A Request

[Danvarner@aol.com]

    This abstract appeared on the list nearly a month ago. So far I've heard 
no comments about the publication. Has anyone here read this yet and can 
offer any comments? Does this mean there's feather-plucking going on in Utah? 
Or not? DV.

Full source     American Zoologist, 2000, Vol 40, Iss 4, pp 687-694
Authors LD Martin, SA Czerkas
Title   The fossil record of feather evolution in the Mesozoic

Abstract        The oldest known feathers from the Late Jurassic are already
modern in form and microscopic detail. Because these oldest examples are
assignable to an extinct branch (Sauriurae) of the basal avian dichotomy,
their features must have been established at a significantly earlier date.
The skin of a wide variety of dinosaurs is now known and is unlikely to
represent a predecessor to a feather bearing integument, Examples of
feathered dinosaurs result from erroneous identification of internal
structures as part of the skin covering, and from the confusion of
flightless birds from the Early Cretaceous of China with dinosaurs.