Why do we now believe dinosaurs had feathers?

Question

Why do we now believe most/all dinosaurs have feathers? Is it simply that we found fossilized feathers and hence assume all dinosaurs had feathers?

Thanks!

In: Biology

Answer 1

We have found fossil dinosaurs with fossilized feathers.

Since feathers have been found on different dinosaurs from different branches of the family tree, we can reasonably assume that the common evolutionary ancestor of all those branches (called a “clade”) also had feathers, and therefore all of its descendants probably did as well.

Birds, as one branch of those evolutionary descendants, therefore inherited their feathers from their dinosaur ancestors.

Answer 2

We don’t believe that, we know that. Fossilized feathers together with fossil dinosaurs have been found. Scientists do not assume that *all* dinosaurs had feathers. But many dinosaurs did have feathers, like chickens and turkeys and other birds do.