Exceptionally Preserved Bird Feathers Found in 66-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Coprolite

While some dinosaurs are thought to have had ‘fuzzy’ or ‘downy’ feathers (shown in this illustration as the yellow spikes on a Nanotyrannus’ neck), ancient birds (such as the one in the Nanotyrannus’ mouth) were more likely to have had feathers that look similar to the birds of today. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Paleontologists in Montana have discovered remarkably preserved feathers of an ancient aquatic bird inside a fossilized dinosaur dropping, offering rare insight into why certain birds survived the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

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