Хятадаас олдсон 160 сая жилийн тэртээх өдтэй үлэг гүрвэлийн чулуужсан олдворт хийсэн шинжилгээгээр тэдгээр амьтан хөгжилтэй далавчтай байсан ч нисэх чадваргүй байсныг тогтоожээ.
Тель-Авивын их сургуулийн Амьтан судлалын сургуулийн доктор Ёсеф Киат болон түүний багийнхан Хятадын зүүн хэсгээс олдсон Pennaraptora бүлгийн Anchiornis үлэг гүрвэлийн есөн олдворыг судалжээ. Зөөлөн эд болон өдний бүтэц нь гайхалтай сайн хадгалагдсан эдгээр олдворт өдний өнгө, түүний дотор далавчны үзүүр хэсгийн хар толбо зэрэг нарийн деталь тодорхой харагдаж байв. Судлаачид өдний өсөлтийн явцыг ажигласнаар тэдгээрийн гуужилтын хэв шинжийг тодорхойлжээ.
Орчин үеийн нисдэг шувууд далавчныхаа тэнцвэрийг хадгалахын тулд өдөө тэгш хэмтэй, дараалалтайгаар сольдог байна. Харин судалгаанд хамрагдсан Anchiornis-ийн өдний солигдох дараалал нь эмх цэгцгүй, тэгш хэмгүй байсан нь тэднийг нисдэггүй байсныг илтгэж байна. Нисэх чадваргүй шувуудын хувьд өд солигдох үйл явц ийм эмх замбараагүй байдаг аж.
Энэхүү олдвор нь өдний хувьсал зөвхөн нисэх зориулалттай үүсээгүй болохыг баталж байна. Эрдэмтдийн дүгнэснээр, үлэг гүрвэлээс шувуу руу шилжих хувьслын замнал урьд өмнө төсөөлж байснаас илүү ээдрээтэй байжээ. Зарим зүйл амьтад эрт үед нисэх анхан шатны чадвартай байгаад хожим нь түүнийгээ алдсан байх магадлалтайг уг судалгаа харуулж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A detailed analysis of rare fossils from China suggests that Anchiornis, a feathered dinosaur that lived around 160 million years ago, was likely unable to fly despite possessing well-developed wings. Published in Communications Biology, the study suggests that the evolutionary path to flight among dinosaurs and birds was more intricate than scientists once assumed.
The study was led by Dr. Yosef Kiat of the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, working with collaborators from China and the United States. Their work focused on exceptionally preserved specimens whose feathers retained details rarely seen in the fossil record.
Scientists have long regarded feathered dinosaurs as key to understanding the origin of birds. Yet feathers did not evolve exclusively for flight. Many dinosaur species developed them millions of years before modern birds appeared, leaving researchers with a persistent question: which of these animals could actually take to the air?
Fossils Preserved More Than Just Feathers
The research centered on nine fossil specimens of Anchiornis, a feathered member of the dinosaur group known as Pennaraptora. The fossils were discovered in eastern China, where geological conditions allowed remarkable preservation of soft tissues.
Based on the study, the specimens retained not only feather structures but also traces of their original coloration. Each fossil showed wing feathers that were predominantly white and marked by a distinctive black spot near the tip.
That level of preservation is rare. As explained by the researchers, the color patterns made it possible to identify individual feathers and track their growth in ways that are normally impossible when studying extinct animals.
The preserved markings revealed a continuous line of black spots along the wings. Some feathers, though, displayed spots that were noticeably out of alignment. Those feathers were still developing when the animals died.
An Ancient Molting Pattern Preserved in Time
The key to the study lies in molting, the process through which birds replace worn feathers. Dr. Yosef Kiat explained that feathers grow for two to three weeks before reaching their final size. At that stage, they detach from the blood vessels that supplied nutrients during growth and become nonliving structures.
“Feather molting seems like a small technical detail — but when examined in fossils, it can change everything we thought about the origins of flight, highlighting how complex and diverse wing evolution truly was,” explained the authors.
Modern birds follow different molting strategies depending on their lifestyle. Species that rely heavily on flight typically replace feathers gradually and symmetrically, ensuring that both wings remain balanced. This allows them to continue flying while new feathers grow.
Dr. Kiat said that birds that cannot fly often show a much less organized pattern. Since flight performance is not a concern, feather replacement can occur more irregularly.
The fossil evidence pointed clearly toward the latter pattern. By examining the arrangement of developing feathers, the researchers found that the replacement sequence lacked the orderly symmetry expected in flying animals.
A Challenge To Simple Ideas About Flight Evolution
The team’s conclusion was straightforward: Anchiornis was probably flightless.
“Based on my familiarity with modern birds, I identified a molting pattern indicating that these dinosaurs were probably flightless,” Dr. Kiat said.
The study shows that feather preservation can reveal functional traits in extinct animals and suggests that flight evolution was more complex than previously believed.
“This finding has broad significance, as it suggests that the development of flight throughout the evolution of dinosaurs and birds was far more complex than previously believed,” the research team noted.
They added that some species may have evolved basic flight abilities and later lost them. The scientists now places Anchiornis among the growing number of feathered dinosaurs believed to have remained grounded, highlighting the diversity of evolutionary pathways that existed long before birds came to dominate the skies.
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