Big Bird Dazzles Paleontologists

Mystery dinosaur offers link to first birds

(NEWSER) - It had a mysterious hump over its pelvis and feather-attachment bumps on its forearms: Meet the newly discovered Concavenator corcovatus, a dinosaur scientists hope will offer clues about the emergence of the first birds. Paleontologists unearthed the dino, a member of the theropod family, in central Spain. And while its feather-attachment bumps closely resemble those found in modern birds, it is not closely related to any previously known birds or feathered dinosaurs. More»

Dinosaur is earliest known feathered species, may have flown on four wings

(NEWSER) - A fossilized creature found in northern China puts an end to any controversy over whether birds descended from dinosaurs, say Chinese scientists. The dinosaur, who lived some 10 million years before Archaeopteryx, is the oldest feather species ever discovered. The feathers cover its arms, tail, and also its feet, leading scientists to believe that it may have flown on four wings. More»

Feathers may have arisen with the earliest dinosaurs

(NEWSER) - The evolutionary history of feathers just got a whole lot fuzzier, reports the BBC. A 130-million-year-old fossil has been found in China with “protofeathers,” leading scientists to believe that one of the two main families of dinosaurs—previously thought to have had scaly hides—may in fact have had fuzzy plumage for warmth and even for colorful peacock-style displays. More»

(NEWSER) - The contents of a fossilized dinosaur nest may help resolve the age-old chicken-and-egg question, LiveScience reports. That birds evolved from dinosaurs is no secret, but the new discovery shows that the pointy-ended bird egg developed before the bird itself, paleontologists say. The nest is believed to have belonged to one of two small, carnivorous dinosaur species. More»

Spearfishing birds waddled the earth 36 million years ago

(NEWSER) - Penguins haven't always lived on ice, scientists have concluded after unearthing fossils of giant penguins in Peru's Atacama desert. The penguins, nearly human-sized at 4.5 feet tall, had extraordinarily long beaks apparently used for spearfishing, and waddled the earth some 36 million years ago, the National Geographic News reports. More»