Early feathers revealed in fossil of flying dinosaur-era reptile

Researchers say the discovery points to feathers originating some 250 million years ago

An artist’s recreation of the Tupandactylus, which researchers say had colourful feathers that may have been used for mating rituatls. Photo: Bob Nicholls

An extinct species of flying reptile related to the dinosaurs had colourful feathers that may have been used in mating rituals long before the evolution of birds, according to new research.

The microscopic examination of a fossilised skull of a pterosaur has raised the prospect that the origins of the first feathers were some 250 million years ago — 100 million years earlier than previously thought, according to a paper published in the journal Nature.

Pterosaurs — more commonly known as pterodactyls — comprise more than 100 species of flying reptiles with leathery wings that lived throughout the age of the dinosaurs. They were wiped out at the same time during a mass extinction 66 million years ago when an asteroid struck Earth.

The pterosaurs are thought to be the first creatures after insects to develop flight but there have long been questions about whether they had feathers – and what they were used for.

Researchers examined 22 samples of soft tissue extracted from a well-preserved 113-million-year-old pterosaur fossil found in Brazil, identified as a Tupandactylus.

The researchers from Europe and Brazil found two kinds of feathers on the crest at the back of the creature’s head, including a type that was structured like a modern-day bird’s feathers. They may have been used for temperature control and display, they said.

They concluded that the feathers of the Tupandactylus originated from a common ancestor of pterosaurs, dinosaurs and birds some 250 million years ago. The earliest fossil found of a feathered bird dates back 150 million years.

Tupandactylus had an estimated wingspan of some five metres with a huge head and skinny crest above the eyes that had a “short fuzz of coloured feathers”, according to a separate commentary on the findings by British palaeontologist Michael Benton.

“Perhaps they were used in pre-mating rituals, just as certain birds use colourful tail fans, wings and head crests to attract mates,” said Mr Benton, of the University of Bristol.