After studying a curious feature in the tail discussion section of oviraptor fossil , a palaeontologist from the University of Alberta has concluded that these minuscule dinosaur must have used their tail plume to draw married person , a firm indication that these creatures were more advanced , elegant — and daintier than antecedently think . The possibility also lend further credence to the mesmerism that feather played an important intermediary function in the biography of dinosaurs prior to providing them with the capacity for flight of stairs .
To strive this conclusion , researcher Scott Persons analyze the vertebra section in the tails of four unlike dinosaur species , including oviraptors . He come across that the bones were fused together to make a steel - similar structure called a “ pygostyle ” — a feature exclusive to birds .
Consequently , the fossils of Similicaudipteryx ( an early oviraptor ) show that a rooter - like structure in all probability emanated from the pygostyle . And because Similicaudipteryx could not vanish , its backside feather were potential an decorative video display that it used to draw prospective mates .
someone speculates that , because the oviraptors who came by and by also featured a standardized tail anatomical structure , they likely used their tail plumage for the same purpose .
Moreover , Persons reason that the feathering were n’t just a motionless presentation , and that they were judder by the dinosaur . He guide to the fossil evidence as proof . Similicaudipteryx ’s tail - tip vertebrae were short and legion — signal considerable flexibility . And when liken to modern reptile and snort tails , the dinosaur ’s poop muscles had the attributes necessary for vigorous tush shake — including large muscles that extended far down the hind end .
“ You perplex a feather fan on the oddment of a highly dextrous and muscular tail and you ’ve acquire what I think is a tail built for flaunting , that could shake a after part feather side to side , raise it up , strike a affectedness , ” Persons tell the CBC .
And in fact , Persons argues that the shaking could have been to an extent greater than what ’s seen in modern - twenty-four hours peakcocks and turkeys .
The subject field come out in the journalActa Palaeontologica Polonica .
Sources : University of AlbertaandCBC .
paradigm : Sydney Mohr .
dinosaursPaleontologyScience
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