Bristles Before Down

Before any dinosaur could fly, coverings of simple feathers helped to insulate body heat. But before that, the very first feathers might have acted like whiskers. It’s a new and unproven theory, but it’s worth thinking about.

Listen to the interview here.

Persons WS IV, Currie PJ. 2015. Bristles before down: A new perspective on the functional origin of feathers. Evolution.