Feathers Before Flight

Plumage Color Patterns of an Extinct Dinosaur

Li, Q., Gao, K.-Q., Vinther, J., Shawkey, M. D., Clarke, J. A., D’Alba, L., Meng, Q., Briggs, D. E. G., & Prum, R. O. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1186290 · Cited by 278 · see citing works

Reconstruction of <i>Microraptor</i> and the Evolution of Iridescent Plumage

Li, Q., Gao, K.-Q., Meng, Q., Clarke, J. A., Shawkey, M. D., D’Alba, L., Pei, R., Ellison, M., Norell, M. A., & Vinther, J. (2012) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1213780 · Cited by 192 · see citing works

An Early Cretaceous heterodontosaurid dinosaur with filamentous integumentary structures

Zheng, X., You, H., Xu, X., & Dong, Z.-M. (2009) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature07856 · Cited by 189 · see citing works

FEATHERED DINOSAURS

Norell, M. A., & Xu, X. (2005) · Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.33.092203.122511 · Cited by 180 · see citing works

Paleohistological estimation of bone growth rate in extinct archosaurs

Cubo, J., Le Roy, N., Martinez-Maza, C., & Montes, L. (2012) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1666/08093.1 · Cited by 123 · see citing works

Hind Wings in Basal Birds and the Evolution of Leg Feathers

Zheng, X., Zhou, Z., Wang, X., Zhang, F., Zhang, X., Wang, Y., Wei, G., Wang, S., & Xu, X. (2013) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1228753 · Cited by 119 · see citing works

From extant to extinct: locomotor ontogeny and the evolution of avian flight

Heers, A. M., & Dial, K. P. (2012) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2011.12.003 · Cited by 114 · see citing works

The soft tissue of Jeholopterus (Pterosauria, Anurognathidae, Batrachognathinae) and the structure of the pterosaur wing membrane

Kellner, A. W. A., Wang, X., Tischlinger, H., Campos, D. D. A., Hone, D. W. E., & Meng, X. (2009) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0846 · Cited by 106 · see citing works

The evolution of locomotion in archosaurs

Hutchinson, J. R. (2006) · Comptes Rendus Palevol · doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2005.09.002 · Cited by 104 · see citing works

A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers

Xu, X., Zheng, X., & You, H. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0810055106 · Cited by 99 · see citing works

Narrow Primary Feather Rachises in <i>Confuciusornis</i> and <i>Archaeopteryx</i> Suggest Poor Flight Ability

Nudds, R. L., & Dyke, G. J. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1188895 · Cited by 95 · see citing works

Gender identification of the Mesozoic bird Confuciusornis sanctus

Chinsamy, A., Chiappe, L., Marugán-Lobón, J., Gao, C.-L., & Zhang, F.-J. (2013) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms2377 · Cited by 91 · see citing works

Oviraptorosaur tail forms and functions

Persons, S. (2013) · Acta Palaeontologica Polonica · doi:10.4202/app.2012.0093 · Cited by 85 · see citing works

Primitive Wing Feather Arrangement in Archaeopteryx lithographica and Anchiornis huxleyi

Longrich, N. R., Vinther, J., Meng, Q., Li, Q., & Russell, A. P. (2012) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.052 · Cited by 69 · see citing works

Gene duplication and recruitment of a specific tropomyosin into striated muscle cells in the jellyfish Podocoryne carnea

(1999) · doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-010x(19991215)285:4

Extreme lightweight structures: avian feathers and bones

Sullivan, T. N., Wang, B., Espinosa, H. D., & Meyers, M. A. (2017) · Materials Today · doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2017.02.004 · Cited by 189 · see citing works

Cranial shape evolution in adaptive radiations of birds: comparative morphometrics of Darwin's finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers

Tokita, M., Yano, W., James, H. F., & Abzhanov, A. (2016) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0481 · Cited by 143 · see citing works

A phenology of the evolution of endothermy in birds and mammals

Lovegrove, B. G. (2016) · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1111/brv.12280 · Cited by 133 · see citing works

Barb geometry of asymmetrical feathers reveals a transitional morphology in the evolution of avian flight

Feo, T. J., Field, D. J., & Prum, R. O. (2015) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.2864 · Cited by 113 · see citing works

