Researchers have found a "bizarre" feathered dinosaur with a hodgepodge of characteristics, including four long tail feathers that researchers say may have evolved for display purposes--perhaps to attract a mate or scare off a rival. The well-preserved fossil of the new species, named Epidexipteryx hui, shows that the beast was covered in short, fluffy feathers but lacked the "contour feathers" that help modern birds fly; researchers say Epidexipteryx must have been flightless. Paleontologist expert Angela Milner commented that the find
"shows that feathers were likely being used for ornamentation for many millions of years before they were modified for flight. It provides fascinating evidence of evolutionary experiments with feathers that were going on before small dinosaurs finally took to the air and became birds" [BBC News].
The fossil was found in Inner Mongolia, in a sediment layer that has been dated to around 168-152 million years ago; that suggests that ...
