According to a thorough analysis of hundreds of bird specimens preserved in museum collections, a team of researchers identified specific patterns in the feathers.
The information is valuable as it reveals details about the flight capabilities of ancient reptiles.
Conducted by experts from the Field Museum of Natural History, such as Jingmai O’Connor and Yosef Kiat, the study shows that there is a set of precise rules behind the power of flight.
Scientists offer details on the evolution of flight
Such discoveries offer a unique perspective on the evolution of flight among theropod dinosaurs, including the ancestors of modern birds.
“Analysis of the wing feathers of 346 different species of birds revealed a remarkable trend […] All flying birds, from the smallest hummingbirds to the most majestic eagles, had between nine and eleven asymmetrical flight feathers, known as primaries,” the study points out.
Such surprising uniformity in wing structure suggests that the number of primary feathers is a critical factor in birds’ ability to fly.
Researchers notice pattern in bird flight – Image: Yosef Kia/Reproduction
On the other hand, flightless birds, such as rheas and penguinsexhibit significant variation in the number of primary feathers.
In addition to revealing the pattern, the research also presents new information about non-avian dinosaurs.
Looking at fossils as old as 160 million years, researchers have identified similar features in bird ancestors that were likely capable of flight.
“The results suggest that flight evolved only once in dinosaurs […] The anatomy necessary for flight evolved in an ancestral species of all these groups of Pennaraptors before they diversified”, explains the research.
However, some species, such as the Caudipteryxhad the correct number of primary feathers, but symmetrical, making the ability to fly unlikely.
This suggests that such an ability among dinosaurs was an aspect that evolved in a specific ancestral group and was lost in certain lineages over time.
Birds and dinosaurs have anatomy in common – Image: L. Shyamal Shyamal/Wikipedia/CC BY SA 2.5/Reproduction
These findings challenge previous notions that flight evolved multiple times among dinosaurs and highlight the importance of feather structure in flight ability.
Research continues to expand our understanding of the evolution of birds and dinosaurs, shedding light on the mysteries that permeate our past prehistoric.
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