A lightweight, biological structure with tailored stiffness: The feather vane

Sullivan, T. N., Pissarenko, A., Herrera, S. A., Kisailus, D., Lubarda, V. A., & Meyers, M. A. (2016) · Acta Biomaterialia · doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2016.05.022 · Cited by 84 · see citing works

Feather Development Genes and Associated Regulatory Innovation Predate the Origin of Dinosauria

Lowe, C. B., Clarke, J. A., Baker, A. J., Haussler, D. H., & Edwards, S. V. (2014) · Molecular Biology and Evolution · doi:10.1093/molbev/msu309 · Cited by 62 · see citing works

Unzipping bird feathers

Kovalev, A., Filippov, A. E., & Gorb, S. N. (2014) · Journal of The Royal Society Interface · doi:10.1098/rsif.2013.0988 · Cited by 48 · see citing works

Theropod courtship: large scale physical evidence of display arenas and avian-like scrape ceremony behaviour by Cretaceous dinosaurs

Lockley, M. G., McCrea, R. T., Buckley, L. G., Lim, J. D., Matthews, N. A., Breithaupt, B. H., Houck, K. J., Gierliński, G. D., Surmik, D., Kim, K. S., et al. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep18952 · Cited by 44 · see citing works

From baby birds to feathered dinosaurs: incipient wings and the evolution of flight

Heers, A. M., Dial, K. P., & Tobalske, B. W. (2014) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1666/13057 · Cited by 41 · see citing works

Recent advances in amniote palaeocolour reconstruction and a framework for future research

Roy, A., Pittman, M., Saitta, E. T., Kaye, T. G., & Xu, X. (2019) · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1111/brv.12552 · Cited by 40 · see citing works

Nuclear β‐catenin localization supports homology of feathers, avian scutate scales, and alligator scales in early development

Musser, J. M., Wagner, G. P., & Prum, R. O. (2015) · Evolution & Development · doi:10.1111/ede.12123 · Cited by 38 · see citing works

Identification of a feather β-keratin gene exclusively expressed in pennaceous barbule cells of contour feathers in chicken

Kowata, K., Nakaoka, M., Nishio, K., Fukao, A., Satoh, A., Ogoshi, M., Takahashi, S., Tsudzuki, M., & Takeuchi, S. (2014) · Gene · doi:10.1016/j.gene.2014.03.027 · Cited by 37 · see citing works

Bioinspired avian feather designs

Sullivan, T. N., Hung, T., Velasco‐Hogan, A., & Meyers, M. A. (2019) · Materials Science and Engineering C · doi:10.1016/j.msec.2019.110066 · Cited by 34 · see citing works

Reversible Attachment with Tailored Permeability: The Feather Vane and Bioinspired Designs

Sullivan, T. N., Chon, M. J., Ramachandramoorthy, R., Roenbeck, M. R., Hung, T., Espinosa, H. D., & Meyers, M. A. (2017) · Advanced Functional Materials · doi:10.1002/adfm.201702954 · Cited by 27 · see citing works

New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil

Prado, G., Anelli, L. E., Petri, S., & Romero, G. R. (2016) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.1916 · Cited by 25 · see citing works

Beyond the rainbow

Koschowitz, M.-C., Fischer, C., & Sander, M. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1258957 · Cited by 22 · see citing works

Rhetoric vs. reality: A commentary on “Bird Origins Anew” by A. Feduccia

Smith, N., Chiappe, L. M., Clarke, J. A., Edwards, S. V., Nesbitt, S. J., Norell, M. A., Stidham, T. A., Turner, A. H., van Tuinen, M., Vinther, J., et al. (2015) · The Auk · doi:10.1642/auk-14-203.1 · Cited by 17 · see citing works

Skin hydrophobicity as an adaptation for self‐cleaning in geckos

Riedel, J., Vucko, M. J., Blomberg, S. P., & Schwarzkopf, L. (2020) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.6218 · Cited by 16 · see citing works

The damping properties of the foam-filled shaft of primary feathers of the pigeon Columba livia

Deng, K., Kovalev, A. E., Rajabi, H., Schaber, C. F., Dai, Z., & Gorb, S. N. (2021) · Die Naturwissenschaften · doi:10.1007/s00114-021-01773-7 · Cited by 16 · see citing works

Shaking the wings and preening feathers with the beak help a bird to recover its ruffled feather vane

