A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution

Dongyu Hu (), Julia A. Clarke (), Chad M. Eliason, Rui Qiu, Quanguo Li, Matthew D. Shawkey, Cuilin Zhao, Liliana D’Alba, Jinkai Jiang and Xing Xu ()
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Dongyu Hu: Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Land and Resources
Julia A. Clarke: Department of Geological Sciences and Integrated Bioscience, University of Texas at Austin
Chad M. Eliason: Department of Geological Sciences and Integrated Bioscience, University of Texas at Austin
Rui Qiu: Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Land and Resources
Quanguo Li: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences
Matthew D. Shawkey: Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group
Cuilin Zhao: Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Land and Resources
Liliana D’Alba: Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group
Jinkai Jiang: Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Land and Resources
Xing Xu: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The Jurassic Yanliao theropods have offered rare glimpses of the early paravian evolution and particularly of bird origins, but, with the exception of the bizarre scansoriopterygids, they have shown similar skeletal and integumentary morphologies. Here we report a distinctive new Yanliao theropod species bearing prominent lacrimal crests, bony ornaments previously known from more basal theropods. It shows longer arm and leg feathers than Anchiornis and tail feathers with asymmetrical vanes forming a tail surface area even larger than that in Archaeopteryx. Nanostructures, interpreted as melanosomes, are morphologically similar to organized, platelet-shaped organelles that produce bright iridescent colours in extant birds. The new species indicates the presence of bony ornaments, feather colour and flight-related features consistent with proposed rapid character evolution and significant diversity in signalling and locomotor strategies near bird origins.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02515-y

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