Dinosaur-era feathers sealed in amber

[n2doc]

Pigment and fine details preserved in a new collection By Susan Milius Web edition : 11:15 am

ANCIENT FEATHERSA cluster of small barbs (shown), which once branched off a main feather upright, show remains of pigment but not interlocking hooks. The barbs might have come from the ends of the outermost layer of body feathers. Science/AAAS


Bits of filaments and feathers trapped in amber 79 million years ago offer an unusually wide-ranging view of what late dinosaurs and early birds were wearing.

The 11 small, amber-bound specimens found in Canada span an evolutionary range of late Cretaceous fashion, from what appear to be unbranched filaments — which have been proposed as the first stage of dinosaur feather evolution — to bits of sophsticated, corkscrewy barbs like the wettable feathers on modern diving birds, a team from the University of Alberta reports in the Sept. 16 Science.

Such a range has shown up squashed in rock fossils, but “we’re seeing the same thing preserved in beautiful 3-D forms,” says coauthor Ryan McKellar. “It’s preserved down to the point of having pigment, which opens up the doorway for all sorts of weird and wonderful investigations.”

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http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/334380/description/Dinosaur-era_feathers_sealed_in_amber

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. How exciting!

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[Ready4Change]

3. Cool!

Some pigment too! That is just shivery with nifty.