Winged creature that lived in China 120 million years ago ‘had dinosaur’s head and bird’s body’

A bizarre creature that lived in China 120 million years ago had a dinosaur's head and bird's body.It sheds fresh light on how our feathered friends evolved from the biggest animals that ever roamed land.Named Cratonavis zhui, the chicken-sized hybrid had long shoulder blades, or scapulas, and claws.But its large skull was shaped in an almost identical way to that of T Rex and other meat-eating theropods.The find fills in some of the gaps as to how some dinosaurs evolved into birds.Lead author Dr Li Zhiheng, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "The primitive cranial features speak to the fact that most Cretaceous birds such as Cratonavis could not move their upper bill independently with respect to the braincase and lower jaw.SWNS