Archaeoraptor liaoningensis is National Geographic’s own production, so to speak. In 1999 the magazine published an article about a feathered dinosaur found in China but had to retrace it the following year since the creature was found to be a hoax.
Archaeoraptor turned out to be a veritable Piltdown bird. The Chinese fossil hunters had combined parts of different species to form a new “transitional fossil” that quickly made news headlines.
Source:
Pappas,, Stephanie. 2019. Why Is the Indian Army Tweeting About Yetis? Live Science (30 April).