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A fossil feather preserved inside dinosaur poop could help explain why birds survived the mass extinction
Confirmed
In Short: Researchers have discovered a fossilized feather from an extinct bird preserved inside dinosaur poop, potentially shedding light on why birds survived the mass extinction event 66 million years ago, according to reports from ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The discovery, published in Current Biology, was made by a palaeontologist who was looking for fish fossils at the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. The coprolite, or dinosaur poo, contained multiple feathers, tiny fish scales, and leg bones from a small bird, according to lead author Jingmai O'Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago.
This is the first-ever feather in a coprolite … and it probably would not have been found if it wasn't for a lucky break,' Dr. O'Connor said, adding that the discovery is a 'call to action' for scientists to scan other fossilized faeces for feathers. The site is well known for dinosaur and fish fossils, but no feathers have been found there before, according to David DeMar, a study co-author.
Steven Salisbury, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Queensland, described the fossil as impressive, noting that most feather fossils show only impressions rather than the actual feather. 'There are quite a few fossils that show feathers, but most of the time you're just looking at impressions of feathers … the actual feather is not there,' Dr. Salisbury said.
What's confirmed
- The discovery, published in Current Biology, was made by a palaeontologist who was looking for fish fossils at the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. The coprolite, or dinosaur poo, contained multiple feathers, tiny fish scales, and leg bones from a small bird, according to lead author Jingmai O'Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago.
- This is the first-ever feather in a coprolite … and it probably would not have been found if it wasn't for a lucky break,' Dr. O'Connor said, adding that the discovery is a 'call to action' for scientists to scan other fossilized faeces for feathers. The site is well known for dinosaur and fish fossils, but no feathers have been found there before, according to David DeMar, a study co-author.
- Steven Salisbury, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Queensland, described the fossil as impressive, noting that most feather fossils show only impressions rather than the actual feather. 'There are quite a few fossils that show feathers, but most of the time you're just looking at impressions of feathers … the actual feather is not there,' Dr. Salisbury said.
What's still developing
- Researchers think the fossilised faeces may have come from a Tyrannosaurus rex. ( Supplied: Andrey Atuchin ) Palaeontologists have discovered an extremely well-preserved feather from an extinct bird in fossilised dinosaur faeces.
- The researchers said the fossil could help explain why ancestors of modern birds survived the mass extinction 66 million years ago.
- Researchers said the discovery, published today in Current Biology, might provide clues about why today's birds are the only dinosaur group that survived mass extinction.
- "I was crawling up a rocky outcrop collecting fish fossils when I came across a dark, reddish-brown nodule about half the size of a golf ball," Dr DeMar said.
- "Hesperornithiformes are most closely related to modern birds, the crown bird group," Dr O'Connor said.
- According to Dr O'Connor, plumage might have been the difference between life and death during the extinction event.