'He began to cry, and almost fell to the floor': The fluffy fossil that finally showed the world that birds are dinosaurs
By Steve Brusatte
Published on April 28, 2026.
The discovery of a fossil fossil in China in 1996 led to the discovery of the first feathered dinosaur, Archaeopteryx, which provided the first hint that birds and dinosaurs may be related. The fossil was discovered in the 1860s and was the oldest and most primitive creature known to have feathers. However, paleontologist John Ostrom, who had previously been leading a group of tourists to dinosaur dig sites in China, discovered the fossil in 1996. The discovery led paleontologists from around the world to converge on the American Museum of Natural History for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's annual meeting in New York for the annual meeting. Ostrom was handed the photos to Ostrom and their colleagues, Pei-ji Chen, who claimed they were the final piece of evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs. The Chinese authorities barred publication of the photos before they published a formal description of the fossil and its name was given to Sinosauropteryx.
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