Beaked dinosaur – the missing link?
June 21, 2009
An intriguing beaked dinosaur fossil from the Jurassic period found in China and reported recently in Nature gives new insight into the evolution of the three-fingered feet of birds. The fossil had no teeth, short arms, and appeared to be a vegetarian. But most interestingly, its innermost finger was significantly shorter than its dinosaur relatives, while the second finger was enlarged. These findings suggest that the innermost and outermost fingers were likely lost on the way to becoming a three-fingered organism, which contradicts the traditional theory that the two outermost fingers were lost. It may not be the monkey man most creationists are looking for, but it’s a pretty exciting find in the world of paleontology.
Here’s a video that is only distantly related, but I found it so entertaining that I had to share it. It’s a cartoon about archaeopteryx, an extinct species commonly considered to be the earliest bird fossil discovered. (Reminds me a little bit of the School House Rock video “How a Bill Becomes a Law” we were all subjected to in elementary school.) Enjoy!
Photo credit: James Clark
