertise
07:11there is more to this extraordinary creature than first meets the eye
07:15not only was it perfectly designed for life in the trees but the fossil has also revealed that it
07:20was covered in short simple feathers
07:25feathers that were likely to have evolved for just one reason
07:28to keep it warm
07:31but there is one last striking feature
07:34four long feathers on its tail
07:36these feathers aren't like those of modern birds
07:40these are long and ribbon-like
07:42almost certainly only for show
07:57they're the earliest record of ornamental feathers
08:01not just for attraction but also to threaten
08:04in fact the very name epidexipteryx means display feather
08:14and they're among the most bird-like of any dinosaur
08:34and they're among the most bird-like of any dinosaur
08:38stealing among the trees is one thing
08:41stealing on the ground is quite another
08:56only among the trees can you be safe from the large predators like sing raptor
09:01on the ground a few feathers offer no protection
09:10the first feathered dinosaur was discovered in 1996 but lots more would quickly follow
09:17it suddenly appeared as if many dinosaur species actually had feathers
09:24and confirmed what had long been suspected
09:26a direct link between dinosaurs and birds
09:32a link that can be found in the dinosaurs that lived here in the mongolian desert 85 million years ago
09:42this is saronothoides it's a member of the trudong family
09:47and we have discovered actual fossils of these dinosaurs sitting on a nest
09:56it takes days to lay a full clutch of eggs
10:06and until that's complete this animal won't begin its brooding behavior and start sitting on the nest
10:11with the saronothoides of foraging this unguarded nest provides an invitation for predators
10:34this is an over raptor it a bizarre looking theropod dinosaur with no teeth
10:44they were mostly plant eaters but that doesn't mean it won't take advantage of a different kind of lunch
10:50we know over raptorids were mostly plant eaters because of some amazing evidence we have found
11:00one fossil in particular was incredibly well preserved inside its body were small stones gastroliths
11:08just like a bird it had swallowed these to help digest tough plants
11:13but when the remains of two unrelated embryos were discovered in an over raptorid nest
11:21it suggested that some were not just plant eaters but may have been nest raiders as well
11:37and with two bony projections
12:07in its upper jaw this over raptorid has the tools to break into an egg and get at the precious contents inside
12:24it means that a nesting animal like saronothoides can never turn its attention away for long
12:37so
12:49but two lost eggs are the least of its problems
12:56so
13:02here some nest raiders are bigger than others
13:11this is gigantoraptor
13:12gigantoraptor was discovered in 2007 in the gobi desert of mongolia
13:26the sheer size of the bones revealed it was unlike anything found before
13:31eight meters long and weighing around one and a half tons
13:35from its bones we know it was 35 times bigger than its closest over raptorid relatives
13:44and yet this giant wasn't even fully grown
13:47it was like finding a mouse the size of a cow
13:59we don't know for sure if such a huge dinosaur like gigantoraptor
14:01we don't know for sure if such a huge dinosaur like gigantoraptor would have or need feathers
14:15in dinosaurs feathers are usually found as a fine body covering and appear to be mainly for keeping warm
14:23but feathers were found and preserved on a fossil of one of gigantoraptor's close relatives
14:40and on the forearms and tail are the unmistakable traces of longer symmetrical feathers similar to a modern birds
14:53it seems certain that gigantoraptor too was feathered
14:58making this the largest feathered animal ever discovered
15:05these aren't for flight gigantoraptor couldn't fly
15:11nor are they for insulation
15:15these are used to intimidate or attract
15:23they're used to be the largest that is
15:53Across the world, discovery after discovery
16:21has revealed more and more features.
16:26From nesting to feathers that were once thought of as exclusively bird-like, but have now
16:31also been found in dinosaurs.
16:35But the ultimate discovery is perhaps that of a dinosaur that lived in northeast China
16:39around 120 million years ago.
16:44This remote area has revealed spectacular fossils in exquisite detail, unearthing an
16:50astonishing diversity of animals, many of which are well adapted to living in trees.
16:58One particular dinosaur discovery takes this to a whole new level.
17:07This is Jiang Long.
17:08With curved claws, it's a lizard well suited to climbing trees.
17:15With prey like this, predators were sure to follow.
17:24The most common dinosaur in these forests doesn't live on the ground.
17:32Microraptor.
17:46The fossils of Microraptor are so well preserved, they clearly reveal every detail of its anatomy.
17:55With distinctive claws on its first toe, this is a member of the raptor family.
18:02But these claws evolved for climbing rather than killing.
