Fossils which apparently show the missing link between dinosaurs and birds go on show at the Hong Kong Science Museum today. The pieces, unearthed by Chinese scientists, showed how the dinosaur evolved into the bird, said Dr Ji Qiang of the National Geological Museum of China.
'The dinosaur has not been destroyed,' he said. 'The fossils of Chinese dinosaurs with feathers have confirmed that birds are evolved from dinosaurs. We are here to rewrite the dinosaurs' history.' Eight dinosaur fossils were discovered between 1996 and 1998 in the northeastern province of Liaoning, where some of the most important prehistoric fossils have been unearthed in the past decade.
The fossils reveal the different stages in the evolution of the shoulders and fore-limbs of theropod - or three-toed - dinosaurs and provide crucial evidence on how arms were transformed into wings.
'The function of feathers at its primitive stage was not for flying. They were grown to keep the body warm, maintain body balance and attract the opposite sex,' Dr Ji said in Hong Kong.
The exhibition includes Sinosauropteryx, the first known feathered dinosaur found in the world; Liaoxiornis, the smallest prehistoric bird ever known; Caudipteryx, the first dinosaur with unmistakable feathers, and Confuciusornis, the first known beaked bird.
The fossils were well-preserved in rock layers deposited in a lake that existed 120 million years ago.