Tail of contention

One popular evolutionary viewpoint claims that dinosaurs evolved into birds. Thus, mainstream science media were abuzz this month over the discovery of what was billed as a feathered dinosaur tail, preserved in amber and complete with soft tissue, bones, and feathers.

In a study of the fossil published in Current Biology in December, researchers concluded the specimen came from a dinosaur because of the shape of the vertebrae and the estimated length of the tail.

“The feathers definitely are those of a dinosaur not a prehistoric bird,” study co-author Ryan McKellar, a paleontologist at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada, declared in a press release.

But is that the final word on this intriguing fossil? The researchers admit it’s difficult to tell the difference between soft tissue and vertebrae in the specimen. They found two clearly distinguished vertebrae, and from that extrapolated that nine vertebrae were present. They further hypothesized the full tail likely contained at least 15 vertebrae and possibly more than 25. The researchers believe no bird would have such a long tail. But other studies, such as one published in EvoDevo in 2014, state that long-tailed birds with up to 23 vertebrae once existed.

According to the Discovery Institute’s Evolution News & Views blog, the hypothesis that the new fossil comes from a feathered dinosaur doesn’t fly: “Unfortunately we have so little material, and the bone is so difficult to distinguish from the soft tissue, that any strong claims about this tail should be greeted with skepticism.”