14 DAY TRIAL // A recent paper in the journal Nature documents the discovery of the fossilized skeletal remains of a bird-like creature that roamed the Earth about 150 million years ago, in the late Jurassic, and that researchers say had a peculiar sense of fashion.
In a nutshell, a detailed analysis of these fossilized remains has revealed that the creature, whose official name is Archaeopteryx, sported what researchers like to call “feathered trousers”.
What the specialists who conducted this investigation mean to say is that the Archaeopteryx specimen they got to study had fairly long feathers on its hind limbs. Some of the feathers were about 4-4.5 centimeters (1.57-1.77 inches) long.
As explained in the journal Nature, these so-called feathered trousers that Archaeopteryx liked to strut around in were not designed in such a way that they could have aided the bird-like creature have an easier time flying.
On the contrary, researchers say that the feathers growing on this creature's hind limbs were symmetrical on either side of their stems, which means that they were not especially designed for flight, Phys Org informs.
Thus, previous studies have shown that, in order for feathers to serve an aerodynamic function and help one creature or another increase total lift when flying, they need to be asymmetrical, the same source explains.
Hence, chances are that Archaeopteryx only grew them looking to make itself more desirable to potential mates. Otherwise put, the peculiar plumage on this late Jurassic creature's hind legs was first and foremost intended to impress.
The scientists behind this research project argue that, all things considered, their discovery just goes to show that, contrary to what other researchers claim, Archaeopteryx, which shared characteristics of both dinosaurs and modern birds, did not use all its four limbs to fly.
“These results contradict the hypothesis that the flapping flight of modern birds was preceded by a four-winged gliding stage,” researchers Christian Foth, Helmut Tischlinger, and Oliver W. M. Rauhut write in the Abstract to their paper in the journal Nature.
“This indicates that the origin of flight in avialans was more complex than previously thought and might have involved several convergent achievements of aerial abilities,” the specialists go on to comment on their findings.
Interestingly enough, it looks like Archaeopteryx did not rely on its front limbs alone to move about by flying. Thus, this ancient creature also sported tail feathers that measured about 10-11.4 centimeters (3.93-4.48 inches) in length, and whose shape made them just right to serve an aerodynamic function.