Paleobiologist, Alex Wolfe from the University of Alberta thought that he had seen a hair in piece of 80 million year old amber. When he viewed this tiny strand in a microscope, it revealed to him a ringed, sheen appearance. Wolfe soon realized that with these characteristics, it had to be a feather. Wolfe, along with his colleagues, searched through 150,000 little pieces of amber that were found in Alberta, Canada. The amber was found in rocks rich with fossils. Out of their searches, they discovered 11 feathers from the late Cretaceous period. The fossils even captured the 3D structure and still had the old pigments. The feathers represent the whole spectrum of evolution for these feathers. The feathers vary from simple strands to the structures that were adapted for flying and for them to dive. Those feathers that were adapted for flying are more complex. Wolfe and his colleagues believe that these feathers came from ancient birds.

Information obtained at www.discovermagazine.com

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