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A automaton dinosaur is help scientists peer into our prehistoric past to learn why some dinosaur evolved feather wing before they could flee . But one expert is disbelieving that this robot can break much about the ancient predators , because there is n’t yet evidence that the dino ate the prey these researchers test .
Researchers built a metal automaton with black felt and wheels , nicknamed Robopteryx , to resembleCaudipteryx , a peacock - sizing dinosaur with tiny feathered wings that roam Earth about 125 million to 122 million old age ago during the EarlyCretaceous period(145 million to 100.5 million yr ago ) . The researcher unleash a flapping Robopteryx on a group of grasshoppers to quiz whether square - but - flightless dinosaurs may have develop early wing to flush out fair game from their hiding spots , accord to a study put out Thursday ( Jan. 25 ) in the journalScientific Reports .
The robot dinosaur was created to test why some flightless dinosaurs still had wings.
" We propose that using feather to flush quarry could increase the absolute frequency of chases after hightail it prey , thus amplifying the grandness of proto - wing and tails in maneuvering for successful pursuit , " study authorSang - im Lee , an integrative animal ecologist at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea , sound out ina statement . " This could lead to the development of bombastic and stiffer feathers as these would enable more successful pursuits and more pronounced visual hot flash - displays . "
Several modern - daylight birds , such as the greater roadrunner ( Geococcyx californianus ) , use this " flush - avocation " scheme . During their experiment , the researchers maneuvered a interlingual rendition of Robopteryx without flank near grasshoppers , and less than half of the insects dashed from the car . In a separate run , they supply wing - like structure made of black - bleached newspaper publisher and sent Robopteryx beat toward the grasshopper . This clock time , 93 % of the insects fly , which they trust show that proto - wings may have been utilitarian for dinosaur when trying to reveal prey .
The trouble ? scientist still are n’t sure ifCaudipteryxand other dinosaurs with proto - backstage feed insects .
" I conceive it ’s great to see hypotheses like these tested quantitatively,“Jingmai O’Connor , an associate curator of dodo reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago who was not involved in the fresh study , distinguish Live Science in an email . " However , I think it ’s worth noting that there is no actual grounds that any of these non - volant [ flightless ] feathered dinosaur with protowings , likeCaudipteryxandAnchiornis , were insectivorous ! "
" That is the only hiccup with this surmisal but one that should certainly be considered , " she added .
O’Connor led a2019 analysisthat compile data from grand of fossil from dinosaurs most intimately relate to Bronx cheer to shape how the modern avian digestive system evolve . The researchers found thatCaudipteryxseems to have eaten mostly plants , andAnchiornis — another flightless dinosaur with early wing — primarily ate lounge lizard and fish .
" I think it means that the jury is still out on what protowings were for , " O’Connor say . " Until we have supporting evidence these dinosaur eat on insects , it all remains highly hypothetical . "
However , another fossilist thinks these ancient dinosaur may have had a more encompassing dieting than we can do it for sure .
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" The preservation of belly depicted object in extinct dinosaur is very rare,“Fion Ma , a vertebrate fossilist at the National Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the new study , told Live Science in an email . " While there is no direct evidence point that feather dinosaurs likeCaudipteryxandAnchiornishunted insects , I would not rein out such a possibility , as some of them were likely opportunistic feeder . "
She added that she is " odd to see the experiment retroflex using other animals , such as lizard , as fossil evidence shows that they were part of the diets ofAnchiornisandMicroraptor . "
