The fossil of a small flying reptile cloaked in feathers has put the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs under scrutiny. The lizard-like feathered reptile lived about 220 million years ago. The fossil, called Longisquama, suggests that feathered animals lived prior to dinosaurs. The finding casts doubt about theories advocating that the dinosaurs had evolved into feathered birds. The fossil was recently spotted in a travelling exhibition in Kansas by the authors of the study. But skeptics doubt the conclusions drawn from a single fossil.
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