6kah6edj2gic8bf (2)

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

PHOTOS: ROYAL SASKATCHEWAN MUSEUM/R C MCKELLAR X3, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

It’s two birds in one stone. Two pairs of

wings belonging to hatchlings that lived

alongside dinosaurs 100 million years ago

have been found in Myanmar by an

international research team.

The fossilised wings have been

immaculately preserved in amber. Each is

just two or three centimetres long and

includes bones, long ‘fingers’ tipped with

sharp claws, as well as individual feathers.

“These fossil wings show amazing detail,”

said researcher Mike Benton. “The

individual feathers show every filament and

whisker, whether they are flight feathers or

down feathers, and there are even traces of

colour – spots and stripes.”

The anatomy of the hand indicates that

the fossils come from enantiornithines, a

major group of birds that died out at the

same time as the dinosaurs, 66 million years

ago. It is likely that the birds wandered out

of their nest before becoming trapped in the

sticky tree sap that eventually solidified to

form amber.

“The fact that the tiny birds were

clambering about in the trees suggests that

they had advanced development, meaning

they were ready for action as soon as they

hatched,” said lead researcher Dr Xing Lida.

“These birds did not hang about in the nest

waiting to be fed, but set off looking for

food, and sadly died – perhaps because of

their small size and lack of experience.

Isolated feathers in other amber samples

show that adult birds might have avoided

the sticky sap, or pulled themselves free.”

BIRD WINGS FROM THE

TIME OF THE DINOSAURS

FOUND TRAPPED IN AMBER

birds that died out at the

he dinosaurs, 66 million ye

hat the birds wandered ou

fore becoming trapped int

that eventually solidified to

at the tiny birds were

out in the trees suggests th

nced development, meanin

y for action as soon as they

lead researcher Dr Xing Lid

d not hang about in the ne

d, but set off looking for

y died – perhaps becauseo

and lack of experience.

rs in other amber samples

t birds might have avoided

or pulled themselves free.” PH

OT

OS

: R

OYAL

SA

SKAT

CHEWAN MU

SEUM

/R

C M

CKELLAR X3,

SC

IEN

CE PH

OT

O LIBRAR

Y

ears

ut

the

o

hat

ng

y

da.

est

of

s

d

”

The feathers can clearly be

seen on this image. A claw is

marked with an arrow

The tiny bird

probably died when

it became trapped

in sticky tree sap

One of the amber specimens

suspended in a glycerin bath

and ready for photography

PALAEONTOLOGY