‘Near bird’ dinosaur offers clues on early flight
A chicken-size dinosaur probably sported a red mohawk and wasn’t anywhere near the top of the food chain — it probably fed on bugs and small lizards.
Researchers have a better idea of what this small species of feathered dinosaur looked like, and it gives a fresh glimpse into the origin of flight.
High-powered lasers scanned ancient fossils of the creature and “revealed the first high-detail out- line of a feathered dinosaur, so it’s a real landmark in our understanding of avian ( bird) origins,” says paleontologist Michael Pitmann of the University of Hong Kong, lead author of a study published Tuesday.
The dinosaur’s name is Anchiornis — “near bird” — and lived 160 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic period.
Its features included birdlike arms and legs, a slender tail and footpads.
Scientists first found fossils of the species in 2009 in northeastern China, and some were in re-
markably good shape. Pittman says it’s rare to find a well-preserved dinosaur fossil from which the animal’s actual appearance can be gleaned.
The lasers revealed unseen soft tissues preserved alongside the bones, he says. The process, known as “laser-stimulated fluorescence,” uncovered details about the dinosaur invisible under regular light. The scientists found that the dinosaur shared many of the characteristics of modern birds, including drumstick-shaped legs.
“We even have foot scales preserved in the Anchiornis specimens that are just like chickens today,” Pittman says.
The study appeared Tuesday in Nature Communications.