We saw earlier the definition of "non-avian dinosaur": "Dinosauria minus Aves".
Now let's look at which of these so-called "non-avian dinosaurs" had feathers. We see that only maniraptora had feathers! The others had "decomposed collagenous fibers" - which are so-called "protofeathers" by the dino-to bird enthusiasts but which are just decomposed skin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur
"[so-called]  protofeathers  (thin, filament-like  structures) are known from  dinosaurs at the base  of Coelurosauria, such  as compsognathids like Sinosauropteryx and tyrannosauroids (Dilong),[104]  but barbed feathers  [ie.  actual  feathers] are known only  among the coelurosaur subgroup   Maniraptora, which includes  oviraptorosaurs, troodontids,   dromaeosaurids, and birds.[13][105]    The description of feathered dinosaurs has not been without    controversy; perhaps the most vocal critics have been Alan Feduccia and    Theagarten Lingham-Soliar, who have proposed that protofeathers are the   result of the decomposition of collagenous fiber  that underlaid the   dinosaurs' integument,[106][107][108]  and that   maniraptoran dinosaurs with barbed feathers were  not actually   dinosaurs, but convergent with dinosaurs.[102][107]    However, their views have for the most part not been accepted by  other   researchers, to the point that the question of the scientific  nature  of  Feduccia's proposals has been raised.[109]"
 
 
Decomposed skin? You mean collagen?
ReplyDeleteThe collagen idea does not stand up. If it was only decomposing skin there wouldn't be so many dinosaurs found with "protofeathers".
If you think protofeathers are just decomposed skin, then where did feathers evolve from. certainly not pycnofibres, which are more like hair than feathers.
See the posts I have written about where feathers came from in the development from pterosaurs to modern birds.
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