Comments on: Dinosaurs of a Feather, Flock Together

By: Tianyulong: An Unexpectedly Fuzzy Dinosaur | Dinosaur Tracking

Tianyulong: An Unexpectedly Fuzzy Dinosaur | Dinosaur Tracking — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:24:36 +0000

[...] decade so many feathered dinosaurs have been discovered that it almost comes as no surprise when a new one is announced. What paleontologists did not expect, however, was to find “feathers” on a [...]

By: Charles Darwin and the Dinosaurs | Dinosaur Tracking

Charles Darwin and the Dinosaurs | Dinosaur Tracking — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:31:40 +0000

[...] stuck out like a sore thumb. We closely associate them with evolution today, particularly the evolution of birds, but in Darwin’s time they were gigantic creatures that seemed to have little connection to [...]

By: Michael Stearns

Michael Stearns — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:02:42 +0000

Nothing shameless about it when I asked for it! Thanks!

By: Dave Hone

Dave Hone — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:32:31 +0000

Shameless plug alert, but there are photos of the actual specimen over on the musings, as well as a post by one of the paper’s authors.

As for the reconstructions, in the media at least i think this is becuase the average reader (and for that matter journalist) would not be able to make out much of a typical roadkill fossil smaered across a slab with a bunch of filaments, and a nice reconstruction is basically pretty and uncomplicated.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:19:38 +0000

Michael; Thanks for the comment! I’m with you about the photos of the actual fossils. Reconstructions are cool, but I like knowing what they’re based on.

I think in terms of news releases and such it’s because the journals hold the copyrights (maybe there’s an issue there?) or that they think the reconstruction is more interesting. Who wants to see a scrap of bone when they can see a colorful picture? Well, you and I, for a start.

The feathers from this critter really did stick out straight back. It is really quite strange-looking. I will try to work to get images of fossils posted with new articles in the future, however, and I appreciate your comment.

By: Michael Stearns

Michael Stearns — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:08:36 +0000

This is sort of tangental, but we never get to see the fossils when something like this is discovered, it’s always an artist’s reconstruction. Is there a reason for this? I’m sure the reconstructions are more exciting to look at for most people, but with the tail feathers apparently drawn with a ruler and sticking straight up in the air, I’d like to see the impressions that inspired this one.