Rise of the feathered dinosaurs

porchrat

porchrat

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Feathers didn’t start with birds. Plumage of various sorts — from simple fuzz to the complex structures used for flight — adorned dinosaurs first, and was only later inherited by birds. And if a beautifully preserved juvenile dinosaur unearthed in the Jurassic strata of Germany is any indication, it is possible that all dinosaurs bore patches of filamentous feathers.

Since the discovery of the fluffy theropod Sinosauropteryx in 1996, palaeontologists have recognized more than 30 types of feathered dinosaur. Most of these are coelurosaurs — a disparate group of theropods that includes not only the fearsome tyrannosaurs, sickle-clawed deinonychosaurs and bizarre therizinosaurs, but also birds.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. Palaeontologists have also discovered simple, feather-like structures along the vertebral columns of the dinosaurs Psittacosaurus and Tianyulong. These ornithischians are about as distantly related to birds as dinosaurs can be, and the discoveries hinted that swaths of simplified protofeathers were a common feature among dinosaurs. The discovery of the most recent fossil indicates that feathery body coverings were widespread in these creatures.

Ancient adornment
The 150-million-year-old theropod Sciurumimus albersdoerferi unearthed in Germany and described today1 was coated in a form of plumage. The filamentous structures have been seen before in other dinosaurs, but what makes Sciurumimus so noteworthy is that this dinosaur was a megalosauroid.

Megalosauroids were a group of archaic sharp-toothed dinosaurs near the base of the theropod family tree, and greatly removed from the various types of feathered dinosaur and early birds recognized so far.

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Thought this was rather interesting.

http://www.nature.com/news/rise-of-the-feathered-dinosaurs-1.10933
 
DJ...

DJ...

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However, there are exceptions to this rule. Palaeontologists have also discovered simple, feather-like structures along the vertebral columns of the dinosaurs Psittacosaurus and Tianyulong. These ornithischians are about as distantly related to birds as dinosaurs can be, and the discoveries hinted that swaths of simplified protofeathers were a common feature among dinosaurs.
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/cue Swa, SEF and nogard...
 
HapticSimian

HapticSimian

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I'm torn by these developments. On the one hand it's pretty cool to see the puzzle pieces being discovered. On the other when I eventually get my pair of cloned deinonychus I want them to look ferocious, not like overgrown peacocks... :(

DJ... said:
/cue Swa, SEF and nogard...
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One of those is no longer an issue...
 
porchrat

porchrat

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HapticSimian said:
I'm torn by these developments. On the one hand it's pretty cool to see the puzzle pieces being discovered. On the other when I eventually get my pair of cloned deinonychus I want them to look ferocious, not like overgrown peacocks... :(
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LOL I have the exact same thinking. These sorts of discoveries are making dinos look less and less badass. :p
 
T

Techne

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Wow, that is exceptionally well preserved:
1.10933.jpg

Looks like those fearsome dinosaurs where in touch with their uhm feminine and killed in style. Interesting discovery.

HapticSimian said:
One of those is no longer an issue...
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No doubt goading played its part there as usual.
 
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Elimentals

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SykomantiS said:
Dinos aren't badass, dinos are extinct. Wanna know what is badass? Crocodiles are badass. :rolleyes:
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Till they learn how to open doors they still not half as bad ... I have seen Jurassic Park, and know what Velociraptor little hands can do.

And em alligators/crocks below look stuck to me :D

4.jpg
ztaqf.jpg
 
DJ...

DJ...

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His stalking skills need some refinement.

Crocs and alligators don't scare me half as much as flying T-Rexs and velociraptors though...:erm:
 
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Techne

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HapticSimian said:
Yep. Ol' SEF goaded, poked and prodded at everyone who attempted to engage him in conversation...
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Haha, you can't expect people to believe it was a one-way street, this is mybb after all.


SykomantiS said:
Dinos aren't badass, dinos are extinct. Wanna know what is badass? Crocodiles are badass. :rolleyes:
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Bacteria are even more badass and you don't have worry about them ever having gay feathers :D
 
azbob

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Sorry to disappoint you guys:

http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/dinosaurbasics/a/velofacts.htm

2. Velociraptor was about the size of a big chicken...

For a dinosaur that's often mentioned in the same breath as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor was remarkably puny: this carnivore weighed only about 30 pounds fully grown (about the same as a good-sized human toddler) and achieved an awe-inspiring height of two or three feet, max.

3. ...and it looked like a big chicken, too.

Based on the the smaller, more primitive, feathered raptors that predated it by millions of years, paleontologists believe Velociraptor sported feathers, too, though the direct evidence for this is slim. Artists have pictured this dinosaur with everything from wan, chicken-like tufts to bright green plumage worthy of a South American parrot.
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