Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origins of Flight
Cryptovolans
6. Cryptovolans, a four winged bird. The flight feathers on the
hind legs gives Cryptovolans the appearance of being a bird equipped with
four wings. It was originally thought that animals like Cryptovolans did not
have any wings because they supposedly represented the ancestors of birds
before flight had evolved. The discovery that Cryptovolans had the
ability to fly revealed that dromaeosaurs were actually birds. Sculpture by
Stephen Czerkas, © 2005.
7. Cryptovolans head shot. Cryptovolans means
"hidden-flyer". It was a primitive bird that still had teeth. Sculpture by
Stephen Czerkas, © 2005.
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