Wait a minute. . .
Most of the feathered dinosaurs youíve just seen (and can see more of here) are not direct ancestors of birdsótheyíre a bit too young!
- Even if they were of the right age, proving that any fossil is the ancestor of another is usually impossibleófossils donít come with nametags!
- Evolution produces branching patterns: most relatives (living or fossil) arenít ancestors.
However. . . what they can do is provide insights into what the direct ancestors of birds were like!
They can provide further tests of our cladograms!