Feathered Dinosaur

Dinosaur species large and small didn't just pass through the Arctic -- they made it their year-round home and probably developed wintering strategies like hibernation or growing insulating feathers, according to a new study.

In 1861, German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer wrote a short paper about a fossil so unusual he first thought it was a fake. What appeared to be a bird feather was pressed into 150-million-year-old limestone. Von Meyer labeled it Archaeopteryx, meaning old wing, and a full skeleton was found shortly thereafter.

Researchers have discovered the partial tail of a feathered dinosaur that was preserved in amber some 99 million years ago, according to a study released Thursday.

It's one of the biggest unsolved whodunits in history: What killed off the dinosaurs? Scientists are pretty sure that something awfully big slammed into the planet about 66 million years ago, but many suggest that rampant volcanic activity may also have played a major role in the demise of our giant, feathered friends.

Imagine an ostrich with huge sickle-like claws, long powerful legs and a dinosaur's toothy grin. Now double its height and give it a taste for flesh.

Scientists have unearthed a spectacularly preserved, nearly complete fossil in northeastern China of a feathered dinosaur with wings like those of a bird, although they doubt the strange creature could fly.

Feathered dinosaurs may have learned to fly even before birds!

Dinosaur species large and small didn't just pass through the Arctic -- they made it their year-round home and probably developed wintering strategies like hibernation or growing insulating feathers, according to a new study.

In 1861, German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer wrote a short paper about a fossil so unusual he first thought it was a fake. What appeared to be a bird feather was pressed into 150-million-year-old limestone. Von Meyer labeled it Archaeopteryx, meaning old wing, and a full skeleton was found shortly thereafter.

Researchers have discovered the partial tail of a feathered dinosaur that was preserved in amber some 99 million years ago, according to a study released Thursday.

It's one of the biggest unsolved whodunits in history: What killed off the dinosaurs? Scientists are pretty sure that something awfully big slammed into the planet about 66 million years ago, but many suggest that rampant volcanic activity may also have played a major role in the demise of our giant, feathered friends.

Imagine an ostrich with huge sickle-like claws, long powerful legs and a dinosaur's toothy grin. Now double its height and give it a taste for flesh.

Scientists have unearthed a spectacularly preserved, nearly complete fossil in northeastern China of a feathered dinosaur with wings like those of a bird, although they doubt the strange creature could fly.

Feathered dinosaurs may have learned to fly even before birds!