Dinosaurs with feathers once roamed the South Pole: scientists

Dinosaurs which roamed the South Pole 100 million years ago were formidable, ferocious — and fluffy.

According to new evidence published in the journal Gondwana Research, some dinos in extremely cold climates such as the polar circle grew “hair-like proto-feathers” for insulation, which were simpler than bird plumage of today. Scientists say this is the first clue that dinosaurs beat the chill with quills.

“Dinosaur skeletons and even the fragile bones of early birds have been found at ancient high-latitudes before. Yet, to date, no … remains have been discovered to show that dinosaurs used feathers to survive in extreme polar habitats,” said lead study author Dr. Benjamin Kear from Uppsala University in Sweden.

Safarik and his colleagues analyzed a batch of 118-million-year-old fossils found at the bottom of a lake in Koonwarra, Australia, which was closer to the South Pole a millenia ago. The collection included dinosaur bones as well as “proto-feathers from meat-eating dinosaurs,” they wrote in an announcement released by Sweden’s Uppsala University, who contributed research.

Though not at complex as their fine-feathered descendants, scientists believe that their downy coats were patterned and colorful, similar to birds. They found concentrations of melanosomes, which gives animal tissues their color, in “distinct bands,” leaving the imprint of a patter. They also say the feathers were likely dark in color, which would have helped dinos absorb and store more heat.

Scientists note that were indeed bird-like dinosaurs with feathers and the ability to fly, such as the archaeopteryx. However, the feathers found in Koonwarra, which were originally presumed to be from such ancient birds, are the only known examples of feathers being used specifically for warmth.

Added co-author Martin Kundrát of Slovakia’s Pavol Jozef Safarik University, “The discovery of ‘proto-feathers’ … therefore suggests that fluffy feather coats might have helped small dinosaurs keep warm in ancient polar habitats.”

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