Discovered in late 2004, Dilong gave scientists a considerable surprise. Although it is a small, early cousin of the tyrannosaurids (the group of meat-eating dinosaurs that includes Tyrannosaurus rex), its body was covered in feather-like filaments! This suggests that T. rex may have been covered in feathery filaments too, at least when it was young. Unlike many of its later relatives, Dilong had crests on the top of its head, and three fingers instead of two on its hands. It probably hunted other small to medium-sized dinosaurs that shared its environment, such as Beipiaosaurus and Caudipteryx.
