Did fibers and filaments become feathers?

A variety of filamentary structures on the fossil of a small theropod dinosaur found in China may provide new insight into the evolution of feathers, say the scientists who unearthed the remains.

The researchers haven’t been able to identify the species of the dinosaur because many of the fragile bones in the 60-centimeter-long fossil shattered when the slab containing the remnant was split apart.