How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birds

An anonymous reader writes: Discoveries have shown that bird-specific features like feathers began to emerge long before the evolution of birds, indicating that birds simply adapted a number of pre-existing features to a new use. And recent research suggests that a few simple changes — among them the adoption of a more babylike skull shape into adulthood — likely played essential roles in the final push to bird-hood. Not only are birds much smaller than their dinosaur ancestors, they closely resemble dinosaur embryos. Adaptations such as these may have paved the way for modern birds' distinguishing features, namely their ability to fly and their remarkably agile beaks. The work demonstrates how huge evolutionary changes can result from a series of small evolutionary steps.

Comments

First dino-post!

[Anonymous Coward]

You can't fit dinosaur legs in the fryer, so of course they had to get smaller. Defective by (intelligent) design.

Ah...hmm.

[pushing-robot]

Birds are dinosaurs with a genetic condition stunting their development. Yes, this will end well.

Top secret Dinosaur government project

[gurps_npc]

Anyone that has seen the Jurassic Park documentaries knows that Dinosaurs are FAR smarter than we gave them credit for.

They saw their own extinction coming - it wasn't that hard to detect the meteor - and began a secret government project to breed themselves into small, flying creatures.

Only way they could think of to survive.

I beleive it

[NotDrWho]

I used to own an African Grey parrot who definitely had the disposition and attitude of a T-rex.