The 'feathers' of Longisquama

Abstract

The elongated dorsal appendages of the reptile Longisquama insignis , from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan1, have recently been reinterpreted as the first record of feathers in a non-avian tetrapod2 — long predating the feathers of the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx. Here we present evidence that the dorsal scales of Longisquama are not feathers, and that they are in fact strikingly different from avian feathers. We conclude that Archaeopteryx remains the oldest known feathered tetrapod.