1. Introduction to the morphology, development, and ecology of feathers -- 2. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of feather development provide a basis for diverse evolution of feather forms -- 3. The ...

When fossils of the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx, were first discovered almost 160 years ago, the find created a puzzle that has troubled palaeontologists ever since. These fossils were celebrated ...

A newly discovered reptile has led scientists “back to the drawing board” on feather evolution. Although existing 70 million years before the oldest fossil feathers, the Mirasaura grauvogeli has long ...

A delicate, innocuous little fossil reptile known as Mirasaura grauvogeli – “Grauvogel’s wonder reptile” – is forcing a rethink about the evolution of skin and its appendages such as feathers and hair ...

The study of fossil feathers and melanosome preservation has significantly advanced our understanding of the evolutionary history of vertebrate integumentary systems. Fossilised feathers, replete with ...

Meet Mirasaura grauvogeli, a small reptile from the Middle Triassic, whose frill of feather-shaped structures rethinks the evolution of early reptiles. Feathers are for the dinosaurs, and for their ...

The newly described Mirasaura grauvogeli from the Middle Triassic had a striking feather-like crest, hinting that complex skin appendages arose far earlier than previously believed. Its bird-like ...