The asymmetrical flight feathers of their wings are among the most distinctive features of living birds. But how are these feathers actually constructed, and when did they first appear in evolutionary history?
Evolution
Feb 16, 2015
3
121
New research from the University of Kent suggests that chickens and turkeys have experienced fewer gross genomic changes than other birds as they evolved from their dinosaur ancestor.
Plants & Animals
Dec 11, 2014
12
1
Why were dinosaurs covered in a cloak of feathers long before the early bird species Archaeopteryx first attempted flight? Researchers from the University of Bonn and the University of Göttingen attempt to answer precisely ...
Archaeology
Oct 30, 2014
1
0
A new raptorial dinosaur fossil with exceptionally long feathers has provided exciting insights into dinosaur flight. A paper published in Nature Communications on July 15, 2014 asserts that the fossil—discovered by an ...
Archaeology
Jul 15, 2014
2
0
A study that has 'weighed' hundreds of dinosaurs suggests that shrinking their bodies may have helped the group that became birds to continue exploiting new ecological niches throughout their evolution, and become hugely ...
Archaeology
May 6, 2014
3
0
A new paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology shows that several Jurassic sites are linked together by shared species and can be recognized as representing a single fossil fauna and flora, containing superbly ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 4, 2014
0
2
A study into the aerodynamic performance of feathered dinosaurs, by scientists from the University of Southampton, has provided new insight into the evolution of bird flight.
Archaeology
Sep 18, 2013
0
0
A newly discovered fossil reveals the evolutionary adaptations of a 165-million-year-old proto-mammal, providing evidence that traits such as hair and fur originated well before the rise of the first true mammals. The biological ...
Archaeology
Aug 7, 2013
1
2
New research provides evidence that dinosaurs evolved the brainpower necessary for flight well before they actually took to the air as birds. Based on high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic (CT) scans, the study, published ...
Archaeology
Jul 31, 2013
2
0
Dinosaurs were the largest animals to ever walk Earth, and they ruled the planet for more than 160 million years. The long-necked Argentinosaurus, with back vertebrae almost two metres high, possibly grew to 30 metres long ...
Archaeology
Jul 16, 2013
5
0
