In a discovery that feels like time travel, scientists have uncovered a 99-million-year-old dinosaur tail — still covered in delicate feathers — perfectly preserved in amber from northern Myanmar.
This remarkable fossil offers the first-ever glimpse of feathered dinosaur remains in three dimensions, capturing not just bone structure, but the soft tissue and intricate feather patterns that once belonged to a small, bird-like creature from the Cretaceous period.
Researchers believe the tail came from a juvenile theropod, a group of dinosaurs closely related to modern birds, and its preservation in tree resin has locked in extraordinary details scientists could only dream of until now.
More than just a curiosity, the fossil provides crucial insight into how feathers evolved — not for flight initially, but possibly for insulation or display — rewriting parts of the story we tell about dinosaurs and their living descendants.
