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54 / Mesozoic
Microraptor
Microraptor gui
Long flight feathers on all four limbs formed a remarkable aerial surface.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 125–120 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Northeastern China
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Microraptor?
This archive records Microraptor under the scientific name Microraptor gui, with an age of About 125–120 million years ago and a range of Northeastern China. Long flight feathers on all four limbs formed a remarkable aerial surface.
Microraptor climbed and moved through forest canopies, gliding and perhaps using powered flapping. Preserved meals show it ate birds, fish and small vertebrates.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Microraptor at a glance
- Scientific name
- Microraptor gui
- Age
- About 125–120 million years ago
- Last recorded stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Known range
- Northeastern China
- Broad group
- dinosaur
- Archive era
- Mesozoic
- Habitat signals
- vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate
- Documented regions
- Asia
03 / ANATOMY
How was Microraptor built?
Overall body plan
Long flight feathers on all four limbs formed a remarkable aerial surface.
Skull, teeth and display structures
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Microraptor, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Limbs, balance and locomotion
Microraptor climbed and moved through forest canopies, gliding and perhaps using powered flapping. Preserved meals show it ate birds, fish and small vertebrates.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Microraptor.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Microraptor live?
Microraptor climbed and moved through forest canopies, gliding and perhaps using powered flapping. Preserved meals show it ate birds, fish and small vertebrates. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Microraptor live?
This archive currently lists About 125–120 million years ago; Northeastern China. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Northeastern China. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 125–120 million years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as Early Cretaceous. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Microraptor?
Primary record
Feathered fossils, pigment structures, gut contents and aerodynamic tests reveal its life.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Microraptor within About 125–120 million years ago and Northeastern China. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Microraptor disappear?
Forest ecosystems changed as Early Cretaceous bird and dinosaur groups diversified.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Microraptor FAQ
What was Microraptor?
This archive records Microraptor under the scientific name Microraptor gui, with an age of About 125–120 million years ago. Long flight feathers on all four limbs formed a remarkable aerial surface.
When did Microraptor live?
The current archive range is About 125–120 million years ago; its youngest recorded stage is Early Cretaceous.
Where was Microraptor found?
The archive currently lists Northeastern China. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Microraptor?
Feathered fossils, pigment structures, gut contents and aerodynamic tests reveal its life.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS