Velociraptor Had Feathers

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Posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday September 20, 2007 @11:28PM from the well-and-wings-to-put-them-on dept.

Spy der Mann writes "A new look at some old bones have shown that velociraptor, the dinosaur made famous in the movie Jurassic Park, had feathers. A paper describing the discovery, made by paleontologists at the American Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum of Natural History, appears in the Sept. 21 issue of the journal Science."

29 of 189 comments (clear)

Wow, what a dinosaur! by Anonymous Coward · 2007-09-20 23:32 · Score: 0, Funny

It's reputation is about to be tarred and feathered once this news gets out...
Artist's rendering: by flimflam · 2007-09-20 23:33 · Score: 4, Funny

http://www.breatheinfo.com/images/big_bird.jpg

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new reason for extinctin of the dino's by rucs_hack · 2007-09-20 23:34 · Score: 1, Funny

All those little 'created' humans walking around at the same time must have killed them all to make headdresses.

It all makes sense! How could I have been so foolish before!

Hang on, did I take my tablet today?
1. Re:new reason for extinctin of the dino's by Anonymous Coward · 2007-09-21 00:37 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  All those little 'created' humans walking around at the same time must have killed them all to make headdresses.
  
  No, no... dinosaurs became extinct because they tasted terrible with the Colonel's secret herbs-and-spices recipe. Go back and read Darwin's famous treatise, Oregano on Species , where he proposes the theory that all food evolved from lesser forms of food -- the survival of the tastiest. After all, you don't see chickens, sheep, or beef cattle threatened with extinction, do you?
They also had tar pits back then... by mrRay720 · 2007-09-20 23:39 · Score: 3, Funny

Constantly being tarred and feathered, the poor velociraptors were often the butt of the larger dinosaurs' jokes.

Nowhere is there proof that the 'raptors actually grew those feathers out of their skin!
Queue XKCD comic by Xyde · 2007-09-20 23:40 · Score: 2, Funny

I'm sure XKCD will have something to say about this. We welcome our Mwahahah flying, feathered velociraptor overlords! ..first post!
1. Re:Queue XKCD comic by Quinnie · 2007-09-20 23:48 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  No one tell Randall Munroe about this, or he'll start running away from birds.
2. Re:Queue XKCD comic by Anonymous Coward · 2007-09-21 00:49 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  It depends on what the intent of the post was. If it was to notify or remind XKCD to do a comic on the topic, it would be "cue". If it was to go to XKCD after reading slashdot, then it would be "queue".
Han shot first... by Progman3K · 2007-09-20 23:42 · Score: 2, Funny

Does that mean Spielberg is going to retouch Jurassic Park to add feathers?

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1. Re:Han shot first... by suv4x4 · 2007-09-20 23:49 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Does that mean Spielberg is going to retouch Jurassic Park to add feathers?
  
  No, but the Jurassic Park 4 seems to get it right.
Separated at birth... by Kildjean · 2007-09-20 23:49 · Score: 3, Funny

Barrens Velociraptors, and most of them found through Azeroth have feathers too. Are these types related or they are distant cousins.

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Just as well the feathers were left off by jollyreaper · 2007-09-20 23:53 · Score: 4, Funny

I just can't take a giant feathered dinosaur seriously, even if it is chewing my face off. Just looks like a big fruity lizard with a feather boa, probably going to catch a Broadway show when it's done devouring me.

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Jeff Goldblum was right! by Big+Nothing · 2007-09-21 00:02 · Score: 3, Funny

This will teach all of Jeff Goldblum's critics a well deserved lesson!

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Re:Not Velociraptor at all. by caluml · 2007-09-21 00:04 · Score: 4, Funny

What was depicted in the movie Jurassic Park was clearly Deinonychus.

I think you'll find it was just computer generated.

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Now we have to bring them back by DanielMarkham · 2007-09-21 00:06 · Score: 3, Funny

What with America being so overweight and all, now we have to bring back the 'raptors.

I can see it now. A car pulls up to the drive-through. "I'd like the 48-pound chicken bucket, 4 pounds of mashed potatoes, and a 10-pound sack of beaks and feet"

"Would you like that Crunchy Jurassic, or Original Recipe?"
1. Re:Now we have to bring them back by z0idberg · 2007-09-21 00:11 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  and a diet Coke.
Re:Is this news? by GreyPoopon · 2007-09-21 00:30 · Score: 2, Funny

There have been clues before, but the evidence wasn't good enough until now.

My theory is that the 'raptor wasn't a dinosaur at all. It was just a really big ostrich. OK... a really big, really smart ostrich.

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Misleading picture by merikari · 2007-09-21 00:45 · Score: 5, Funny

Clearly this is not a realistic portrayal of the dinosaur. It doesn't have a saddle, and Adam is missing from the picture too.

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1. Re:Misleading picture by Chris+Mattern · 2007-09-21 02:38 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Quite right. Here is a much better picture.
  
  Chris Mattern
Who Says Wikipedia Doesn't Have a Sense of Humor? by riffzifnab · 2007-09-21 00:52 · Score: 2, Funny

Deinonychus Scale Drawing

Look out dude, its going for your leg!
Re:Missing Link? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-09-21 00:52 · Score: 3, Funny

Feathers/scales/hair/fingernails are all made of keratin, not chitin. Feathers are a form of scales??? Why the fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached!
I for one... by Anonymous Coward · 2007-09-21 00:56 · Score: 0, Funny

welcome our feathered velociraptor overlords!
Re:Taste by TheThiefMaster · 2007-09-21 01:18 · Score: 2, Funny

The chicken, obviously.

Wait...
Re:Is this news? by phoenixwade · 2007-09-21 02:00 · Score: 1, Funny

In Soviet Russia, Ostrich is really dumb dinosaur! Taste like chicken! "In Soviet Russia, The Chickens eat YOU!"

There, fixed that for you....

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Re:Missing Link? by Anonymous Coward · 2007-09-21 03:05 · Score: 1, Funny

That's how I broke my last fax machine, you insensitive clod!
Re:Is this news? by Digital+Vomit · 2007-09-21 04:04 · Score: 3, Funny

I used to bullseye those things in my T-16 back home.

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Mega-Ultra Chicken by zymurgyboy · 2007-09-21 04:57 · Score: 2, Funny

TFA:
"It's sort of as if you scaled up a chicken and then gave it really nasty teeth and big claws on its feet," he said.
Mega Ultra Chicken? No, shhhh, he is legend!
BillyWitchDoctor.com deals mostly in chicken.

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Re:Is this news? by commodoresloat · 2007-09-21 05:24 · Score: 2, Funny

Picture of one of these little bastards attacking:... Wow. Yeah pretty insane eh? The bird he's attacking is pretty wild too.
Slightly gay by merikari · 2007-09-21 05:29 · Score: 2, Funny

This just in. Velociraptors were a bit more gay than previously thought.

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