We've all got a picture in our heads of what a dinosaur looks like, right?
Whether it's from Jurassic Park, a comic book, or something generated by AI, the classic image is usually a giant, scaly, terrifying lizard.
But what if I told you that our image might be wrong because many dinosaurs were actually covered in feathers.
Is this actually true?
VERDICT:
TRUE
It's absolutely true!
Paleontologists have found evidence that has led them to now believe that many dinosaurs had feathers.
This is especially true when it comes to the ones most closely related to modern birds.
The big breakthrough started in the 1990s with some incredible fossil discoveries in China, as the remains of a dinosaur called Sinosauropteryx were so well preserved that scientists could clearly see the impressions of feathers.
From this, the evidence points strongly to theropods, the group of meat-eating dinosaurs that includes the T-Rex and Velociraptor, as being feathered.
Ultimately, this evidence shows that birds didn't just come from dinosaurs; they are dinosaurs, and they evolved from these feathered ancestors.
With that said, why did these dinosaurs have feathers to begin with – especially if they were unable to fly?
Basically, research since the discovery of Sinosauropteryx has theorised that these dinosaurs used their feathers to keep warm, to hide themselves and in some cases as a form of communication.
So really, if you see a chicken, you’re basically looking at a tiny dinosaur.
And it's probably got more in common with a T-Rex than you think!
SOURCES:
https://www.britannica.com/
