Feathered Dinos TOOB

Recently, scientists have discovered that many dinosaurs were feathered! This Toob includes a feathered Psittacosaurus, Protoceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, Chasmosaurus, Apatosaurus, T-rex, Caudipteryx, Dilong, Beipiaosaurus, Microraptor, Velociraptor and Sinornithosaurus.

History: The actual hypothesis that birds were descendants of dinosaurs was suggested as early as the mid-19th century by biologist Thomas Henry Huxley. However, without significant evidence, Huxley’s theory never gathered steam. It wasn’t until 1969 when John Ostrom found a theropod (a suborder of dinosaurs) which had a skeletal structure that was almost identical to modern birds. This caused a much more systematic search for fossils of feathered dinosaurs, which were eventually discovered in the mid 1990’s.