Scientists Uncover Bizarre Four-Winged Dinosaur That Defies Evolutionary Science
However, according to the researchers, these changes occurred in different orders between the two groups.
“This demonstrates that microraptors acquired traits convergent with the early evolutionary stages of true birds, albeit through a distinct evolutionary pathway, supporting the hypothesis that flapping flight evolved independently in non-avialan dinosaurs and birds,” Rui Pei, a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who wasn’t involved in the study, told Live Science.
Although the exact flight mechanism used by microraptors has not been determined, Hartman suggested to Live Science that the dinosaurs may have used a mix of gliding and flapping flight.
“I doubt they could climb trees like a squirrel to gain height because their forelimbs don’t have that range of motion,” Hartman said, adding that they may have been able to leap from hills or cliffs. It could also be possible that the wings had other purposes than flight, Hartman noted, like warming eggs or demonstrating healthiness to attract mates.
The study’s authors concluded that different selective pressures likely caused the evolution of flight-related features in each lineage. This study sets the stage for further research and evidence collection to determine how widespread this growth pattern was among bird-like dinosaurs — and keep charting the path by which dinosaurs eventually came to rule the skies of prehistoric Earth tens of millions of years ago.
After reading about the newly-discovered four-winged dinosaur in China, discover the Nodosaurus, the armored dinosaur that roamed the Earth 100 million years ago. Then, read up on the 11 most unbelievable prehistoric animals.
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