Scansoriopteryx Study Challenges Hypothesis that Birds Evolved from Dinosaurs

[theHandpuppet]

Scansoriopteryx Study Challenges Hypothesis that Birds Evolved from Dinosaurs
Jul 10, 2014 by Sci-News.com

The re-examination of Scansoriopteryx – a sparrow-sized, pre-Archaeopteryx, bird-like creature that lived in what is today China during the Jurassic period, about 154 million years ago – challenges the widely accepted hypothesis that birds are derived from land-dwelling dinosaurs that gained the ability to fly.

Unearthed in Inner Mongolia in 2002, Scansoriopteryx was previously classified as a theropod dinosaur, from which many paleontologists believe flying dinosaurs and later birds evolved.

However, according to a new study published in the Journal of Ornithology, Scansoriopteryx was a tree-climbing animal that could glide.

The study’s authors, Dr Alan Feduccia from the University of North Carolina and Dr Stephen Czerkas of the Dinosaur Museum in Blanding, Utah, used advanced techniques to reveal structures in the Scansoriopteryx fossil not clearly visible before....

MORE at http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-scansoriopteryx-hypothesis-birds-evolved-dinosaurs-02059.html

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Cool

That's all. Cool. I'm one one of those evolution junkies.

[arcane1]

2. They're cute, too!

As an added bonus