Birds may not have evolved from dinosaurs after all

By examining a swallow-sized fossil from China, researchers have concluded that rather than descending from dinosaurs, the fossil – and birds in general – evolved from tree-dwelling “archosaurs” separate from dinosaurs.

Researchers from the Dinosaur Museum in Blanding, Utah, and the University of North Carolina concluded that Scansoriopteryx (“Flying Wing”) was a tree-dwelling creature that could glide, rather than a flying dinosaur descendent.

Using advanced 3D microscopy, high-resolution photography and low angle lighting, the researchers revealed deatil challenging the “ground up” view of dinosaur evolution into birds.