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Lot 762
Important Possible Dinosaur Feathers In Amber. Most amber is too young to have dinosaur feathers in it, but Burmite is the name for 100 million year old amber found in the Hukawang Valley in northern Burma (Myanmar). It was one of the scientific stories of the year several years ago when possible dinosaur feathers were found in 80 million year old Canadian amber. More than 40,000 Canadian amber specimens were examined from a museum collection which resulted in about a dozen of amber nuggets that contained feathers. The distinction of what constitutes a dinosaur and an early bird is somewhat blurred. Both Coelerasaur and Tyanosaur dinosaurs are known to have been feathered from the outstanding fossils that have been found in Liaoning, China which have been dated from 110-130 million years old. Both the diversity and preservation of the possible dinosaur feathers preserved in Burmite exceed that of the Canadian amber. This 20 x 18 mm clear golden yellow Burmite amber nugget contains four or five beautifully preserved feathers about 15mm in length. In shape and form these feathers are quite similar to semiplume feathers found on birds. These remarkable feathers have a small weak central rachis and very fine barbules without hooks This creates a fluffy insulating structure that is not useful for flying but is useful for warmth. This supports the theory that feathers first evolved for insulation and display and only later evolved into flying feathers. These feathers have remarkable detail and even though their actual color is not preserved, it could be determined from examining the shape of its microscopic pigment making structures know as Melanosomes which determine the color of the feather. By using modern birds as examples, the shape of the preserved Melanosomes will tell us if the feathers were black, gray, red or rusty brown and thus what color the feathers were in the feathered dinosaurs. These colored Melanosomes were found in the preserved dinosaur feathers in Liaoning fossils and would almost certainly be present in these even better preserved feathers in Burmite. Presented in a 8 x 6" Riker mount with an enlarged photo of the important dinosaur or early bird feathers. Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,500
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