Incredible Dinosaur Fossil Reveals How Their Feathers Compared to Modern Birds

CARLY CASSELLA
21 JAN 2020


A 120 million-year-old fossil is helping paleontologists to bridge the 'phantom' evolutionary leap between feathered dinosaurs and modern birds.

Dubbed "the dancing dragon", or Wulong bohaiensis, this newly described species is a strange mix between bird and dinosaur, ancient and new.

First discovered in China more than a decade ago, in one of the world's richest fossil deposits, the ancient animal's beautifully preserved bones have only recently received closer inspection.

The Jiufotang Formation, where the fossil was found, belongs to the Jehol group - known for its incredible variety of animals, it's considered one of the earliest habitats where dinosaurs, birds, and bird-like dinosaurs co-existed. But even amongst stiff competition, the Wulong fossil is one of a kind.

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Researchers show how feathers propel birds through air and history

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

by University of Southern California

Birds of a feather may flock together, but the feathers of birds differ altogether.

New research from an international team led by USC scientists set out to learn how feathers developed and helped birds spread across the world. Flight feathers, in particular, are masterpieces of propulsion and adaptation, helping penguins swim, eagles soar and hummingbirds hover.

Despite such diversity, the feather shares a common core design: a one-style-fits-all model with option trims for specialized performance. This simplicity and flexibility found in nature holds promise for engineers looking for better ways to build drones, wind turbines, medical implants and other advanced materials.

Those findings, published today in Cell, offer an in-depth look at the form and function of a feather based on a comparative analysis of their physical structure, cellular composition and evolution. The study compares feathers of 21 bird species from around the world.

"We've always wondered how birds can fly in so many different ways, and we found the difference in flight styles is largely due to the characteristics of their flight feathers," said Cheng-Ming Chuong, the study's lead author and a developmental biologist in the Department of Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "We want to learn how flight feathers are made so we can better understand nature and learn how biological architecture principles can benefit modern technology."

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the flight feather, Chuong formed a multi-disciplinary international team with Wen Tau Juan, a biophysicist at the Integrative Stem Cell Center, China Medical University in Taiwan. The work involved experts in stem cells, molecular biology, anatomy, physics, bio-imaging, engineering, materials science, bioinformatics and animal science. The bird species studied include ostrich, sparrow, eagle, chickens, ducks, swallow, owl, penguin, peacock, heron and hummingbird, among others.

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Feathers came first, then birds

JUNE 3, 2019

by University of Bristol

New research, led by the University of Bristol, suggests that feathers arose 100 million years before birds—changing how we look at dinosaurs, birds, and pterosaurs, the flying reptiles.

It also changes our understanding of feathers themselves, their functions and their role in some of the largest events in evolution.

The new work, published today in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution combines new information from palaeontology and molecular developmental biology.

The key discovery came earlier in 2019, when feathers were reported in pterosaurs—if the pterosaurs really carried feathers, then it means these structures arose deep in the evolutionary tree, much deeper than at the point when birds originated.

Lead author, Professor Mike Benton, from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, said: "The oldest bird is still Archaeopteryx first found in the Late Jurassic of southern Germany in 1861, although some species from China are a little older.

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It's Official: Those Flying Reptiles Called Pterosaurs Were Covered in Fluffy Feathers

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | December 17, 2018 02:22pm ET

There's no doubt anymore: Pterosaurs — the flying reptiles that zipped through the skies during the dinosaur age — sported feathers, a finding that pushes the origin of these fluffy structures back 70 million years.

An analysis of two well-preserved pterosaur specimens found in China revealed that these beasts had four completely different feather types, researchers said in a study published online today (Dec. 17) in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolultion.

"The pterosaurs had four types of feather-like structures: simple filaments ('hairs'), bundles of filaments, filaments with a tuft halfway down and down feathers," study lead researcher Baoyu Jiang, a professor of paleontology in the School of Earth Sciences and Engineering at Nanjing University in China, told Live Science in an email. [Photos of Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs]

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'Live fast, die young' lifestyle reflected in birds' feathers

Date:  September 5, 2018

Source:  American Ornithological Society Publications Office

Animals' lives tend to follow a quicker tempo as they get farther from the equator -- birds at more northern latitudes mature faster, start reproducing younger, and live shorter lives, probably as a way of dealing with seasonal variation in resources. A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances shows for the first time that this pattern also plays out in birds' feathers, with northern birds completing their annual molt faster to keep up with the demands of life far from the tropics.

