title: Comment on "A diverse assemblage of Late Cretaceous dinosaur and bird feathers from Canadian amber".
abstract: McKellar et al. (Reports, 16 September 2011, p. 1619) analyzed Late Cretaceous amber specimens from Canada and identified some filaments as dinosaurian protofeathers. We argue that their analysis and data do not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that such filaments are feather-like structures. Further investigation, including destructive sampling, must be carried out for more convincing conclusions.
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Division of Birds, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA. dovec@si.edu
authors.forename: Carla J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Dove
authors.forename: Lorian C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Straker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D025061:Dinosaurs / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005241:Feathers / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils; D010858:Pigmentation