Burmite amber feather - dino or bird?

[Tressmeister]

Hello everyone!

 

I recently started looking at burmite amber online and found this interesting feather inclusion.

 

I'm not sure if it's avian or non-avian. Quite wispy but shape suggests avian... I'm not sure.

 

Any info is very much appreciated :)!

 

[Kikokuryu]

I don't think I've seen anyone try to put an id on these feathers before. There probably isn't a way to distinguish the two since there were tons of feathered dinosaurs in the area. But it's at the very least, probably a Coelurosaurian feather. I'd personally just label something like this as Theropoda indet. though since there's a lot of unknowns regarding feathers.

[Troodon]

Here is a very recent paper that discusses these feathers. The  abstract states that Enantiornithes and dinosaurs are most likely represented in the assemblage, as well as unknown taxa.  Unfortunately its paywalled but try to get a copy the images might shed some light to yours.

 

Disassociated feathers in Burmese amber shed new light on mid-Cretaceous dinosaurs and avin fauna
Lida Xing, Ryan C. McKellar

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1342937X20300502

[Tressmeister]

Thanks for replying, @Kikokuryu and @Troodon! 

 

Will be having a look at that paper later today.  

[ThePhysicist]

Very cool piece! Here are a few figures with captions (most figures appear to be visible online, but without the captions):

 

 

 

 

There's also this paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304573121_Mummified_precocial_bird_wings_in_mid-Cretaceous_Burmese_amber

[JesseKoz]

That paper is available via Sci-hub website. I won't link to it as I'm unsure about the forums stance on sci-hub. Quick google search and you should be able to work it out. And interesting amber, going to have a look through this paper once I'm home.

[Tressmeister]

After reading one of the studies and going through the images I think it's more likely that this inclusion is of enantiornithine origin, but in the absence of skeletal material this can't be confirmed. 

 

According to the study [Disassociated feathers in Burmese amber shed new light on mid-Cretaceous dinosaurs and avifauna - Lida Xing, Ryan C. McKellar]:

 

"Comparisons with skeletal material and isolated feathers previously described in Burmese amber, suggest that most of the isolated feathers encountered belonged to enantiornithines, with a small subset of feathers that are simpler and do not match any feathers found on enantiornithine body inclusions; instead, they correspond more closely to the feathers that have been found around coelurosaur remains."

 

[...]

 

"Nonetheless, distinguishing isolated dinosaur feathers from apices of contour feathers can be problematic. Some features, such as a thin rachis and rachidial barbules, can be found within both of these settings. Therefore, the taxonomic affinities of these feathers remain somewhat speculative in the absence of skeletal material able to confirm our hypotheses."

 

I'm yet to go through the "Mummified precocial bird wings in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber" paper, but will do so soon :).