Louisiana State University's Ryan Terrill looked at museum specimens of four bird species with ranges that span a wide swath of latitude in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Slight differences in feather growth between day and night during birds' annual molt produce visible pairs of light-colored bars, each pair representing 24 hours' growth. Terrill could determine the rates at which individual feathers grew by measuring their spacing. He found that for all four species, individuals collected at higher latitudes had grown their feathers faster.

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Birds grow feathers faster at higher latitudes

 08/09/2018

The further away from the equator, the quicker tempo animals' lives tend to follow. Birds at more northerly latitudes mature faster, start reproducing younger and don't live as long, probably as a way of dealing with seasonal variation in resources. A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances shows for the first time that this pattern also plays out in feather development, with northern birds completing their annual moult faster to keep up with the demands of life far from the tropics.

Louisiana State University's Ryan Terrill looked at museum specimens of four species with ranges that span a wide swathe of latitude in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Slight differences in feather growth between day and night during a bird's annual moult produce visible pairs of light-coloured bars, each pair representing 24 hours' growth. Terrill could determine the rates at which individual feathers grew by measuring their spacing. He found that in all four species, individuals collected at higher latitudes had grown their feathers faster.

Terrill sees two potential explanations for this pattern, which aren't mutually exclusive. First, where the availability of food changes with the seasons, birds may need to moult faster so that they have the necessary resources. Second, because birds at higher latitudes tend to be more invested in producing offspring than in extending their own survival, faster production of lower-quality feathers may be an acceptable trade-off.

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How dinosaur scales became bird feathers

By Rory GallowayScience writer

22 November 2017

The genes that caused scales to become feathers in the early ancestors of birds have been found by US scientists.

By expressing these genes in embryo alligator skin, the researchers caused the reptiles' scales to change in a way that may be similar to how the earliest feathers evolved.

Feathers are highly complex natural structures and they're key to the success of birds.

But they initially evolved in dinosaurs, birds' extinct ancestors.

Leading the study, Professor Cheng-Ming Chuong told the BBC that this discovery links important recent palaeontological finds with modern biology, in understanding feather evolution.

Birds have had feathers for as long as they have existed as a group and Professor Chuong couldn't study primitive examples of feathers in any living animals.

"In today's existing reptiles, the one more similar to dinosaurs is actually the alligator, belonging to the Archosaur group," said Prof Chuong from the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.

Dinosaurs and birds also belong to this wider group of "Archosaur reptiles"; Prof Chuong wanted to investigate whether the feather-forming genes he had identified in birds could change those scales into feathers. So he set out to turn on these genes in the skin of alligator embryos.

"You can see we can indeed induce them to form appendages, although it is not beautiful feathers, they really try to elongate" he explained of the outcome. They are likely similar to the structures on those feather-pioneering dinosaurs 150 million years ago.

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Feathers have their own scents, and predators know it

November 13, 2017 by Karl Gruber, Particle

In the holey battle of Aussie bushlands, smelly birds get their feathers ruffled.

Crimson rosellas are colourful and cute parrots, native to eastern and south eastern Australia. They are also very smelly birds.

"They smell like an old jumper, which has been drenched in really cheap and old perfume," says Dr Milla Mihailova, a former doctoral student at Deakin University's Centre for Integrative Ecology.

But their musky smell is not a reminder of an overdue bath (like for some of us).

For crimson rosellas, feather odour is important for their nesting behaviour.

"Feather odour influences how much time females spend at their nest. For example, if a female can smell that a male or the same subspecies has been around, she will arrive back to the nest quicker and stay at the nest for longer," says Milla.

And it is not just about nesting.

Birds of a feather smell together

For these colourful parrots, the smell of their feathers is a way of communication. They can learn all sorts of things from a sniff. Like what kind of individual was around, if it was a male or female or what subspecies or species it was.

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Pigeons Sound the Alarm with Whistling Feathers

By Charles Choi | November 9, 2017 12:00 pm

When the crested pigeon of Australia flees potential foes, it can raise an alarm — not by calling out vocally, but with whistling feathers in its wings. These new findings may be the first proof of an idea Darwin proposed nearly 150 years ago suggesting that birds could use feathers as musical instruments for communication.

