Information bulletin

October 25, 2012

Royal Tyrrell Museum, University of Calgary researchers
discover first feathered dinosaur specimens in North America

Edmonton... Researchers from the Royal Tyrrell Museum and University of Calgary have
discovered fossil evidence of the first feathered dinosaurs from North America in the 75 million-
year-old rocks of the Alberta badlands.

The findings of palaeontologists Franois Therrien, curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and Darla
Zelenitsky, assistant professor at the University of Calgary, will be published in Science, the
prestigious journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, on Friday, October
26.

Ornithomimids (Greek for bird-mimic lizards) are ostrich-like dinosaurs that have been pictured as
hairless, fleet-footed animals. The research to be published in Science reveals that they actually
had feathers and wings. The researchers found evidence of feathers preserved with a juvenile and
two adult skeletons of Ornithomimus, a species in the ornithomimid family. The discovery, the first
to establish the existence of feathers in ornithomimids, suggests that all ostrich-like dinosaurs had
feathers.

The specimens also reveal that while Ornithomimus maintained a base of down-like feathers
throughout its lifetime, older individuals developed larger feathers on their arms, producing wing-like
structures. The research suggests that, because the dinosaurs were too big to fly, the wing-like
plumage may have been used for reproductive behaviours such as mating display or egg brooding.
While fossilized dinosaur feathers alone have been discovered in Alberta previously, these are the
first actual dinosaur skeletons with feather impressions found in the Western Hemisphere. Until
now, feathered skeletons have been recovered almost exclusively from fine-grained rocks in China
and Germany.

The Alberta specimens show that feathered dinosaurs were also preserved in sandstone, a rock
formed by the deposit of ancient flowing rivers. Because sandstone is the type of rock that most
commonly preserves dinosaur skeletons, the Canadian discoveries reveal great new potential for
the recovery of feathered dinosaurs worldwide.

The fossils are expected to be on display by November 9 at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which is
owned and operated by Alberta Culture. For more information on winter hours or for directions, visit
www.tyrrellmuseum.com or call 403-823-7707 (dial 310-0000 for toll-free access within Alberta).
Visit www.culture.alberta.ca for more information on all of Albertas historic sites and museums.

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Media inquiries may be directed to:
Leanna Mohan
Marketing Coordinator
Royal Tyrrell Museum
403-823-7707
Leanna.Mohan@gov.ab.ca

To call toll-free within Alberta dial 310-0000.