 Xing Lida and Song Qijin |
Scientists say the feathers of early and late juvenile Similicaudipteryx dinosaurs had markedly different looks, especially on the wings and tail, as shown here. |
A rare fossil find from China reveals how dinosaurs’ feathers changed as the creatures matured. The discovery, announced in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, suggests that dinosaurs molted like modern-day birds do – even though their feathers developed in an un-birdlike way.
“This find suggests that early feathers were developmentally more diverse than modern ones and that some developmental features … have been lost in feather evolution,” the researchers wrote.
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