Birds are known for the songs they can sing, but many can also generate unusual noises with their feathers. Darwin called these sounds “instrumental music” in his 1871 book exploring the role of sex in evolution. For instance, “peacocks and birds of paradise rattle their quills together, and the vibratory movement apparently serves merely to make a noise, for it can hardly add to the beauty of their plumage,” Darwin wrote.

Feathers are known to produce distinctive sounds in at least 70 different species of birds, with many of these plumes possessing highly modified structures apparently specialized to make these noises. However, it was difficult to prove whether birds communicated with each other with these sounds.

For instance, scientists have long known that crested pigeon wings whistled when the birds flew. However, one could argue these noises were “unintentional byproducts of flight, rather than signals that have evolved for communication,” says study lead author Trevor Murray, a behavioral ecologist at Australian National University in Canberra.

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Molting feathers may help birds deal with environmental contaminants

Date: July 20, 2017

Source: Wiley

Mercury is an ubiquitous environmental contaminant that affects the health of birds and other wild animals. Two varieties of songbird -- zebra finch and European starling -- were found to shed mercury accumulation with their feathers in a recent study.

During a molt, both species quickly eliminated mercury from their blood and significantly reduced mercury concentrations in other tissues. This, coupled with a migration out of contaminated sites, may help birds deal with exposure to environmental toxins.

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Advanced imaging reveals unusual, unseen patterns in seabird feathers

May 18, 2017 

The identification of essential chemical elements in the feathers of long-distance migratory seabirds using advanced X-ray imaging techniques promises new insights into the underlying physiological processes behind feather growth. 

In research published in Nature Scientific Reports, a team of investigators led by ANSTO biologist Nicholas Howell and Prof Richard Banati provided evidence of previously unseen spatial patterns in the distribution of metals that do not appear to be linked to physical characteristics in the feathers.

Because the patterns are not linked to pigmentation, thickness or other structural characteristics in the feathers, the authors suggest another unidentified mechanism may be at work. 

"Our collaboration has produced some remarkable depictions of the feathers that let us see into complex and pattern-forming, biochemical processes in cells," said Prof Banati.

High resolution images collected using the X-ray fluorescence microprobe and Maia spectroscopic detector at the Australian Synchrotron, revealed independent distribution of zinc, calcium, bromine, copper and iron.

In this investigation, the technique was applied to the whole feather, and required no subsampling or extraction procedures in order to accurately identify elements.

"Using this powerful instrument and Maia detector, David Paterson and Daryl Howard were able to scan samples that were several centimetres in length at micron resolution," said Howell.

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How some chickens got striped feathers

Date: April 7, 2017

Source: Uppsala University

Birds show an amazing diversity in plumage colour and patterning. But what are the genetic mechanisms creating such patterns? In a new study published today in PLOS Genetics, Swedish and French researchers report that two independent mutations are required to explain the development of the sex-linked barring pattern in chicken. Both mutations affect the function of CDKN2A, a tumour suppressor gene associated with melanoma in humans.

Research in pigmentation biology has made major advances the last 20 years in identifying genes controlling variation in pigmentation in mammals and birds. However, the most challenging question is still how colour patterns are genetically controlled. Birds are outstanding as regards the diversity and complexity in colour patterning. The study published today has revealed the genetic basis for the striped feather characteristic of sex-linked barring. One example of this fascinating plumage colour is the French breed Coucou de Rennes. The name refers to the fact that this plumage colour resembles the barring patterns present in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). The sex-linked barring locus is on the Z chromosome. (In chickens as well as in other birds the male has chromosomes ZZ while females have ZW).

"Our data show that sex-linked barring is caused by two independent mutations that act together. One is a regulatory mutation that increases the expression of CDKN2A. The other changes the protein sequence and makes the protein less functionally active. We are sure that both mutations contribute to the sex-linked barring pattern because we have also studied chicken that only carry the regulatory mutation and they show a very pale plumage with only weak dark stripes. Thus, this represents an evolutionary process in which the regulatory mutation occurred first followed by the mutation affecting the protein structure. The combined effect of the two mutations causes an even more appealing phenotype for the human eye," says Leif Andersson, Uppsala University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Texas A&M University, who led the study.

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