Incredible Images Of Dinosaur Feathers Trapped In Amber

Faline · #1 ● 09-16-2011, 02:16 PM

It's like something out of Hollywood.
A scientific discovery has revealed the actual feathers belonging to dinosaurs millions of years old.
In science fiction, amber preserved the DNA that allowed rebirth of dinosaurs in the film Jurassic Park in 1993.
But today, the same substance from the movies has also preserved feathers that provide a new image of what dinosaurs looked like.

Dino discovery: feather barbs enclosed in amber have shed new light on the feathers of dinosaurs, some of them colourful:

Featherweights: The discovery proves that some dinosaurs were actually colourful and fluffy:

Incredible find: Feather specimens found in amber are encased with feathers very similar - if not identical - to those of modern birds:

'Now, instead of scaly animals portrayed as usually drab creatures, we have solid evidence for a fluffy coloured past,' reports Mark A. Norell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Examples of ancient feathers ranging from the simple to the complex are now being studied.
They were preserved in amber found in western Canada, researchers led by Ryan C. McKellar of the University of Alberta report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
In some specimens, insects - and even spider webs - can be seen.
The specimens show that most primitive feather types, known as protofeathers, were still around just before dinosaurs went extinct, The Atlantic reported.
They are encased with feathers very similar - if not identical - to those of modern birds.
Other feather structures include simple filament structures similar to the earliest feathers of non-flying dinosaurs - a form not seen in the birds of today - and more complicated bird feathers 'displaying pigmentation and adaptations for flight and diving,' the researchers reported.
Indications of feathers have been found on much older fossils, and the new discoveries indicate feathers continued to develop into modern form before the extinction of dinosaurs, explained Norell, who was not part of the research team.

Revelations: The amber, the substance that preserved dinosaur DNA in Jurassic Park, has also preserved feathers that provide a new image of what dinosaurs looked like:

Colourful: Trace metals in feather fossils are suggesting that their colours included black, brown and a reddish-brown:

Window into the past: The specimens are providing a first-hand look at some of what would later become the feathers of modern birds:

Amber, which is hardened tree resin, preserved a mixture of feathers from 70 million years ago.
Other feathers contained in amber dating to 90 million years ago are less diverse.
A separate report by Roy A. Wogelius of the University of Manchester, England, published on-line June 30 by Science, reports the finding of trace metals in feather fossils, suggesting their colours included black, brown and a reddish-brown.
Mr Norell said: 'Despite many reports over the past decade of feathered dinosaurs and new birds from China, only now are we beginning to understand just how diverse feather types were [millions of years ago.]'

Amazing amber: Even a spider web at least 70 million years old has been preserved along with the dinosaur feathers:

Similar but different: The discovery is showing scientists just how much diversity there was among dinosaurs millions of years ago:

Spreading its wings: The dinosaur feathers found show some similarities in the structure of modern birds: