Oldest Feathered Dinosaur
Tuesday, 6. October 2009, 09:41:31
A near-complete fossil of the (so far) oldest feathered bird-like dinosaur has been found in the Chinese province Liaoning. It has been dated to earliest late Jurassic - 151-161 million years ago - and this Anchiornis huxleyi is (it seems) older than Archaeopteryx lithographica that lived in the late Jurassic Period around 150–145 million years ago.
Long feathers cover the arms and tail, but also the feet, suggesting that a four-winged stage may have existed in the transition to birds. It is by the way not the first four-winged dinosaur found. Microraptor gui e.g. was another (with six specimens also found in the rich fossil beds of Liaoning Province in northeastern China).
Find by find provides yet more evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and more links unravelling how a group of ground-dwelling flightless dinosaurs evolve to a feathered animal capable of flying. The transition from dinosaurs to birds is still poorly understood because of the lack of well-preserved fossils and, although supported by most palaeontologists, still many scientists argue that bird-like dinosaurs appear too late in the fossil record to be the true ancestors of birds. Earlier finds of Anchiornis huxleyi were much less complete, and it was previously thought to be a primitive bird, but closer inspection reveals that it should be assigned to the Troodontidae — a group of dinosaurs closely related to birds.
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Long feathers cover the arms and tail, but also the feet, suggesting that a four-winged stage may have existed in the transition to birds. It is by the way not the first four-winged dinosaur found. Microraptor gui e.g. was another (with six specimens also found in the rich fossil beds of Liaoning Province in northeastern China).
Find by find provides yet more evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and more links unravelling how a group of ground-dwelling flightless dinosaurs evolve to a feathered animal capable of flying. The transition from dinosaurs to birds is still poorly understood because of the lack of well-preserved fossils and, although supported by most palaeontologists, still many scientists argue that bird-like dinosaurs appear too late in the fossil record to be the true ancestors of birds. Earlier finds of Anchiornis huxleyi were much less complete, and it was previously thought to be a primitive bird, but closer inspection reveals that it should be assigned to the Troodontidae — a group of dinosaurs closely related to birds.
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http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090925/full/news.2009.949.html
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http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7264/full/nature08322.html
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928205415.htm
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