Ancient Birds' Wings Preserved In Amber

[mosaix]

Absolutely stunning...

Ancient birds' wings preserved in amber - BBC News

Two wings from birds that lived alongside the dinosaurs have been found preserved in amber.

The "spectacular" finds from Myanmar are from baby birds that got trapped in the sticky sap of a tropical forest 99 million years ago.

Exquisite detail has been preserved in the feathers, including traces of colour in spots and stripes.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

err dunno anything about that

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160628/ncomms12089/pdf/ncomms12089.pdf

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Anybody else interested in avialean paleobiology ,and/or amber taphonomy,or the Cretaceous lagerstatte of China?
drop me a line

 

[Wruter]

Good timing, I was just reading about Archaeopteryx - transitional fossils in particular blow my mind.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Archaeopteryx - transitional fossils

But maybe it isn't! Perhaps it's just a dead end or different thing?

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

this?
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v3/n1/pdf/ncomms1642.pdf

or this:
Archaeopteryx, paravian phylogenetic analyses, and the use of probability-based methods for palaeontological datasets

 

[Wruter]

But maybe it isn't! Perhaps it's just a dead end or different thing?

A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.

Archaeopteryx is one of the best examples.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

which would make those traits what,synapomorphies?autapomorphies?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Archaeopteryx is one of the best examples.

I know what a Transitional species is.
Archaeopteryx certainly LOOKS very transitional. But isn't actual evidence other than it's own appearance weak?
So I've heard.

I'm an ignoramus on the subject. But I'm always sceptical of people accepting evidence because it looks right.

I love this
xkcd: Birds and Dinosaurs

and
xkcd: Feathers

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Many an occasion where prima facie evidence turned out to be wrong

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Paleontology is a "historical science",which tends to be forgotten.
S.J. Gould warned of "storytelling" in paleontology,particularly in the ideas regarding
adaptation;I agree with him,which is why I prefer "aptation"

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

BRILLIANT,RAY

anybody interested in Saupe/Mccoy on Tulllimonstrum?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Don't forget on XKCD to always hover the mouse to get an extra punchline ...