Prehistoric bird found with arrow tail feathers

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
A bird’s feathers typically serve a functional purpose, but for some birds like the peacock – feathers are more ornamental than functional.
According to a new report in the journal Nature Communications, paleontologists recently found another dramatic example of a bird with purely ornamental feathers – a fossilized hummingbird-sized specimen with two arrow-shaped tail feathers protruding out of its rear end.
A rare bird of a feather
In their report, the researchers noted that the exquisite preservation of the bird specimen, thought to be around 100 million years old, allowed them not only to identify the decorative tail feathers, but also some other rarely seen details.
“Cretaceous birds with feathers are very rare fossils with exceptional preservation,” the researchers wrote. They added that this particular specimen is a great example of the ribbon-like or rachis-dominated type of feather.

“The specimen constitutes the most complete avian specimen of Early Cretaceous age from (the prehistoric continent of) Gondwana; more importantly, it sheds light on the anatomical structure and probable function of the peculiar rachis-dominated tail feathers,” the report said. “Notably, the new specimen preserves feathers in relief; thus helping to recognize key features of the rachis-dominated feathers.”
In addition to preserving details about the bird’s feathers, the fossil specimen also included aspects of color and pattern, indicating the bird would have been visually striking when it was alive. Study author Ismar de Souza Carvalho, of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, said in an online video that the colorful display was probably “associated with sexual display, species recognition, or visual communication.” The team was unable to determine the cause of death for their specimen.
De Souza Carvalho also noted that the bird is one of several thousand fossils found at the Crato Formation site. In the Early Cretaceous, during the bird’s lifetime, the site likely featured “a wide alkaline lake and hot environment.”
Fossils of colorful birds with these types of feathers have only been found in China until now. The newly found bird most likely flew through air teeming with large prehistoric insects, flying reptiles, and other ancient animals.
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