Tag Archive for 'Feather'

Optical photograph of the 150-million-year-old isolated fossil feather of Archaeopteryx. Image credit: Carney et al, doi: 10.1038/ncomms1642.

First Fossil Feather Ever Found Belonged to Archaeopteryx

Sep 30, 2020 by News Staff

Renowned as the first fossil feather ever known, the 150-million-year-old isolated fossil feather found in the Jurassic limestone deposits of Solnhofen,...

An artist’s impression of a bald pterosaur and a feathered pterosaur. Image credit: Megan Jacobs, University of Portsmouth.

New Research Refutes Claims that Pterosaurs Had Protofeathers

Sep 29, 2020 by News Staff

Dr. David Unwin from the University of Leicester and University of Portsmouth’s Professor Dave Martill believe Mesozoic flying reptiles called pterosaurs...

Plumage of the 99-million-year-old enantiornithine bird. Image credit: Xing et al, doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00264.

99-Million-Year-Old Bird Wings and Feet Found Encased in Amber

Aug 4, 2020 by Natali Anderson

The partial skeletal remains of an enantiornithine bird that lived 99 million years ago (Cretaceous period) have been found preserved in a piece of amber...

An artist’s rendering of what Wulong bohaiensis might have looked like. Image credit: Erick Toussaint.

New Feathered Dinosaur Species Identified in China

Jan 17, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in China have identified a new species of microraptorine dromaeosaur closely related to the famous dinosaur Velociraptor. An artist’s...

Mesophthirus engeli nymphs crawled and fed on dinosaur feathers. Image credit: Gao et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13516-4.

Cretaceous Feathered Dinosaurs Suffered from Lice

Dec 16, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Paleontologists have found tiny nymphs of a previously unknown ancient insect species trapped in two pieces of 99-million-year-old (mid-Cretaceous period)...

A fossil feather from the Koonwarra Fossil Bed, Australia. Image credit: Kundrát et al, doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2019.10.004.

Paleontologists Find Fossilized Feathers of Cretaceous Polar Dinosaurs and Birds

Nov 13, 2019 by News Staff

Paleontologists have discovered the fossilized feathers of dinosaurs and birds that lived 118 million years ago (Early Cretaceous epoch) in polar environment...

Reconstruction of Archaeopteryx albersdoerferi. Image credit: Zhao Chuang / Martin Kundrát.

Study: Dinosaur Feathers Evolved for Sexual Display

Aug 5, 2019 by News Staff

New research, published recently in the journal Evolution, shows that some dinosaurs may have taken flight thanks to sex appeal. Persons & Currie explored...

Reconstruction of Eocoracias brachyptera with hypothesized plumage coloration. Image credit: Marta Zaher, University of Bristol.

Paleontologists Uncover New Insights into Non-Iridescent Feather Colors in Prehistoric Birds

Jun 27, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from the United Kingdom and Germany has shown that blue feather melanosomes are highly distinct from melanosomes...

Reconstruction of Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Feathers Arose 80 Million Years before Birds, Scientists Say

Jun 5, 2019 by News Staff

According to a new review paper published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, feathers arose 250-230 million years ago, during the Early...

Reconstruction of one of the studied Yanliao Biota pterosaurs, with four different feather types over its head, neck, body, and wings, and a generally ginger-brown color. Image credit: Yuan Zhang.

Pterosaurs Had Four Types of Feathers, New Study Shows

Dec 18, 2018 by News Staff

Pterosaurs lived side by side with dinosaurs, some 230 to 66 million years ago. They were the first vertebrates to achieve true flapping flight, but in...

The blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) in flight. Image credit: Luc Viatour, Lucnix.be / CC BY 2.0.

Blue-and-Yellow Macaws Communicate Visually with Blushing, Ruffled Feathers: Study

Aug 23, 2018 by News Staff

Blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) ruffle their head feathers and blush to communicate visually, according to new research from the ZooParc de Beauval...

Male Costa’s hummingbirds (Calypte costae), like the one shown here, court females using a high-speed dive in which they sing with their tail feather. Image credit: Alan D. Wilson / CC BY-SA 2.5.

Male Costa’s Hummingbirds ‘Sing’ with Their Tail Feathers

Apr 16, 2018 by News Staff

The Costa’s hummingbird (Calypte costae) is a small species of hummingbird endemic to the far west region of the United States and Mexico. During breeding...

Caihong juji lived in China about 161 million years ago and may have used its impressive feathers to attract mates. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski, Field Museum.

Caihong juji: Jurassic Bird-Like Dinosaur Had Iridescent Feathers

Jan 17, 2018 by News Staff

A newly discovered species of bird-like dinosaur, Caihong juji, had a beautiful iridescent coloration, according to a study published in the journal Nature...

Hard tick grasping a dinosaur feather preserved in 99 million-year-old Burmese amber. Image credit: Peñalver et al.

Ticks Sucked Blood of Feathered Dinosaurs, Fossil Discovery Shows

Dec 13, 2017 by News Staff

Preserved in 99 million-year-old Burmese amber paleontologists found a tick grasping a dinosaur feather. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature...

A new depiction of Anchiornis and its contour feather. Image credit: Rebecca Gelernter.

Feathered, Bird-Like Dinosaur Anchiornis Was Even Fluffier than We Thought

Nov 30, 2017 by News Staff

A study published this week in the journal Palaeontology has revealed new details about feathers of the chicken-sized, feathered, bird-like dinosaur Anchiornis. A...

Murray et al show that crested pigeons (Ochyphaps lophotes) signal alarm with specially modified wing feathers. Image credit: Patrick Kavanagh / CC BY 2.0.

Crested Pigeons Use Specially Modified Wing Feathers to Signal Danger, Ornithologists Find

Nov 26, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the Australian National University has solved the mystery of how crested pigeons (Ochyphaps lophotes) create an alarm without...