Dinosaur feathers found trapped in Burmese amber have shed new light on the evolution of flight feathers, an essential step that allowed early birds to surpass their dinosaur relatives in conquering the skies, a Chinese study has found.
Through a detailed structural study of feathers dating back 99 million years to the Cretaceous period (145 to 66 million years), the researchers were able to gain insight into how feathers evolved during this era.
“Feathers are critical for the flight of birds,”…
