Earliest true bird fossil found? (1 Viewer)

I'm a geologist, so I'm always looking for bits of news from that quarter. Here's something I came across recently.

The most famous flying fossil of all is Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago. However, Archaeopteryx can't be classed as a bird due to its skeleton being more like a long-limbed dinosaur. However, one specimen (of only six ever found), in the Humboldt Museum (Berlin), shows faint indications of primitive feathers, including some short ones on its hind limbs.

Now a new fossil has been discovered which is 20 million years younger than Archaeopteryx, which has been named Microraptor. The only specimen found so far shows distinct flight feathers on all four limbs, and the skeleton is transitional between a dinosaur and a bird. It is the earliest known member of a group known as dromeosaurs. Significantly, the feathers closely resemble those of modern birds. It appears that Microraptor was capable of true flight rather than mere gliding, even if it was rather ponderous compared to its descendants. But, at the moment, it may be regarded as the first true "bird".

I haven't yet been able to find out where Microraptor was discovered. I think it's in Canada, but I'm working on it.

I thought it was interesting anyway.

Gus

Hi Gus,
Not Canada, rather China. In recent years, much of the nascent revolution surrounding avian origins has been coming out of central China with many forms being discovered and described. Microraptor is just one of many described in publication in the last about five years. Here is a link.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0121_030122_dromaeosaur.html

Hi Gus,
You might be interested in this report from last weekends Sunday Times.
The Liaoning beds in China are giving evidence of feathered theropods.
Feathers may have been more prevalent in dinosaur species than was thought,:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1764136,00.html

This coverage is interesting too :-

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs/diorama/feathers.php
Cheers
Colin

Anyone see the programme by Bill Oddie on dinasaurs, apparently the veloceraptor was covered in downy feathers, and nothing like Jurasic park (I allready knew they were about 2 1/2 feet tall)

I think you should go to the DINOSAUR mailing list.

About everything broadly related to dinosaurs. Most professional mailing list I ever seen.

I think 'earliest bird' question is hollow now, because paleontology has many ways to put a border between birds and non-bird coelurosaurs. They seem to refer mostly to 'modern birds'.

I'm gutted. I always thought Jurassic Park was based on the truth. Next thing somebody will be telling me dinosaurs didn't roar and that the Earth isn't six thousand years old. It says so in one book I read.

Gus

Gus Horsley said:

I'm gutted. I always thought Jurassic Park was based on the truth. Next thing somebody will be telling me dinosaurs didn't roar and that the Earth isn't six thousand years old. It says so in one book I read.

Click to expand...

I thought they chased Raquel Welshhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000079/ in a fur bikini?

Alastair

That's A Million Years BC. Which also based on fact. Everybody knows that dinosaurs and humans were around at the same time.

And probably trilobites as well.

Gus

There were birds around before the dinosaur extinction that matched modern birds well. The leg bones were somewhat different so they are called "opposite birds" as far as I remember.

The modern birds developed at the same time as mammals.

There is one paperback book available on the evolution of birds.

Gus Horsley said:

I'm gutted. I always thought Jurassic Park was based on the truth.

Click to expand...

There are some problems with details, but the main theme is very true: many people behave so stupidly that can be easily outsmarted by a dinosaur.

3 :gn:

Jurek

Are you trying to say we're not the most intelligent species on the planet? Surely not.

Gus

Dino Birds exhibition in London

A few years ago there was an exhibition entitled Dino-birds at the Natural History Museum in London. The fossils exhibited were the ones from China already mentioned. It was a fascinating exhibition. Here are a couple of links

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/dinosaurs-other-extinct-creatures/dino-birds/

http://www.firstscience.com/SITE/review_dinobirds.asp

Keith