A Dinosaur With a Beak and Feathers Unearthed in China

Chang, Kenneth. "A Dinosaur With a Beak and Feathers Unearthed in China." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Nov. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/science/dinosaur-mud-dragon.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&_r=0>.

I read Kenneth Chang’s article, “A Dinosaur With a Beak and Feathers Unearthed in China.” The article begins by describing the newfound creature: donkey-sized, feathered, and unable to fly. This creature is known as the Tongtianlong limosus and lived during the final 15 million years of dinosaur existence. They belong to a group of dinosaurs called the oviraptorosaurs and closely resemble birds. This new species was found in the region of Ganzhou four years ago during the construction of a school. Due to the strange posture the fossil found in, scientists believe that the animal had become trapped in a quagmire and had died trying to pull itself out. The feathers found on the Tongtianlong show the sharing of a common ancestor between the creature and many birds. The creature is not believed to have been a meat-eater, rather its diet consisted of plants, nuts, insects, small animals or mollusks. The large differences between the six oviraptorosaurs found suggest a rapid evolution of dinosaurs around this time. The body forms of all six species are very different although they all come from southern China. The article concludes by warning the reader that is still hard to draw conclusions from the fossils because the exact timeline is unknown.

The article was important because it helps us learn more about dinosaurs and evolution. Studying the Tongtianlong can give scientists a better idea of how oviraptorosaurs were related to one another. The article also provides evidence against a very common belief that dinosaurs were in decline long before they became extinct 66 million years ago. The fossil shows forms of oviraptorosaurs to have fairly different body forms which would prove there to be a rapid evolution shortly before the dinosaurs went extinct and would refute the common belief by many. This article also helps to expand scientists knowledge on dinosaurs and the reasons they went extinct.

I found this article extremely interesting and well-written. For me, it was interesting because I have always found dinosaurs interesting. Also, this was the first dinosaur I heard of having feathers which was fascinating. To improve this article, the author could have described some terms that may have been confusing to the general audience. For example, he could have described what a quagmire was to make the article easier to follow. Also, he could have included more facts about the fossil itself to make the finding more relevant to the article. Overall, I liked how the author discussed a topic not widely debated today. I also liked the upbeat, positive tone the article took.