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Researchers Unearth Largest Feathered Dinosaur

Posted by samzenpus on from the really-big-bird dept.

sciencehabit writes "Paleontologists have unearthed fossils of the largest feathered creature yet known, a 1.4-metric ton dinosaur that was an early cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex. The long, filament-like feathers preserved with three relatively complete skeletons of the newly described species provide direct evidence of extensively feathered gigantic dinosaurs. The discovery is controversial—and in some scientific circles, largely unexpected."

3 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Unexpected? by medcalf · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My (certainly amateur) reading of the literature indicates that it's likely that all therapods were feathered, albeit mostly with thin insulating feathers that don't fossilize well. How is this unexpected?

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    -- Two men say they're Jesus. One of them must be wrong. - Dire Straits
  2. Re:Darn the facts... by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Think about this for a moment:

    Nobody has ever seen a real dinosaur. We're separated in time from them by millions of years. Sure, we can make some great guesses but the fact is that we aren't going to get it perfectly right.

    Look at what happens if you haven't seen the critter...

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    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  3. Wheres the pics? by ThePeices · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It would be nice if the article actually included a few photos of the fossils that were found.

    Some artists rendering is a poor substitute.