Sinornithosaurus

Their work is published in the January 12, 2010 edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, with Sinornithosaurus in fact gracing the cover.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

Sinornithosaurus lived 128 million years ago in the prehistoric forests of northeastern China that were filled with a diverse array of animals including primitive birds, which the Sinornithosaurus is believed to have preyed upon.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

Sinornithosaurus lived 128 million years ago in the prehistoric forests of northeastern China that were filled with a diverse array of animals including primitive birds, which the Sinornithosaurus is believed to have preyed upon.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

The proportions of parts of the skull of Sinornithosaurus nonetheless suggested to the researchers that the animal had “only a moderate bite force that may have had difficulty in subduing larger prey.”

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

Their work is published in the January 12, 2010 edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, with Sinornithosaurus in fact gracing the cover.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

The proportions of parts of the skull of Sinornithosaurus nonetheless suggested to the researchers that the animal had “only a moderate bite force that may have had difficulty in subduing larger prey.”

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

Paleontologists from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, working with a Chinese colleague, have shown that the feathered but flightless Sinornithosaurus possessed grooves in many of its fangs similar to those of modern day venomous snakes and lizards.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

Paleontologists from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, working with a Chinese colleague, have shown that the feathered but flightless Sinornithosaurus possessed grooves in many of its fangs similar to those of modern day venomous snakes and lizards.

Death on Feathered Legs: Bird-Like Dinosaur Was Venomous 2010

Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images Like the Sinornithosaurus, at left, all of these creatures unearthed from Liaoning belong to a more recent era than the most ancient birds.

Early 'Birds' 2009

Seth Wenig/Reuters Sinornithosaurus means "Chinese bird lizard," and like other theropod specimens, it couldn't fly but showed open tufted structures that resembled primitive feathers.

Early 'Birds' 2009