Image shows the laser-stimulated fluorescence of the Early Cretaceous beaked bird Confuciusornis from a study of the flight anatomy of creatures from the era of dinosaurs and compared with birds today.The world’s first flying dinosaurs stayed aloft with a different muscle system than today’s birds, an international team of scientists has confirmed using advances in laser technology.
In a study led by a researcher from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the scientists analysed the soft tissue of more than 1,000 fossil specimens housed at the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature in China, home to a large collection of feathered dinosaurs and early birds. The technology involves laser light interacting with fossils in a non-destructive way to show the outline as well as internal and external details of preserved soft tissue.
Pittman said before their study of soft tissue, understanding of how early birds flew was only based on evidence from bony fossils and living birds.“Our discovery represents a milestone for our understanding of flight origins,” he said.