Dinosaur With Bat Like Wings Found in China

Scientists in China have discovered a new species of 'batman dinosaur' that is said to have lived 160 million years ago.

The dinosaur was said to have featherless bat-like wings.

 In an interview to Daily Mail, Professor Xing Xu from Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing said, "This is really something for me. It is the most unexpected discovery I ever made."

He added, "This dinosaur is totally different. It has totally different wings from all other birds and their close relatives."

The bat-like wings of the dinosaur were covered in membrane. The animal is also said to possess unusually bristle like feathers.

The scientists believe the dinosaur used these wings to glide through the air and could have possibly had the ability to fly as well.

They named the dinosaur Yi Qi meaning 'Strange Wing'.

Although unlike birds, this dinosaur had an extra bone on its wrist which extended backwards. This prompted the researchers to compare it to separate group of animals which also had the ability to fly-like bats.

"Birds are descended from dinosaurs, but how exactly the transition occurred is not really clear. Still, we are left in a quandary: an animal with a strange structure that looks as if it could have been used in flight, borne by an animal that otherwise shows no such tendencies," Xing Xu said.

"And so far, there is no other plausible explanation for the function of this structure," he concluded.