STL Science Center

STL Science Center

04 June 2015

Popular Everywhere, Maybe Even China

The discoveries of multiple specimens of Microraptor gui are the result of combined AMNH and Chinese cooperation. Some of the fossils were originally smuggled out of China and the various states of preservation even created a nomenclature issue at one point, with the genus Cryptovolans being designated for one of those fossils. Other names given to the fossils include Microraptor zhaoianus and Archaeoraptor liaoningensis. As this was a topic of much debate and contention, we have stuck with the accepted name, Microraptor gui, and not mentioned the various other names. The fossils have been popular all over though, despite their nomenclatural discontinuity. The dino-bird has appeared on the BBC and in countless other documentaries and networks over the years. It has also graced many, many pages in books. It is not much of a surprise that it has been modded into video games, and even included in the Dino D-Day game that is available on Steam. That game is well worth the paltry sum they ask for it!

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