image: A modified version of figure S7B in the Supporting Online Material (SOM). Photomicrograph of coiled barbules in Late Cretaceous Canadian amber, specimen TMP 96.9.334. The cork-screw shaped structures in the image are the tightly coiled bases of feather barbules, and these are interrupted towards the bottom of the image, where they exit the amber piece. This image relates to an article that appeared in the Sept. 16, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. R.C. McKellar of University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB, Canada, and colleagues was titled, "A Diverse Assemblage of Late Cretaceous Dinosaur and Bird Feathers from Canadian Amber.” view more
Credit: Image © <i>Science</i>/AAAS