Earth Sciences 1083F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: In Essence, Microraptor, Humerus
12 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Barney to big bird: the origin of birds. The discovery of feathered dinosaurs in liaoning, china, has excited the many paleontologists who suspected a direct link between dinosaurs and birds. Feathers used for insulation, protection of offspring and display. But the idea of a close link between dinosaurs (or at least reptiles) date back to the discovery of the remains of archaeopteryx in the upper jurassic solnhofen limestone of bavaria (germany). In the late jurassic, much of what is now germany was covered by a warm shallow sea fringed with reefs made by sponges and corals. Between these reefs and the land were isolated lagoons that were cut off from the rest of the sea. These lagoons had too much salt and too little oxygen for anything more complex than bacteria or protists. Any organisms that fell into, or were washed into, the lagoons were buried in soft carbonate mud devoid of oxygen.
