"Ever since we discovered that Microraptor and its cousins had wings, researchers have suspected that they had some aerial locomotion, including possibly powered flight," Holtz says. In fact ...

Like its non-flying close relatives, Microraptor had elongated bones lining the top and underside of its tail, forming a stiff counterbalance that allowed the animal to keep its center of gravity ...

But what was curious about the trackway was the distance between the footfalls.” Strange Microraptor Strides Normally, scientists calculate the speed of a fossil animal using the animal’s hip height ...