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Flying Dinosaurs: Leaping and Gliding
More than one type of dinosaur had feathers and limbs like wings.
© Julius T. Csotonyi
For years, scientists debated whether the first flying dinosaurs, the ancestors of modern birds, began by running and making little hops off the ground, or leapt off a tree branch to glide. It’s called the “ground up vs. trees down” debate, for short. But a newer perspective on this mystery suggests that flying dinosaurs tried taking flight from more than one place. Recent findings suggest that the ability to fly could have evolved not just once but three separate times among dinosaurs.
BirdNote®
Flying Dinosaurs: Leaping and Gliding
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[Pileated Woodpecker call]
For years, scientists debated whether the first flying dinosaurs, the ancestors of modern birds, began by running and making little hops off the ground, or leapt off a tree branch to glide. It’s called the “ground up vs. trees down” debate, for short.
But there’s a newer perspective on this mystery. Maybe the old debate misses the point. Maybe flying dinosaurs tried jumping from more than one place! Whether leaping off a branch or off the forest floor, it probably began with the same motion: a firm push off the surface. After all, that’s how birds do it today.
[Pileated Woodpecker call]
Recent findings suggest that many dinosaur species had feathers, and some also had limbs that could flap like wings. One analysis suggested that the ability to fly could have evolved not just once but three separate times among dinosaurs.
So instead of the old picture — of one lone dinosaur with prototype wings deciding how to use them — imagine many feathered creatures, jumping and gliding all over.
[Pileated Woodpecker call]
That fertile time of experimentation eventually led to the ancestors of all our familiar birds.
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
Support for BirdNote is provided by Sarah Merner and Craig McKibben from Seattle, Washington, and generous listeners around the world.
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Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Pileated Woodpecker ML6839 recorded by Arthur A. Allen.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote March 2024
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# dinosaur-04-2024-03-18 dinosaur-04
Reference:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaurs-evolved-flight-…
Conor Gearin
Writer
