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[kswiston]

They choose not to.

It's all about wing loading.

The largest flying bird of all time that we know of was the big one in this picture:

It weighed about the same as an ostrich, but needed a 20ft wingspan to lift that 250-300lb bulk.

Most dinosaurs did not have flight feathers. Many of those that have advanced feathers did would not have had wings large enough to fly.

 

[Mumei]

It weighed about the same as an ostrich, but needed a 20ft wingspan to lift that 250-300lb bulk.

More like half of that, but the point is well-taken otherwise.

 

[marthurstewart]

You can't debunk feathered dinosaurs. We have dozens of these. It's pretty clear they had feathers.

 

[Minion101]

What was the evolutionary reason to have feathers without fights?

 

[Fenderputty]

Are they? I thought birds were dinosaurs.

I thought there were dinosaur aged alligators anyway.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcosuchus

Not that alligators came from a triceratops or something.

 

[MisterGrey3000]

^^^^
Crocodilians are not dinosaurs they're just a closely related group of archosaurs; Birds are basically modern theropod dinosaurs.

What was the evolutionary reason to have feathers without fights?

Archosaurs most likely developed feathers (or feather-like structures) for insulation and display purposes.

 

[Toa TAK]

Hooray for science!

Come on people, hope on board the feather train. Dinosaurs had them and were still amazing creatures nonetheless.

 

[TimeEffect]

The one time topic I dont want to believe in science. give me my terrible lizards, fuck the chicken movement!

worst first response ever.

Whats wrong with being majestic AND terrible?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

We need to put a ban on further dinosaur research. They are ruining dinosaurs. Next thing they are going to find out that all dinosaurs had big anime eyes or something.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

These threads are always funny because of the internet badasses who think they wouldn't piss their pants when confronted by a feathered raptor.

 

[Fenderputty]

Science took Pluto from us too.

Spoiler

i think feathers on dinosaurs is really cool and actually dig that there are exoplanets larger than Pluto.

These threads are always funny because of the internet badasses who think they wouldn't piss their pants when confronted by a feathered raptor.

Fuck that noise man. I've been attacked by a goose. Fuck birds.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

just googled andean condor and found this:

jaysus

 

[Fenderputty]

:0

 

[lastplayed]

just googled andean condor and found this:

jaysus

"Fuck you mammals, we still here >:O"

 

[BrokenEchelon]

I don't care.

No one is being hurt in any way if we keep ignoring this feather bullshit. They're all extinct. Keep them cool god damn it.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

"Fuck you mammals, we still here >:O"

Hi, non-alpha predator species that is our bitch.

Sorry for the double post, thought I was editing.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Awwww

I want one.

 

[C4Lukins]

I am done with science. God created these wonderful featherless dinosaurs and science is trying to not only defy God, but make dinosaurs super lame. Now if science can prove all dinosaurs could fly, I may be willing to switch sides on this issue.

 

[Wag]

Aw yisss. Jurassic World be in trouble now!

 

[Cow Mengde]

Don't we have multiple examples of fossilized dinosaur skin impressions?

Why, yes, we do.

Some dinosaurs might have had feathers, but not all.

No, this doesn't prove Hadrosaurs didn't have feathers at all. In order for feathers to be preserved, it has the be fossilized in very fine grain sand or volcanic ash. If not, the feathers won't be preserved, so you wouldn't know even if it did have feathers.

 

[Unstable]

Fuck yeah! Feathers are AWESOME! #TeamFeathers

 

[The Silver]

man I bet dinosaurs tasted good

 

[kswiston]

More like half of that, but the point is well-taken otherwise.

Ya, I think I was messing it that and the larger pterosaurs. Doing a bit of quick research says that argentavis was indeed about 150lbs

even this (the green one):

were only 100-200 lbs more than a big ostrich. Flying vertebrates are really light for their size. I think we have enough evidence of muscle attachments to conclude that most bigger therapods weren't light enough to fly.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

More like half of that, but the point is well-taken otherwise.

Your face.

It's different.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Team No Man's Sky feathers checking in. I just think a Brontosaurus with feathers would look baller.



Regardless, the relationship between scales and feathers is pretty well founded, I wouldn't really be surprised if this was accurate.

When it comes to feathered dinosaurs, I like this model better. Features used as accentuation, rather than blanket coverings. I even liked the small ridge of feathers on the heads of the raptors in Jurassic Park 3.

 

[MisterGrey3000]

When it comes to feathered dinosaurs, I like this model better. Features used as accentuation, rather than blanket coverings. I even liked the small ridge of feathers on the heads of the raptors in Jurassic Park 3.

No way, full feathers or bust.

#feathers4eva

 

[MattKeil]

I can't believe people are actually more in favor of giant killer birds rather than fucking dragons. I mean yeah, they had feathers, science marches on, but man, what a letdown reality is sometimes.

