SIMS U-Pb zircon age of Jurassic sediments in Linglongta, Jianchang, western Liaoning: Constraint on the age of oldest feathered dinosaurs

Mesozoic fossil locality in Linglongta village, Jianchang County, western Liaoning,has drawn extensive attention among paleontologists as producing hundreds of beautifully preserved feathered dinosaurs and mammals. The SIMS U-Pb zircon analyses of zircons derived from three tuff layers in Daxishan section in Linglongta yield (160.7±1.7), (159.5±2.3) and (158.9±1.7) Ma, indicating that they were formed at early Late Jurassic. Such a result is generally consistent with biostratigraphic evidence, providing a maximum known age for the first appearance of feathered dinosaurs.