Largest four-winged dinosaur

The largest-known four-winged dinosaur is Changyuraptor yangi, whose only recorded specimen was discovered in China's Liaoning Province, was studied from 2012 onwards, and formally described and named in 2014. A fully grown adult, the specimen measured roughly 1.2 m long, and is estimated to have weighed 4 kg when alive, thereby making it approximately the same size as a turkey. Belonging to the microraptor group of dinosaurs, it is called a four-winged dinosaur because both its forelimbs and its hind limbs bore long true flight feathers, and it could indeed possibly fly. It existed approximately 125 million years ago during the early Cretaceous.

Prior to the discovery of this species, the only known four-winged dinosaurs were various species belonging to the genus Microraptor. However, none of these was bigger than a raven, so Changyuraptor yangi was at least 60 per cent bigger. Three Microraptor are currently recognized, all from China, dating from the early Cretaceous around 125–120 million years ago, and collectively represented by over 300 specimens in museums around the world.