A study using a robot dinosaur named Robopteryx to mimic ancient dinosaur habits has actually supplied brand-new insights into the development of feathered wings. Researchers discovered that small, feathered proto-wings may have been used by dinosaurs to surprise victim, supporting the hypothesis that such wings progressed for factors other than flight. Credit: SciTechDaily.comNew research study suggests feathered dinosaurs utilized proto-wings and tail feathers to flush out prey, supporting the flush-pursue hypothesis for the advancement of bird wings and tails.Small omnivorous and insectivorous dinosaurs may have flapped small, feathered primitive wings to scare prey out of hiding locations, according to a research study released in Scientific Reports. The authors developed a robot dinosaur named Robopteryx to examine how insects reacted to different possible terrifying habits, and speculate that the outcomes could assist explain why feathered wings progressed before they can flight in some kinds of dinosaurs.Discovery of Feathered DinosaursAlthough the remains of various species of feathered dinosaurs have been discovered, so far just members of one group of dinosaurs called Pennaraptora have been found with pennaceous plumes– the kind of plumes needed for flight. Fossils show that these established first on small primitive or proto-wings that were not strong enough for flight and whose functions are presently unknown.Hypothesis on Proto-WingsJinseok Park, Hyungpil Moon, Yuong‑Nam Lee, Sang‑im Lee, Piotr Jablonski, and colleagues assume that the proto-wings may have been used for flush-pursuit foraging, a hunting method observed in numerous types of modern insectivorous and omnivorous bird species such as the higher roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) and the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). This method includes predators utilizing display screens of contrasting-colored feathers on their wings and tails to startle victim out of hiding and into running away, at which point they can be pursued and caught.This film highlights three various methods which dinosaurs with proto-wings may have flushed their victim by visual display screens to subsequently pursue them. The grasshopper jumps/flies away in response to expanding Robotperyxs forelimbs with proto-wings. Second, the grasshopper jumps/flies away in response to folding of forelimbs with protowings. Third, the grasshopper escapes in action to upward movements of the tail.Robopteryx ExperimentThe authors developed a robotic named Robopteryx to test their hypothesis, basing it on the size, shape, and approximated motion variety of the pennaraptoran dinosaur Caudipteryx– a two-legged, peacock-sized predator that lived approximately 124 million years back. They then used Robopteryx to imitate several variations of flush-pursuit screen habits– with the full series consisting of spreading out the proto-wings and raising a tail, pausing with them outstretched, then folding them back– and observed the behavioral action of grasshoppers to the screen habits. Insects were utilized as they react to flush-pursuit display behaviour and belong to the order Orthoptera which existed simultaneously with Caudipteryx.Robopteryx stuns grasshoppers to flee in response to visual stimulation from the folding and dispersing of forelimbs geared up with proto-wings, and in response to tail movements. The video shows the robot motions slowed down 12 times.The authors discovered considerable positive associations between the use of the proto-wings in the display screen behavior and both the probability of the insect fleeing– with 93% of evaluated insects fleeing when the proto-wings were utilized compared to 47% without– and how far away Robopteryx was when they got away. They also found considerable associations in between both the presence of white patches on the proto-wings and the existence of plumes on the tail and the likelihood of the insect fleeing.Conclusions on Wing EvolutionThe authors conclude that their results with Robopteryx support the flush-pursuit hypothesis, and provide a new point of view on why feathered wings and tails may have initially evolved in dinosaurs.Reference: “Escape habits in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs” 25 January 2024, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-023-50225-x.