18:08At less than a meter long, this was a dinosaur perfectly suited to live in the trees.
18:13Microraptor is small and perfectly adapted to chasing prey.
18:34It seems to have the perfect skill to escape.
18:47But the fossils of Microraptor reveal something else.
18:53This was a feathered dinosaur, but these feathers aren't for keeping warm or for show.
19:00Their structure is plainly visible from the fossils.
19:05They are very long, veined, and most importantly, their shape creates a perfect aerodynamic surface.
19:16And they aren't confined to its forearms.
19:19Its legs too had long feathers.
19:27These feathers are designed for one thing only, flight.
19:35Microraptor is a four-winged dinosaur that took to the skies.
19:40Microraptor is a little bit different from this type of
20:07But in these Chinese forests, Microraptor isn't the only flying monster.
20:22Cynornithosaurus, closely related and larger.
20:27More than capable of stealing prey.
20:41But it has larger prey in mind.
20:52Microraptor is now the hunted.
20:57Both can fly.
21:09But this isn't powered flight. It's gliding.
21:15Recent research has revealed how Microraptor flew.
21:20It didn't have the muscles for powered flight.
21:22So instead, it made the most of its four wings.
21:25By holding its rear legs back and to the sides, it was able to become an incredibly efficient glider.
21:36Moving through the forest in a series of long, looping glides.
21:40Having longer flight feathers on both its arms and legs, Microraptor is by far the better glider.
21:52But with no ability to gain height, the only way is down.
21:53But with no ability to gain height, the only way is down.
22:09And once on the ground, the long feathers turn from an advantage into weakness.
22:28Microraptor is barely able to walk, much less run.
22:36Cynornithosaurus has no such problem.
22:39On the forest floor, the tables are turned.
22:41Cynornithosaurus has no such problem.
22:54Microraptor has a fortunate escape.
23:11Cyne ornithosaurus was one of the first feathered dinosaurs found.
23:16The fossils are so perfectly preserved,
23:19they have helped to solve one of the great dinosaur mysteries.
23:22For years, the color of dinosaurs was thought impossible to work out.
23:29In 2010, it was discovered that the feathers on this fossil weren't just impressions.
23:37Under the microscope, tiny structures were revealed identical to those found in modern birds.
23:44Structures that contain the pigment.
23:47Remarkably, by comparing them to living birds,
23:50we can even work out the true colors.
24:00The feathers appear to be a combination of reddish-browns, yellows, grays and blacks,
24:06perfectly suited to forest life.
24:08Another dinosaur living in this forest, Jayholosaurus, a small plant-eater.
24:26Recent fossils indicate that this type of dinosaur looks after and protects its young.
24:32The feathers indicate that this type of dinosaur looks after and protects its young.
24:35protects its young.
24:57With feathers that allow it to blend in with the forest, Cynornithosaurus can move unseen
25:02through the treetops.
25:22And Cynornithosaurus is a hunter with a potent secret weapon.
25:26In 2011, a study of the eyes of this creature revealed that it was a predator perfectly capable
25:39of hunting equally during day and night.
25:49And a study of its teeth in 2009 showed something that definitely sets it apart from birds, something
25:57far more deadly.
26:04So, let's go.
26:11So, let's go.
26:23So, let's go.
26:30So, let's go.
26:38The greatest danger is not simply being outnumbered.
27:06We have found that Cynornithosaurus' teeth have unusual and distinctive grooves along
27:11their length.
27:13They resemble those of the venomous Gila monster.
27:17The grooves of its teeth used to deliver venom into its victim.
27:23The team even identified what they thought was the location of the venom sack in the fossil.
27:29It appeared Cynornithosaurus could kill with poison.
27:36It appeared Cynornithosaurus could kill with poison.
27:42It appears to be a
28:03This is a far more deadly predator than anyone ever imagined,
28:15and completes an extraordinary picture of a bizarre lost world.
28:23All of these discoveries reveal the importance of feathers to a whole host of dinosaurs,
28:29from insulation to defence, and finally, flight.
28:35And Microraptor not only hints at how flight developed,
28:40but also that dinosaurs still live amongst us today, as birds.
28:53Putting the skeletal bones together, how to build a dinosaur now on BBC Four,
28:59on BBC Three, it's inevitable, the fades are coming,
29:02brand new spooky drama about to start.
29:05And next here on BBC One, BG Robin Gibb discovers a tragedy,
29:09as he uncovers his roots.
29:10MUSIC
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