An amazingly well-preserved fossil suggests the common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs also had some type of feather or feather precursor. By Riley Black edited by Andrea Thompson.

These granules had different shapes, depending on the types of feathers they were associated with on the pterosaur fossil. Patchy color was also found in the preserved soft tissue.

T he pennaceous feathers we associate with flight aren’t the only type of feather birds possess. Feathers in different regions of the body vary in size, shape and function.

Paleontologists found evidence of two types of feathers when examining the crest of a type of pterosaur, called Tupandactylus imperator. The simple feathers were likely dark, while the branched ...

For sunbirds, all that shimmers is piping hot. The birds’ flashy, iridescent feathers heat up more than other types of feathers, possibly making it harder to stay cool in hot, sunny conditions.

Two fossil specimens of a primitive, starling-size bird that lived about 125 million years ago have tail feathers that may hold the clues to how feathers originated. Skip to content.