Book 5, Question 3
Fluffy Fossils! Why Do We Think Dinosaurs Had Feathers?
Some amazing fossils show the marks of feather-like coverings on dinosaurs, and some of them are preserved in great detail. Feathers could have helped keep a dinosaur warm or been used for showing off. Birds are living relatives of the dinosaurs, which is one more clue that feathers were part of the story.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 5
More fun facts
- Scientists found fossil feathers along the neck, back and tail of a dinosaur called Sinosauropteryx, described in 1996.
- After that, many more feathered dinosaur fossils were found in China.
- Velociraptor arm bones have quill knobs, the same bumps where feathers attach on birds today.
- Many dinosaurs probably had a fluffy, downy covering, like feathers on a chick.
- Feathers came before flight. Many feathered dinosaurs could not fly.
- Some feather fossils were missed for years because experts thought feathers were too delicate to be preserved.
Sources: National Geographic, BBC, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
Did T. rex have feathers?
Scientists think T. rex and Velociraptor were likely to have had some feathers, even though they could not fly.