Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Fossil discoveries unlock chapters of our planet’s storied ...

A new study led by a researcher from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University examined dinosaur fossils preserved with their feathers and found that ...

Mesozoic Pompeii -- The evolution of an airframe -- The origin of birds -- Archaeopteryx : an ancient wing -- Protoavis : a precocious Triassic bird -- Basal avialans : the long-tailed birds -- ...

(CNN) — When a fossil preserves an animal’s complete body in a death pose, seeing it is observing a snapshot in time. Several such fossils exist for Archaeopteryx — the earliest known bird — and now, ...

Fossil evidence reveals the development of the brain structures that enabled pterosaurs, the earliest flying vertebrates, to achieve powered flight. Ohio University researchers found that these ...

A 'one of a kind' fossil discovery could transform our understanding of how the unique brains and intelligence of modern birds evolved, one of the most enduring mysteries of vertebrate evolution. A ...

Fossils reveal that prehistoric cicadas’ wings evolved to help them evade hungry predators with feathers and beaks, scientists say. By Jack Tamisiea Today, few critters are as abundant as cicadas.

ITHACA, N.Y. – New Cornell University research has found that, unlike birds, the evolution of bats’ wings and legs is tightly coupled, which may have prevented them from filling as many ecological ...

Ch. 1. From Protoavis to Pigeon -- Ch. 2. The Design of an Airframe -- Ch. 3. The Triassic Treasures of Texas -- Ch. 4. A Portrait of Protoavis -- Ch. 5. The Jurassic Birds -- Ch. 6. The Birds of the ...

New research has found that, unlike birds, the evolution of bats' wings and legs is tightly coupled, which may have prevented them from filling as many ecological niches as birds. New Cornell ...