A fossilized feather dating back 66 million years to the late Cretaceous period has been discovered, providing insights into why only some birds survived the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. Jingmai O'Connor, an associate curator at the Field Museum of Natural History, describes it as "the best feather we've ever found from the age of dinosaurs."
Discovery of the Feather
The feather was found by David DeMar, a lab manager at the Burke Museum in Seattle, during fieldwork in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana in 2016. While crawling up a hill, he noticed a small, dark object on the ground. After examining it closely, he realized it was a fossilized feather.
“"I was like, 'You got to be kidding me,'" DeMar recalled.
This discovery marks the first fossilized feather found in that region, and it is part of a collection that may reveal aspects of the late Cretaceous food web.
Significance of the Feather
The researchers published their findings in the journal Current Biology, speculating that the feather could help explain the extinction of many ancient bird species around the time of the Chicxulub asteroid impact. While many birds perished, some survived and evolved into the birds we know today.
After discovering the feather, DeMar quickly contacted his colleagues, who initially thought he was joking. However, subsequent analysis confirmed the feather's significance, dating it to just before the extinction event.
