3 euro Austria 2022 - Microraptor

We know this because numerous well-preserved Microraptor fossil specimens have been found in lake deposits in China's Liaoning province. Preserved in mud, the dinosaur's remains were protected from oxygen and scavengers, offering paleontologists a rare and fascinating insight into prehistoric life. Even the dinosaur's feathers were clearly visible, forming a fringe around the skull, down the neck before merging into long wing feathers. The long, elongated tail also ended in a fan of feathers, two of which were particularly long. Microraptor gui is also one of the few dinosaurs whose feather color can be measured. Although not a bird, Microraptor nevertheless provides important evidence of the evolutionary relationship between birds and early dinosaurs.

On the right of the coin's reverse, a color-printed Microraptor mistletoe is depicted in a forest landscape, clawing at a tree trunk; on the left, a flying Microraptor chases a dragonfly. The obverse of the coin features the 12 prehistoric animals from the Supersaursseries in silhouette.