Your E-mail: Sponsored by   Date:12/13/2013 2:30:12 AM * Your
email address:    Comment being reported: Hi Punkin Hi Sidney!
Giz gives each little bird a hug and a little peck on the cheek.
Today the first pic in my gallery is a fossil from Liaoning
province in China, part of the Jehol group. It's one of the main
proofs of the dino/bird connection. In the Cretaceous, this was
a swampy area, so fossils are extremely well preserved.
Sinornithosaurus is a 2 legged meat eater, about 2 to 3 feet
tall. You can see on the fossil the clear imprints of feathers
in the rocks, but if you look closely, you'll see no primaries
on the wings or tail. He had down and contour feathers, and long
claws on his arms. So, this guy had feathers, but did not fly.
Feathers evolved way before flight, probably to keep the animal
warm. The second pic shows a model of him, based on the fossil.
He is a member of the raptor family, has that raptor toe that
sticks up. These guys were brainy, vicious, and hunted in packs.
They attacked an an