Paleontology. New feathered dino firms up bird links.
Last week, Chinese scientists presented evidence from a new specimen dug up in Liaoning Province that they say strengthens the case for the bird-dinosaur link. The finding, one of several fossils displayed at a meeting here, is the third known specimen of a strange creature known as Caudipteryx which, unlike any other known dinosaur fossil, shows the unmistakable imprints of feathers. The researcher who described the new specimen at the meeting has identified 16 characteristics of the new fossil that are more similar to dinosaurs than to early birds, reinforcing the views of most Western scientists.
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D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002681:China; D005241:Feathers; D005580:Fossils; D012104:Reptiles / Q000033:anatomy & histology