Amber Gambler

There has been an interesting addition to information on the likely evolution feathers with the discovery in a piece of amber bought from a Chinese market of a fossilised tail of what is thought to be a juvenile member of a tiny non-avian (not bird) theropod (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/08/dinosaur-tail-trapped-in-amber-offers-insights-into-feather-evolution). Theropods were the group to which velociraptors and Tryannosaurus rex belonged. The fossil tail  appears to be almost 100 million years old and was clearly that of a dinosaur as the bones were not fused (as in birds). The preserved feathers (modified scales) already had prominent barbs and barbules but only a relatively small central shaft (rachis). This confirms that feathers probably served other functions (possibly thermoregulation, display or leaping to catch insects) before they became utilised for flight in the birds.