Zhenyuanlong suni (Lü and Brusatte 2015, JPM-0008) Early Cretaceous, 122 mya, over 1m in length, was derived from a sister to Tianyuraptor and is an ancestral to Tyrannosaurus. The fossil preserves wing feathers and so was considered the largest of the Chinese winged dromaeosaurs. Click here to see the list of traits shared with tyrannosaurs not with dromaeosaurs and to learn more. Note the short torso and tall, narrow orbit. This fossil shows that tyrannosaurs once had feathers.

Daurlong wangi (Wan et al 2022; Early Cretaceous, 122mya over a meter in length) was originally described as a dromaeosaurid, but here nests with Zhenyuanlong in the lineage of tyrannosaurs. Note the lacrimal crests. The second toe is not a 'killer claw'.

Huaxiagnathus orientalis (Hwang, Norell and Gao 2004; Early Cretaceous) was originally considered a compsognathid, but nests in the large reptile tree between Tianyuraptor and Zhenyuanlong. The fossil is complete and articulated. Basically shaped like a little robust tyrannosaur, the humerus and antebrachium were shorter, the hind limb was more robust, and pedal digit 3 was also quite robust. The teeth and hyoid was remarkably large. The image above is shown sans feathers.

Hwang SN, Norell MA, ji Q and Gao K-Q 2004. A large compsognathid from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 2(1):13-30.

Lü J and Brusatte SL 2015. A large, short-armed, winged dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of China and its implications for feather evolution. Scientific Reports 5, 11775; doi: 10.1038/srep11775.

Wan X, Cau A, Guo B, Ma F, Qing G and Liu Y 2022. Intestinal preservation in a birdlike dinosaur supports conservatism in digestive canal evolution among theropods. Nature scientific reports. 12:19965 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24602-x

wiki/Zhenyuanlong
wiki/Huaxiagnathus
wiki/Daurlong - not yet posted