An article published in the journal “Nature Communications” describes a research on the skin of feathered dinosaurs. A team of researchers examined fragments of fossil skin of specimens of some species discovered in north-eastern China: Microraptor, Beipiaosaurus and Sinornithosaurus together with an early bird of the genus Confuciusornis. The conclusion is that those dinosaurs shed their skin in tiny flakes, like modern birds, and not all together like many modern reptiles.

An article published in the journal “Nature” describes a research on the skull structure of Ichthyornis dispar, an ancient bird that lived almost 100 million years ago in North America. A team of researchers led by Yale University examined a complete skull and two pieces that were part of the first specimen of this species discovered in 1870 thanks to new technologies concluding that its characteristics represent a crucial moment in the evolution from dinosaurs to modern birds.

An article published in the journal “Nature Communications” describes a research on the link between the dinosaur diversification that took place at the end of the Triassic period and an event known as the Carnian Pluvial Episode, which occurred around 232-234 million years ago. According to a team of researchers, in the middle of that period of climate change, dinosaurs started thriving, evolving into many different species, also taking advantage of the extinction of other animals.