 

[Chichikov]

#TeamFeathers

just googled andean condor and found this:

jaysus

It's a scavenger though, it's probably only fighting off competition.
Golden eagles on the other hand, they hunt wolves with them in Mongolia.
They also murder goats with gravity.

Eagles are badass.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Seems like a pretty big leap to "all dinosaurs were feathered". Well-preserved specimens aside, no one has noticed feather impressions or attachments on other dinosaurs, on the Edmontosaurus mummy, et al? Calling shenanigans.

 

[Toxi]

I can't believe people are actually more in favor of giant killer birds rather than fucking dragons. I mean yeah, they had feathers, science marches on, but man, what a letdown reality is sometimes.

Who says dragons didn't have feathers?

 

[Heroman]

I can't believe people are actually more in favor of giant killer birds rather than fucking dragons. I mean yeah, they had feathers, science marches on, but man, what a letdown reality is sometimes.

I think feather look more badass.

 

[Chance Hale]

No way, full feathers or bust.

#feathers4eva

Looks like a gorilla, rad.

 

[Chichikov]

Seems like a pretty big leap to "all dinosaurs were feathered". Well-preserved specimens aside, no one has noticed feather impressions or attachments on other dinosaurs, on the Edmontosaurus mummy, et al? Calling shenanigans.

It's only a hypothesis.
The thing is, the more feathered dinosaurs we find and the more diverse they are, the less likely it is that feathers evolved independently.

 

[Konka]

Crocodiles are officially cooler now.

#nofeathers
#survivedtheasteroid

 

[Grenouille]

Who says dragons didn't have feathers?

Yea with these new scientific discoveries i say dragons should have feathers now

 

[Heroman]

Crocodiles are officially cooler now.

#nofeathers
#survivedtheasteroid

But Dinosaurs did survive the asteroid.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Seems like a pretty big leap to "all dinosaurs were feathered". Well-preserved specimens aside, no one has noticed feather impressions or attachments on other dinosaurs, on the Edmontosaurus mummy, et al? Calling shenanigans.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=122542237&postcount=120

 

[televator]

just googled andean condor and found this:

jaysus

Just look at that. You no feather chumps look at that and tell me that wouldn't make you shit yourselves. I mean, LOOK AT IT.

 

[Konka]

But Dinosaurs did survive the asteroid.

Only the tiny shitty ones.

vs.

Now you can tell everybody, I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man.

 

[kswiston]

Only the tiny shitty ones.

Most of the dinosaurs before the K-T extinction were probably small as well. The big species preserve better, so they are over represented in the fossil record.

 

[lastplayed]

Crocodiles are officially cooler now.

#nofeathers
#survivedtheasteroid

Croc's feathers burned off in the resulting firestorm.

#CrocodileTears

 

[Heroman]

Only the tiny shitty ones.



Now you can tell everybody, I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man.

In what world is a eagle shitty

Pure Badass

 

[televator]

Okay so looks like some in the no feathers camp are abandoning dinos in favor of true reptiles. Cool. At least they get it now - real dinos have feathers.

 

[Konka]

In what world is a eagle shitty

Pure Badass

In a world where an Eagle is standing next to a T-rex.

 

[MisterGrey3000]

Seems like a pretty big leap to "all dinosaurs were feathered". Well-preserved specimens aside, no one has noticed feather impressions or attachments on other dinosaurs, on the Edmontosaurus mummy, et al? Calling shenanigans.

It's not completely unreasonable to hypothesize that many different groups of dinosaurs may have possessed feathers (or some other kind of insulation) after finding an ornithischian (a non-saurischian (Theropods and Sauropods) group of dinos that has only been spotted with tufts of quills until now) that was practically covered in them.

 

[Heroman]

In a world where an Eagle is standing next to a T-rex.

Size doesn't make stuff less badass.

 

[Dreavus]

Despite the much-publicized debut of the mounted skeleton, which cemented the name Brontosaurus in the public consciousness, Elmer Riggs had published a paper in the 1903 edition of Geological Series of the Field Columbian Museum that argued that Brontosaurus was not different enough from Apatosaurus to warrant its own genus, and created the combination Apatosaurus excelsus: "In view of these facts the two genera may be regarded as synonymous. As the term 'Apatosaurus' has priority, 'Brontosaurus' will be regarded as a synonym."

I'm sorry.

Damn, siiiiick burn.

In the published paper no less!

 

[GulAtiCa]

Stop messing with my childhood memories!

 

[televator]

Stop messing with my childhood memories!

Science says:

 

[User 73706]

If Brontosaurs had plumage over their necks, they'd basically look like quadrupedal cobras. That's awesome!

Easy way to sort this one out: feathered dinosaur fossils are real. Non-feathered fossils were the illusory ones Satan buried to try and fool us.

No way, full feathers or bust.

#feathers4eva

Whoaaa. When you actually scale the feathers down, it looks like a carnivorous gorilla. That's some scary shit.