article_snippet.sent: A bizarre new dinosaur with bat-like wings has been discovered by a farmer in China and is now helping to shed new light on the evolution of flight.
article_snippet.sent: A bizarre new dinosaur with bat-like wings may have been able to glide and even flap .
article_snippet.sent: Researchers say the dinosaur, which would have weighted just 13 ounces (380g) and was 33cm (12 inches) long with a wings that spanned 60cm (23 inches), may have been an early evolutionary experiment with flight.
article_snippet.sent: Most winged avian dinosaurs to be discovered so far all have wing structures that are similar to those of modern birds.
article_snippet.sent: This suggests that at the time several different types of winged dinosaurs evolved wings in an attempt to fly.
article_snippet.sent: Analysis by Professor Xu and his colleagues, which is published in the journal Nature, suggest that it is likely the dinosaur glided, perhaps like modern flying squirrels.
article_snippet.sent: the dinosaur lacked the strong muscle attachments to the forelimb bones and the dinosaur bone structure would have interfered with the flapping and rotating movements needed during powered flight.
article_snippet.sent: Instead the dinosaur may have launched the dinosaur from elevated perches and glided to the ground.
article_snippet.sent: If the dinosaur did flap the dinosaur wings
article_snippet.sent: the dinosaur would probably have only been able to fly over short distances.
highlights_snippet.sent: Scientists say it is unlike any other dinosaur, which evolved into birds, and may have glided or even been able to fly by flapping over short distances .
  