It is too soon to claim that the common ancestor of dinosaurs had feathers, according to research by scientists at the Natural History Museum, Royal Ontario Museum and Uppsala University.
A new study, published in the journal Biology Letters this week, suggests that feathers were less prevalent among dinosaurs than previously believed. Scientists examined the fossil record of dinosaur skin and combined this with an evolutionary tree to assess the probability of feathers appearing in different dinosaur groups. This analysis demonstrated that the majority of non-avian dinosaurs were more likely to have scales than to exhibit signs of ‘feather-like’ structures.
The controversial findings will add further fuel to a fierce debate among scientists as to whether the majority of dinosaurs were feathered or scaly.
Over the past two decades a number of spectacularly preserved dinosaur fossils with feathers have revolutionised the field of palaeontology. Due to the conflicting presence of scales and feathers in these new specimens, many scientists are convinced that this is an area of study that deserves further research.
The presence of feathers in birds and their immediate ancestors - theropod dinosaurs like Velociraptor - is uncontroversial, but their presence or absence in other dinosaur groups, such as those including Triceratops and Diplodocus, has been highly debated. Several recent discoveries had suggested that filament-like ‘protofeathers’ might be ubiquitous among dinosaurs, but the new research suggests that the common ancestor of dinosaurs did not necessarily have protofeathers and that the quills and filaments in some major plant-eating dinosaur groups were evolutionary experiments that were independent of true feather origins.
Dinosaur biology remains a disputed and competitive area of research. The Natural History Museum’s Professor Paul Barrett said: “Using a comprehensive database of dinosaur skin impressions, we attempted to reconstruct and interpret the evolutionary history of dinosaur scales and feathers. Most of our analyses provide no support for the appearance of feathers in the majority of non-avian dinosaurs and although many meat-eating dinosaurs were feathered, the majority of other dinosaurs, including the ancestor of all dinosaurs, were probably scaly.”
The Royal Ontario Museum’s Temerty Chair and Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology Dr David Evans said: "The origin of the direct filamentous precursors to feathers remains difficult to pinpoint. Whether or not the first dinosaurs had true ‘protofeathers’ will only be resolved with the discovery of more fossils, particularly from early in dinosaur evolutionary history”
Notes for editors
The Natural History Museum welcomes more than five million visitors a year and is also a world-leading science research centre. Through its unique collection and unrivalled expertise it is tackling the biggest challenges facing the world today. It helps enable food security, eradicate disease and manage resource scarcity. It is studying the diversity of life and the delicate balance of ecosystems to ensure the survival of our planet. For more information go to www.nhm.ac.uk
The Royal Ontario Museum is an agency of the Government of Ontario. Opened in 1914, Canada’s largest museum of natural history and world cultures has six million objects in its collections and galleries showcasing art, archaeology and natural science. The ROM is the largest field research institution in the country, and a world leader in research areas from biodiversity, palaeontology, and earth sciences to archaeology, ethnology and visual culture - originating new information towards a global understanding of historical and modern change in culture and environment. For 24-hour information in English and French, please visit https://www.rom.on.ca
Social Media
For further information, please contact the Natural History Museum Press Office
Tel: 020 7942 5654
Email: press@nhm.ac.uk
Download images: https://nhm.box.com/s/o1du83njpva5kpmis9z2f2gdpkxx6wg7
For contact with Dr David Evans, please contact the Royal Ontario Museum Press Office
Tel: (416) 586-5558
Email: jesikaa@rom.on.ca
