Tag: scales
Fossil Friday: A Dinosaur Feather and an Overhyped New Study on the Origin of Feathers
Feathers, which are the most complex integumental structures known in the animal kingdom, without doubt required coordinated changes in numerous genes.
Educating “Professor Dave” on the Fossil Record and Genetics
Farina says that if you want to make “creationists’ head explode” you just have to mention that reptile scales and bird feathers are made of the same keratin.
Fossil Friday: New Kind of Silverfish Trapped in Sticky Resin
These incongruent or homoplastic characters are a notorious problem for phylogenetics and contradict the evolutionary prediction of a nested hierarchy.
Listen: Scale-to-Feather Evolution Doesn’t Fly
Giberson and Collins point to the feather as a prime example of a novel feature arising via blind evolution.
Porcupine Quills and Other Examples of Nature’s Foresight
A newborn porcupine passes through its mother’s birth canal without causing her any injuries. How?