Feathered Dinosaurs

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2017

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a programme first broadcast in 2017, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development of theories about dinosaur feathers, following discoveries of fossils which show evidence of feathers. All dinosaurs were originally thought to be related to lizards - the word 'dinosaur' was created from the Greek for 'terrible lizard' - but that now appears false. In the last century, discoveries of fossils with feathers established that at least some dinosaurs were feathered and that some of those survived the great extinctions and evolved into the birds we see today. There are still many outstanding areas for study, such as what sorts of feathers they were, where on the body they were found, what their purpose was and which dinosaurs had them. With Mike Benton Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol Steve Brusatte Reader and Chancellor's Fellow in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh and Maria McNamara Senior Lecturer in Geology at University College, Cork Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the BBC.
0:02.0	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:05.0	There's a reading list to go with it on our website,
0:07.0	and you can get news about our programs if you follow us on Twitter
0:10.0	at BBC In Our Time.
0:12.0	I hope you enjoyed the programs.
0:14.0	Hello, and until 20 years ago, dinosaurs were widely assumed
0:18.0	to be large lump and lizards that became extinct to millions of years ago.
0:22.0	Discovered in China have since shown dramatically
0:25.0	that many were fast and feathered and some survived the great extinctions
0:29.0	and are the ancestors of our modern birds.
0:31.0	The recently discovered Chinese fossils of feathered dinosaurs
0:35.0	are so well preserved scientists can even work out the feathers color
0:39.0	and where they were found on the dinosaurs' bodies
0:41.0	and theorize about their use for displays,
0:43.0	insulation, and in some cases, perhaps, flight.
0:46.0	Even the large tyrannosaurus may have had downy feathers
0:50.0	and it appears that the small bellotter raptors had long quill-like feathers
0:55.0	arranged on arms that look like wings.
0:58.0	With me to discuss feathered dinosaurs are Mike Benton.
1:01.0	Mike Benton, professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Bristol.
1:05.0	Steve Brissatti, reader and chancellor's fellow invertebrate paleontology
	...

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