Feathers Before Flight: New Evidence from Crow-like Dino

[n2doc]

A new fossil specimen of the dinosaur Archaeopteryx has been discovered, and it's utterly covered in feathers from head to toe. Researchers say that this could provide new evidence that feathers evolved long before flight was a reality.

It has long been thought that the iconic bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx never actually took to the skies, despite heavy feathering. Past fossils have shown that the crow-sized animal certainly sported feathers on its wings and tail, but a new 150-million-year-old fossil revealed that the animal was completely covered with long shafted feathers.

Interestingly, the placement of these long feathers, called "pennaceous" feather - similar to those seen in flying birds today - does not make much sense for flight, indicating that they may have been used for other purposes long before flight became a primary mode of movement.

Mark Norell, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, has spent years studying feathered dinosaur fossils.

more

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/7890/20140703/feathers-before-flight-new-evidence-crow-dino.htm

[Xipe Totec]

1. Interesting

If feathers evolved for display, perhaps flight evolved as a means to make the display more visible (jumping up and down).

[sorechasm]

4. Feathers for display first?

Does this mean that the characters in La Cage aux Folles will soon learn to fly?

[denbot]

2. Feathers would be ideal for thermal stability.

Smaller endotherms could have an advantage in harsher climates if heavily feathered, over bare or near bare competitors.

I have personally thought that feathers likely developed as a display, but proved advantages to smaller dinos in temperate latitudes.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. I notice that article calls Archaeopteryx a dinosaur, while Nature calls it a bird

Beautiful plumage, anyway.