Support NeoGAF

[vainglorious]

"We've known that birds and theropod dinosaurs had a common ancestor for at least 15 years now," Dr. Alexander Wolfe, an adjunct professor of paleobiology at the University of Alberta and a co-author of the research, told The Huffington Post in an email. "But we didn't expect a dinosaur that clearly did not fly, Ornithomimus, to have the same basic feather architecture, structure, and composition as birds. So the similarities appear even greater with this specimen, and imply that essentially modern bird feathers evolved before flight."

The researchers analyzed the feathers under a scanning electron microscope and took a close look at the keratin structure of the plumage. They noticed that the pattern appeared remarkably similar to that of an ostrich, and that the feathers didn't cover the Ornithomimus beyond its mid-femur.

The researchers concluded that the feathers may have played a similar role in the dinosaur as feathers do today in ostriches, which is to regulate body temperature.

"What is remarkable is that the ostrich possesses the same plumage patterns, and using that plumage pattern, they can control their body temperature very efficiently," Aaron van der Reest, an undergraduate paleontology student at the University of Alberta and lead author of the research, told HuffPost.

Yo so Jurassic Park turkey kid was right.

Source -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fossilized-feathers-dinosaur-ostrich_56322eace4b0c66bae5b33d9

 

[Amalthea]

When you think about it evolving something as specific as feathers just to fly seem almost like a form of creationism where the evolutionary process would have pre-planned the evolution of flight.

I think a secondary adaptation of feathers from insulation is much more likely. I wouldn't be surprised if especially wing feathers evolved first trough mating selection for having been means to insulate the animals nests and thus ensure a perfext temerature for the eggs.

 

[Thelonelykoopa]

I thought we already knew this.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

I thought we already knew this.

Yeah, I'm sure I heard about the theory of proto-feathers a while ago.

 

[Thelonelykoopa]

Yeah, I'm sure I heard about the theory of proto-feathers a while ago.

Yeah I mean the fact dinosaurs had feathers before evolving into bird would clearly mean feathers existed before flight unless one assumes the T-rex was capable of flight.

 

[vainglorious]

I thought we already knew this.

I think this specimen is unique because the proto-feathers on this flightless dinosaur are almost a mirror copy of what we see on modern flight birds.

 

[Oersted]

I thought we already knew this.

Make that 3.

 

[GavinGT]

Man, that first dinosaur that found out he could fly must have been pretty psyched.

 

[TheSaddestSort]

I thought we already knew this.

I'm with this guy.

 

[bengraven]

It's gotta be weather related I think.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I thought we already knew this.

I think what they are saying is that this is a flightless dinosaur with completely flight capable feather structure, and that it wasn't expected fully developed feathers existed before the right combination of factors lead to them enabling flight. I think

 

[vainglorious]

I think what they are saying is that this is a flightless dinosaur with completely flight capable feather structure, and that it wasn't expected fully developed feathers existed before the right combination of factors lead to them enabling flight. I think

Reading comprehension! Thank you for explaining the article to the posters who only read the thread title.

 

[RagnarokX]

I think what they are saying is that this is a flightless dinosaur with completely flight capable feather structure, and that it wasn't expected fully developed feathers existed before the right combination of factors lead to them enabling flight. I think

Yeah, but it's still silly because feathers evolved over a really long time. Thinking that the evolved for the purpose of flight suggests that the dinosaurs decided "We want to fly, better grow feathers!" When it makes muuuch more sense that flight was a coincidental advantage of feathers evolving for more terrestrial purposes. Evolution is way too slow for feathers to have evolved for a behavior that the dinos were incapable of doing before evolving the traits necessary to do the behavior.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Yeah, but it's still silly because feathers evolved over a really long time. Thinking that the evolved for the purpose of flight suggests that the dinosaurs decided "We want to fly, better grow feathers!" When it makes muuuch more sense that flight was a coincidental advantage of feathers evolving for more terrestrial purposes. Evolution is way too slow for feathers to have evolved for a behavior that the dinos were incapable of doing before evolving the traits necessary to do the behavior.

I'm not getting that from the article at all though. My fault if I phrased something oddly in my response.

It's just that modern bird feathers and ancient dinosaur feathers are extremely similar and offered an advantage completely unrelated to flight, yet didn't have to change almost at all for a completely different use when other factors came into play.