New Protarcheaopteryx specimens

[Jeff Hecht <jhecht@world.std.com>]

This week's issue of New Scientist includes my report on two new
Protarchaeopteryx specimens being studied at the National Geological Museum
of China in Beijing. The best preserved one has feathers definitely
attached to the wing (or front leg) and tail. The wing feathers are
symmetrical, a sign that the animal probably did not fly. Age of the
Liaoning deposits containing the fossils remains the subject of debate;
Chinese paleontologists believe they are latest Jurassic, but radiometric
dates range from about 128 to 110 million years. For details, see the New
Scientist web site.

Jeff Hecht     Boston Correspondent    New Scientist magazine
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