Feathered Dinosaursand the Origin of Flight
Exhibition Organized and Circulated by:The Dinosaur Museum, Utah
The Fossil Administration Office, Liaoning, ChinaBeipiao City Paleontological Research Center, Liaoning, China
The fossils of Liaoning represent a complex ecosystemcreating a more complete picture of this particular age ofdinosaurs than ever before. Life of the Early Cretaceous,120 million years ago, was far more than a world ofdinosaurs. The fossils include a remarkable variety ofplants, crustaceans, insects, fish, amphibians, lizards,crocodiles, aquatic reptiles, flying reptiles, as well as birdsthat could fly and others which were flightless.
THE PREHISTORIC WORLD OF LIAONING
Included are graphics and photos which show developmentalstages of feathers. The fossil of the flying reptile,Pterorhynchus is preserved with details of what pterosaurslooked like which have never been seen before. The body iscovered with down-like feathers which resemble those alsofound on the dinosaur, Sinosauropteryx. Because feathersare now known to exist on animals other than birds, thisdiscovery changes the definition of what a bird is.
FEATHERS BEFORE BIRDS
Pterorhynchus
Sinosauropteryx
FLYING DROMAEOSAURSAND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Dromaeosaurs have been thought to be ground-dwellingdinosaurs that represented ancestral stages of how birdsevolved. Fossils in this exhibit show that they have beenmisinterpreted as dinosaurs when they are actually birds.Feather impressions reveal that they had flight feathers on thewings and a second set on the hind legs. Even without thefeathers preserved, the avian characteristics of the skeletondemonstrate that these dromaeosaurs are birds. This discoverymeans that the larger dromaeosaurs, like Deinonychus andVelociraptor of “Jurassic Park” fame, were really featheredand are secondarily flightless birds.
THE HIDDEN FLYER
The discovery that dromaeosaurs such as Cryptovolanshad flight feathers and were capable of flight meansthat they had been misidentified as dinosaurs and notproperly recognized as the birds that they were. Evenwithout the feathers preserved, the skeletal anatomy iscomparable to that of Archaeopteryx which confirmsthat dromaeosaurs are birds.
THE FEATHER REVOLUTIONFlying dromaeosaurs revealed that flightless dromaeosaurs were also birds and should not be portrayed as thescaly dinosaurs as once thought. This suggests that other “dinosaurs” may actually be birds as well.
THE DIVERSITY OF BIRDS
Flying and flightless birds, some with long tailsor short, with teeth or beaked jaws, all representa far greater world of birds than had beenknown before. This diversity allows for abetter understanding of the relationship betweenbirds and dinosaurs.
Caudipteryx, a flightless bird, or feathered dinosaur?
Entrance area showing wherethe fossils are from.
Introduction panel.
Lifesize bronze sculptureof Compsognathus andsome of the historicallithographs.
Historical area with fossil footprints, andthe earliest interpretations of dinosaurs asquadrupedal and bipedal animals.
The second area represents the diversityof flying creatures other than birds andshows a wide selection of fossils fromLiaoning.
Fossils, models and graphics are used toshow how feathers may have evolved.
This third section explains thedifferences between dinosaursand birds.
Fossil skeleton preserved withfeathers that changed theinterpretation of how dinosaursare related to birds.
Interpretative charts andanatomical comparisonsreveal that some dinosaurswere actually birds whichcould fly.
The popular, but incorrect,interpretation of Deinonychusas a scaly dinosaur.
The new version ofDeinonychus as afeathered flightlessbird.
Caudipteryx, a flightless bird,or feathered dinosaur?
One of 54 billboards used to publicize the exhibit while at San Diego, California.
Organizers of the exhibit in front of the Royal Ontario Museum.Left to right: Yinxian Li, Stephen Czerkas, Sylvia Czerkas, Jinglu Li
