Humans do not have tails, but do we have “what it takes” for a tail? Hens don’t have teeth, but they have the genes for it. With atavism, it is as if our genomes serve as archives of our evolutionary ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Fossil discoveries unlock chapters of our planet’s storied ...

Mesozoic Pompeii -- The evolution of an airframe -- The origin of birds -- Archaeopteryx : an ancient wing -- Protoavis : a precocious Triassic bird -- Basal avialans : the long-tailed birds -- ...

New fossil discoveries in China are changing what is known about bird evolution. Two bird fossils, dating back nearly 149 million years, were unearthed in Fujian Province. These fossils provide the ...

The pallium is the brain region where the neocortex forms in mammals, the part responsible for cognitive and complex functions that most distinguishes humans from other species. The pallium has ...

A fossilized dinosaur egg unearthed in southern China has revealed one of the most complete dinosaur embryos ever discovered, providing paleontologists with unprecedented insight into the origins of ...

Is there only one optimal configuration an organism can reach during evolution? Is there a single formula that describes the trajectory towards the optimum? And can we 'derive' it in a purely ...

Feathers are among the most complex cutaneous appendages in the animal kingdom. While their evolutionary origin has been widely debated, paleontological discoveries and developmental biology studies ...

Ch. 1. From Protoavis to Pigeon -- Ch. 2. The Design of an Airframe -- Ch. 3. The Triassic Treasures of Texas -- Ch. 4. A Portrait of Protoavis -- Ch. 5. The Jurassic Birds -- Ch. 6. The Birds of the ...