Beaked, Bird-like Dinosaur Tells Story of Finger Evolution

This image shows a reconstruction of Limusaurus

 

Introducing Limusaurus inextricabilis ("mire lizard who could not escape").

 

June 17, 2009

Scientists have discovered a unique beaked, plant-eating dinosaur in China. The finding, they say, demonstrates that theropod, or bird-footed, dinosaurs were more ecologically diverse in the Jurassic period than previously thought, and offers important evidence about how the three-fingered hand of birds evolved from the hand of dinosaurs.

 

The discovery is reported in a paper published in this week's edition of the journal Nature.

 

"This work on dinosaurs provides a whole new perspective on the evolution of bird manual digits," said H. Richard Lane, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research.

 

Full article here.

 

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