2009 Science News of the Year: Earth

Anchiornis huxley
In 2009, scientists announced the discovery of Anchiornis huxleyi, shown in this artist’s reconstruction. A. huxleyi, the oldest known bird-like dinosaur, had two types of feathers. Credit: Zhao Chuang, Xing Lida

Feathered dinosaur predates oldest bird
Paleontologists have unearthed a long-sought treasure — evidence of a feathered dinosaur older than Archaeopteryx, the 150-million-year-old creature often considered to be the first known bird (SN: 10/24/09, p.