dwp feathered dinosaur

From WENN   |  2010-01-30 00:20:54

dwp feathered dinosaur
Pictured: Zebra Finch New development in research of coloured feathers The colour of some feathers on dinosaurs and early birds have been identified for the first time. A team of researchers from the University of Bristol, England, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing, China, University College Dublin, Ireland and the Open University, U.K., discovered the theropod dinosaur Sinosauropteryx had orange and white rings down its tail, while the bird Confuciusornis was decorated in white, black and orange-brown. Mike Benton, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Bristol, says, "Our research provides extraordinary insights into the origin of feathers. In particular, it helps to resolve a long-standing debate about the original function of feathers - whether they were used for flight, insulation, or display. We now know that feathers came before wings, so feathers did not originate as flight structures. "We therefore suggest that feathers first arose as agents for colour display and only later in their evolutionary history did they become useful for flight and insulation." Supplied by WENN.com


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