Beautiful Feathered Tyrant

Ain't science grand? Paleontologists recently discovered a bus-sized T-rex-like dinosaur that is covered in feathers, making it the largest feathered animal, evar:

Fossils discovered in northeastern China of a giant, previously unrecognized dinosaur show that it is the largest known feathered animal, living or extinct, scientists report.

In an article in the journal Nature, published online Wednesday, Chinese and Canadian paleontologists said the discovery provided the first “direct evidence for the presence of extensively feathered gigantic dinosaurs” and offered “new insights into early feather evolution.”

When I grow up (read: get tenure), I think I'm going to start hanging out with paleontologists. I seriously think that had I read more Carl Zimmer books than Stephen Hawking when I was in college, I would have ended up with a B.S. in evolutionary biology. It is amazing that we can learn about the first few microseconds of the universe, the birth of the first stars, and the existence of planets all from the observation of light. So too is it awesome that we can piece together the story of life on earth using fossils and DNA. I seriously geek out on this stuff!

On my current reading list: Your Inner Fish.

Comments

Missy said…

As a geologist, I can tell you I think of everything in terms of evolutionary biology. Kind of a wacky way to live, but it makes sense to me.

This is a really cool find. Of course, someone somewhere will find a way to say the scientists made this stuff up.

April 5, 2012 at 5:17 PM

John Johnson said…

Yup, just like how physicists made up "electrons." Point particles with a unit charge? Nonsense!

April 5, 2012 at 9:11 PM

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