Ask Me Everythingy

Which dinosaurs became birds?

Birds evolved during the Jurassic Period from smali, feathered dinosaurs called maniraptorans. Many maniraptorans were so birdlike that it would have been hard to tell these animals apart when they were alive. They had downy feathers for warmth and showy plumage for display.

You'll need a fan of colorful feathers at the end of your taił. Use this fan to impress likely mates.

The story of feathered dinosaurs

^0 Maniraptorans evolved ^ during the Middle Jurassic (around 170 million years ago).

Early birds, troodontids, ^ and dromaeosaurids were all smali, feathered predators with long feathers on the arms and legs. Their shared ancestor must have looked like this, too.

r Troodontids and

dromaeosaurids are grouped together as the deinonychosaurs.

rOviraptors, troodontids, and dromaeosaurids started out smali, but all evolved much larger sizes later in their history.

rThe tiniest feathered dinosaurs were the scansoriopterygids. One species, Epidendrosaurus, was the same size as a sparrow!

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Your hands, especially your second finger, have extra long feathers. Are these the beginning of wings?

Grow soft, downy fuzz on your body to keep you nice and warm, regardless of the weather.

mm m You also need a crest of longer feathers sticking up on the top of your head. This is also for display.

■ Make surę your feet and lower legs are free of feathers (unlike those of some of your maniraptoran cousins).

jgt Were scansoriopterygids early birds or closer to oviraptors? No one is surę.

RECORD

BREAKER

Morę than 1,000 specimens have been found of the Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis. Most maniraptorans are known from a single fossil.

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