Update Sep-13: This story gives whole new meaning to this song. :) [516KB MP3, 0'32"]
But it seems they very likely had feathers!
The feather revelation follows a series of discoveries in fossil beds at Liaoning in northeast China where a volcanic eruption buried many dinosaurs alive. It also cut off the oxygen that would otherwise have rotted them away.
Some theropod (“beast-footed”) dinosaurs were preserved complete with feathery plumage. Theropod is the name given to predatory creatures that walked upright on two legs, balanced by a long tail.
The feathered finds include an early tyrannosaur, a likely ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex, two small flying dinosaurs and five other predators. Feathers are thought to have evolved first to keep dinosaurs warm and only later as an aid to flight.
Comments (1)
I had a professor in college, Kevin Padian (great name, isn't it?) who would always melodramatically say, "Yes, of course the dinosaurs went extinct . . .[dramatic pause] . ..except for the birds."
Makes you wonder about the giant eagles in Tolkien.
Posted by SSR | September 11, 2005