Zhao, J., Zhang, J., Zhao, Y., Zhang, Z., & Godefroit, P. (2019) · Materials & Design · doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2019.108410 · Cited by 15 · see citing works

A Mesozoic aviary

Brusatte, S. L. (2017) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aal2397 · Cited by 14 · see citing works

Estimating the distribution of carotenoid coloration in skin and integumentary structures of birds and extinct dinosaurs

Davis, S. N., & Clarke, J. A. (2021) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/evo.14393 · Cited by 14 · see citing works

How birds became birds

Benton, M. J. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1257633 · Cited by 14 · see citing works

Exceptional preservation and the fossil record of tetrapod integument

Eliason, C. M., Hudson, L., Watts, T., Garza, H. K., & Clarke, J. A. (2017) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0556 · Cited by 12 · see citing works

Design of flying robots inspired by the evolution of avian flight

Shahid, F., Zhao, J., & Godefroit, P. (2019) · Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part C Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science · doi:10.1177/0954406219861995 · Cited by 11 · see citing works

Advances in Biolinguistics

(2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315709529 · Cited by 10 · see citing works

Fossils with Feathers and Philosophy of Science

Havstad, J. C., & Smith, N. A. (2019) · Systematic Biology · doi:10.1093/sysbio/syz010 · Cited by 9 · see citing works

Regenerative metamorphosis in hairs and feathers: follicle as a programmable biological printer

Oh, J. W., Lin, S., & Plikus, M. V. (2015) · Experimental Dermatology · doi:10.1111/exd.12627 · Cited by 9 · see citing works

FANTASY VS REALITY: A Critique of Smith et al.'s Bird Origins

Feduccia, A. (2016) · The Open Ornithology Journal · doi:10.2174/1874453201609010014 · Cited by 7 · see citing works

Feather evolution exemplifies sexually selected bridges across the adaptive landscape

Persons, W. S., & Currie, P. J. (2019) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/evo.13795 · Cited by 7 · see citing works

Femora from an exceptionally large population of coeval ornithomimosaurs yield evidence of sexual dimorphism in extinct theropod dinosaurs

Pintore, R., Cornette, R., Houssaye, A., & Allain, R. (2023) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.83413 · Cited by 5 · see citing works

Taking up the legacy of Waterhouse Hawkins and Owen: art and science for a new Italian project to bring back dinosaurs to life

Romano, M., Maganuco, S., Nosotti, S., & Manucci, F. (2015) · Historical Biology · doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1089436 · Cited by 5 · see citing works

Flight, symmetry and barb angle evolution in the feathers of birds and other dinosaurs

Wang, X., Tang, H. K., & Clarke, J. A. (2019) · Biology Letters · doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0622 · Cited by 5 · see citing works

Evolution: A Rapid Flight towards Birds

Ksepka, D. T. (2014) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.018 · Cited by 4 · see citing works

“Extreme dinosaurs” and the continuing evolution of dinosaur paleoart

Allmon, W. D. (2021) · Geological Society of America eBooks · doi:10.1130/2021.1218(23 · Cited by 3 · see citing works

Aerodynamic vs. frictional damping in primary flight feathers of the pigeon Columba livia

Deng, K., Schaber, C. F., Kovalev, A. E., Rajabi, H., Dai, Z., & Gorb, S. N. (2023) · Applied Physics A · doi:10.1007/s00339-023-06395-6 · Cited by 3 · see citing works

Aerodynamics from Cursorial Running to Aerial Gliding for Avian Flight Evolution

Shahid, F., Zhao, J., & Godefroit, P. (2019) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app9040649 · Cited by 3 · see citing works

On the origin of feathers—Response

Koschowitz, M.-C., Lambertz, M., Fischer, C., & Sander, P. M. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.346.6216.1466-c · Cited by 3 · see citing works

An evaluation of the effect of hydrofluoric acid (HF) treatment on keratins

Zhao, T., & Pan, Y. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B Molecular and Developmental Evolution · doi:10.1002/jez.b.23173 · Cited by 2 · see citing works

The development rule of feathers and application of hair root tissue in sex identification of Yangzhou geese

Qi, S., Xu, X., Liu, L., Wang, G., Bao, Q., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Xu, Q., Zhao, W., et al. (2024) · Poultry Science · doi:10.1016/j.psj.2024.103529 · Cited by 2 · see citing works

