How did birds evolve? How did feathers and flight appear? After a century of silence, these questions were raised again at the beginning of the 21st century when numerous species of beautifully preserved feathered dinosaur fossils were discovered in Liaoning, China. By mixing images of fossils at the dig sites, ultra-realistic computer graphic reconstructions and interviews with paleontologists, The Mystery of the Feathered Dragons offers the viewer the opportunity to plunge into a modern scientific adventure. During this paleontological investigation, each new fossil helps to complete the puzzle of the transition from dinosaurs to birds and raises fresh questions. How did flight evolve in dinosaurs? Did they run along the ground to take off? Or did they glide from trees to land on their prey? Numerous parallel debates raged in the paleontological community until the discovery of Anchiornis huxleyi in 2009 – the missing link between dinosaurs and birds. More recently, in 2014, a completely new herbivorous dinosaur was dug up in Siberia showing that the presence of feathers went even further back in the dinosaur family tree. In fact, it’s possible that dinosaurs were feathered from the start of their appearance on Earth! Documentary: A New Prehistory EP2: The Mystery of the Feathered Dragons Directed by: Emma Baus & Bertrand Loyer Production: Saint Thomas Productions for ARTE France #freedocumentary #documentary #sciencedocumentary #science #birds #dinosaurs #dragons #pangia #species #evolution #fossil
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Just study a chicken. The rooster specifically. It's very easy to visualize a small raptor standing before you. If a rooster was as large as one of the medium sized carnivorous dinosaurs, there would be no doubt it descended from dinosaurs. In fact, roosters represent really ferocious raptors. They attack with their claws forward then, their beak goes in for the kill. Roosters can be exceptionally viscious & relentless. They can inflict serious injuries very quickly. Just imagine if they had teeth instead of a beak & a large sickle claw on each 3 toed foot, along with a long tail. Chickens are omnivorous & exactly like truly terrifying little pack hunting raptors!!!
Cassowary is def a dinosaur
If you consider the bite force of a macaw or a cockatoo, you can begin to imagine what a Dino could do.. either one of those birds can LITERALLY bite your finger through bone.. now imagine a gigantic, angry(or rather hungry) cockatoo staring you down.. I don't doubt for a minute that dinosaurs are equally as smart as modern birds.. imagine that little Bacon Pancake bird.. now imagine it's 12 ft tall and carnivorous with 4 inch teeth.. I guess you could be thankful that your death would be quick although I think they may just bite you once and swallow you whole, play the possibility of being conscious for some phase of being eaten alive is horrifying
The animation and narration is excellent as well as the information.
This Doco, has changed my whole understanding of the Dinosaurs. I love the animations, and smile at the Scientists who are looking around and following them as if they are really there.
There are modern birds with feathers on their legs and feet. I have some in the chicken coop right now.
Very interesting, but. Background music should be just that, in the background. At times the music was to the fore, making it difficult for older (87 in this case) people to always make out what is being said, spoiling a very interesting subject.
This was a great documentary! Very well done! The narrator was actually human, nice touch in a lazy "AI" period. Xu Xing is awesome too! I bet he is the celebrity paleontologist of China! Very cool guy, I think. 🙂
Those emerging fossil-ghosts were so cool!
Great documentary!
"Feathers on legs did not become a useful adaptation or survive into modern birds." Uh, pretty much all modern birds of prey (raptors, although not sn exact term) have feathered legs, even feet (owls!). Some more than others. Bald Eagles have capri "pants" of long feathers, but scaled lower legs and feet, as do falcons. Golden Eagles have fully, thickly feathered legs all the way to its scaled toes. They provide warmth, muffle sound for better hunting (esp silent owls), cushion and warm eggs and chicks when incubated and brooded, for protection, and probably other uses. I think there might be other species that have leg feathers of some kind, just can't think of any atm. I know more about raptors. I can't believe the writers made this huge mistake! Although it seems like a pretty good doc. But does make you wonder what else the writers left out, or why it wasn't reviewed by a scientist or at least someone familiar with birds.
Birds ARE dinosaurs.
This is fascinating.
I will listen to Jeremy Irons narrating ANYTHING❤❤❤that smoky soothing tone and charming accent😉❤️🙏🏼great programming...love the Paleontologists from International disciplines.China has captured such evolutionary lines of plummage...can just imagine some species trying to fly in their test phase plums lol...plumes..yes❤i see bat and flying fox in taradactyl,chickens in the herd of herbivores,Emus in others...crazy😅😊❤
I find it only fascinating that a Dinosaur can fill the niche of Pterosaurs as birds, but also how a bird can fill the niche of insects as a Hummingbird. 😮
Check out the cassowary and tell me that's not a dinosaur.
Thanks so much for covering this topic which most media is ignoring i greatly fear for the future of life on our precious planet which we are destroying due to greed
Not bad, and the animations are hilarious!
Just imagine how fresh the air back then there must have been
Excellent video. Subscribed. 👍