A real feather in their caps

Since he began scientific research in 2014, he has helped name one third of all known birds found to date from the Mesozoic period, including the Archaeornithura meemannae that in 2015 was considered the most important discovery in a decade by the leading outlet for scientific news, commentary, and cutting-edge research Science, and the Ambopteryx longibrachium that made the cover of Nature in 2019.

Yet in his heart, the discovery in Fujian is his favorite because it was the first time that he led the team that dug it up.

Since October 2021, Wang's team and the Fujian Institute of Geological Survey have conducted several expeditions into multiple Mesozoic basins in Fujian.

Although they have found hundreds of vertebrate fossils, including fish, amphibians, and turtles, until recently, no traces of dinosaurs or birds were found, leaving them disappointed and anxious, with Wang even describing himself as being on the verge of losing hope. Then, on October 23 last year, he found himself standing in a 4-meter pit, holding the obsidian-black fossil of an avian corpse, beaming like a child.

"In the past, many of the important specimens I analyzed had already been prepared, but this one was different. I was there when it surfaced from the slab," Wang says.

"For most paleontologists, it's always a bit of a regret if you haven't personally excavated an important specimen," he adds.

Decades of geological surveys by the FIGS contributed greatly to this discovery.

In 2020, one of the most diverse Late Cretaceous dinosaur track sites in China was discovered in Fujian, which prompted a series of joint investigations by the Beijing and Fujian institutes.

After failing to find dinosaurs in Xiapu county in Ningde, Wang and his colleagues decided to take a shot at Zhenghe county in Nanping.

By sheer luck, he unearthed the Fujianvenator prodigiosus fossil the first day of excavation at the new site. Although the skull is missing, this did not prevent the team from assessing the significance of the specimen.

Months have passed since the discovery, but Wang is still having difficulties reconciling its form.

The fossil's forelimbs are similar to an Archaeopteryx, while the pubis and ischium of its pelvis exhibit the typical features of the birdlike bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs, Troodontidae and Anchiornis huxleyi.