Are we allowed to post about feathered creatures which technically weren't bird ancestors? This seems to be so firmly in the bonkers-but-wonderful category that I think it's worth sharing. And to the extent that it contributes to ideas about the evolution of feathers in non-flying dinosaurs it's sort-of relevant to birds.
Park, J., Son, M., Park, J. et al. Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs. Sci Rep 14, 549 (2024). Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs - Scientific Reports
Abstract:
Numerous non-avian dinosaurs possessed pennaceous feathers on their forelimbs (proto-wings) and tail. Their functions remain unclear. We propose that these pennaceous feathers were used in displays to flush hiding prey through stimulation of sensory-neural escape pathways in prey, allowing the dinosaurs to pursue the flushed prey. We evaluated the escape behavior of grasshoppers to hypothetical visual flush-displays by a robotic dinosaur, and we recorded neurophysiological responses of grasshoppers’ escape pathway to computer animations of the hypothetical flush-displays by dinosaurs. We show that the prey of dinosaurs would have fled more often when proto-wings were present, especially distally and with contrasting patterns, and when caudal plumage, especially of a large area, was used during the hypothetical flush-displays. The reinforcing loop between flush and pursue functions could have contributed to the evolution of larger and stiffer feathers for faster running, maneuverability, and stronger flush-displays, promoting foraging based on the flush-pursue strategy. The flush-pursue hypothesis can explain the presence and distribution of the pennaceous feathers, plumage color contrasts, as well as a number of other features observed in early pennaraptorans. This scenario highlights that sensory-neural processes underlying prey’s antipredatory reactions may contribute to the origin of major evolutionary innovations in predators.
[emphasis added by me]
Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs - Scientific Reports
Park, J., Son, M., Park, J. et al. Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs. Sci Rep 14, 549 (2024). Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs - Scientific Reports
Abstract:
Numerous non-avian dinosaurs possessed pennaceous feathers on their forelimbs (proto-wings) and tail. Their functions remain unclear. We propose that these pennaceous feathers were used in displays to flush hiding prey through stimulation of sensory-neural escape pathways in prey, allowing the dinosaurs to pursue the flushed prey. We evaluated the escape behavior of grasshoppers to hypothetical visual flush-displays by a robotic dinosaur, and we recorded neurophysiological responses of grasshoppers’ escape pathway to computer animations of the hypothetical flush-displays by dinosaurs. We show that the prey of dinosaurs would have fled more often when proto-wings were present, especially distally and with contrasting patterns, and when caudal plumage, especially of a large area, was used during the hypothetical flush-displays. The reinforcing loop between flush and pursue functions could have contributed to the evolution of larger and stiffer feathers for faster running, maneuverability, and stronger flush-displays, promoting foraging based on the flush-pursue strategy. The flush-pursue hypothesis can explain the presence and distribution of the pennaceous feathers, plumage color contrasts, as well as a number of other features observed in early pennaraptorans. This scenario highlights that sensory-neural processes underlying prey’s antipredatory reactions may contribute to the origin of major evolutionary innovations in predators.
[emphasis added by me]
Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs - Scientific Reports