Identification of pennaceous barbule cell factor (PBCF), a novel gene with spatiotemporal expression in barbule cells during feather development

Nakaoka, M., Fukuchi, H., Ogoshi, M., Aizawa, S., & Takeuchi, S. (2025) · Gene · doi:10.1016/j.gene.2025.149244 · Cited by 2 · see citing works

Function, Dysfunction, and Normality in Biological Sciences

Roux, É. (2018) · Biological Theory · doi:10.1007/s13752-017-0291-5 · Cited by 2 · see citing works

The piecemeal evolution of writingPreprint

Morin, O. (2022) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/a6ket · Cited by 2 · see citing works

Exceptional Preservation of Feather Micro-Structures in Amber from the Middle-Cretaceous of Myanmar

Laurent, C. M., Wang, X., Wáng, B., & Li, Z. (2022) · Biosis Biological Systems · doi:10.37819/biosis.001.04.0161 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

EXCEPTIONAL PRESERVATION AND THE FOSSIL RECORD OF TETRAPOD INTEGUMENT

Garza, H. K., Eliason, C. M., Hudson, L., Watts, T., & Clarke, J. A. (2016) · Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · doi:10.1130/abs/2016am-283797 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Mechanical Interlocking of Biological Fasteners

Filippov, A. E., & Gorb, S. N. (2020) · Biologically-inspired systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-41528-0_6 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

How Many Dinosaurs Are Birds?

James, F. C. (2021) · BioScience · doi:10.1093/biosci/biab060 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Integument

Ritchison, G. (2023) · Fascinating life sciences · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-14852-1_3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Fonction et physiologie : la notion de fonction dans la physiologie contemporaine

Roux, É. (2021) · doi:10.70675/a71c153dz2684z433fz9b95z7a42c3c40a3f · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Birds, Diversification of

van Tuinen, M. (2016) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-800049-6.00281-x

Morphological Variation in the Avian Pelvis

Frigot, R. A. (2019)

Peer Review #2 of "New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil (v0.1)"

(2016) · PeerJ · doi:10.7287/peerj.1916v0.1/reviews/2

Peer Review #1 of "New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil (v0.2)"

(2016) · PeerJ · doi:10.7287/peerj.1916v0.2/reviews/1

Peer Review #1 of "New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil (v0.1)"

(2016) · PeerJ · doi:10.7287/peerj.1916v0.1/reviews/1

Peer Review #2 of "New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil (v0.2)"

(2016) · PeerJ · doi:10.7287/peerj.1916v0.2/reviews/2

Bird Origins

Clarke, J. A., & Torres, C. R. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-409548-9.12030-5

Decision letter: Femora from an exceptionally large population of coeval ornithomimosaurs yield evidence of sexual dimorphism in extinct theropod dinosaurs

(2022) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.83413.sa1

Fascinating Natural and Biological Traits of Birds

Maina, J. N. (2023) · Zoological monographs · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-35180-8_1

Birds, Diversification of

Chen, A., van Tuinen, M., & Field, D. J. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-15750-9.00054-9

Iridescence in pterosaur pycnofibers and the evolution of integumentary colorationPreprint

wu, Z., D’Alba, L., Chang-Fu, Z., Clarke, J. A., Li, J., Shawkey, M. D., & Li, Q. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.05.06.723168

Az írás fokozatos evolúciója

Morin, O. (2025) · Helikon · doi:10.57226/hel.2025.4.3

The early evolution of feathers: fossil evidence from Cretaceous amber of France

Perrichot, V., Marion, L., Néraudeau, D., Vullo, R., & Tafforeau, P. (2008) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0003 · Cited by 69 · see citing works

A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers

Xu, X., Zheng, X., & You, H. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0810055106 · Cited by 99 · see citing works

Origin of Feathers – Perspectives from Fossil Evidence

Zhou, Z., & Zhang, F. (2001) · Science Progress · doi:10.3184/003685001783239023 · Cited by 4 · see citing works

Filamentous Integuments in Nonavialan Theropods and Their Kin: Advances and Future Perspectives for Understanding the Evolution of Feathers

Xu, X. (2020) · Fascinating life sciences · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-27223-4_5 · Cited by 28 · see citing works

Archaeopteryx and the evolution of feathered flight: the hidden story

Liston, J. J. (2000) · ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) · Cited by 4 · see citing works