Dinosaurs are actually not hairy

The hypothesis is that dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds that were " hit by one ", after paleontologists examined the evidence on a fossil in China. The controversy revolves around the Sinosauropteryx, a fossil found in 1994 in Liaoning province, northeastern China.

The discoverers of this turkey-sized fossil claim that the animal once had primitive feathers - an argument that supports the hypothesis that birds originated from dinosaurs.

Sinoauropteryx fossil fossils do not show signs of feathering (Photo: cbc.ca)

However, according to the most recent study led by Professor Theagarten Lingham-Soliar, from KwaZulu-Natal University, South Africa, these "primitive feathers" are in fact drapery structures on dinosaurs. .

This long-tailed, carnivorous animal is covered with a string of silk threads that Chinese scientists think are primitive feathers. Although that kind of " feather " clearly did not help them fly, its presence strongly supported a hypothesis that began in the mid-1970s that birds evolved from dinosaurs.

As a result, an argument that was once considered bizarre became the main idea for the generation of Aves - the group of birds.

However, when examining a recently discovered Sinoauropteryx specimen, also in Liaoning, the researchers came up with a completely different conclusion. They said that the two-branch structure, called this feather and fluff, is actually the rest of a frill of collagen fibers that runs along the dorsal back from head to tail.

"These fibers have a structure similar to the structure and organization of collagen fibers on the skin," the investigators said.

Normally the fiber is in the form of beads, but it is possible that they are naturally twisted, and stick together due to dehydration when the dinosaurs die and the tissues dry up.

T. An