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Peacock Inherited Show-off Trait From Dinosaur Ancestors, New Study Suggests

A peacock takes a sunbath on a cold Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at the zoo in Dortmund, Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A peacock takes a sunbath on a cold Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at the zoo in Dortmund, Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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Peacock Inherited Show-off Trait From Dinosaur Ancestors, New Study Suggests

A peacock takes a sunbath on a cold Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at the zoo in Dortmund, Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A peacock takes a sunbath on a cold Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at the zoo in Dortmund, Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A new dinosaur fossil revealed that the show-off tendency in some birds, mostly peacocks, dates back to millions of years.

The new species, Ubirajara jubatus (the Latin meaning of the Lord of the Spear), was chicken-sized with a mane of long fur down its back and stiff ribbons projecting out and back from its shoulders, features never before seen in the fossil record. It is thought its flamboyant features were used to dazzle mates or intimidate foes.

An international team of scientists from the University of Portsmouth, and the State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, Germany discovered the new species while examining fossils in Karlsruhe´s collection. The study was published on December 14 in the journal Cretaceous Research.

"What is especially unusual about the beast is the presence of two very long, probably stiff ribbons on either side of its shoulders that were probably used for display, for mate attraction, inter-male rivalry or to frighten off foes," said the study's lead author David Martill in a report published on the website of the Portsmouth University.

The ribbons are not scales or fur, nor are they feathers in the modern sense. They appear to be structures unique to this animal, which makes one ask: Why adorn yourself in a way that makes you more obvious to both your prey and to potential predators? "The truth is that for many animals, evolutionary success is about more than just surviving, you also have to look good if you want to pass your genes on to the next generation," Martill explained.

Modern birds are famed for their elaborate plumage and displays that are used to attract mates -- the peacock's tail and male birds-of-paradise are textbook examples of this. Ubirajara shows us that this tendency to show off is not a uniquely avian characteristic, but something that birds inherited from their dinosaur ancestors, as indicated this unique fossil.

Ubirajara jubatus lived about 110 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Cretaceous period, and is closely related to the European Jurassic dinosaur. It is the first non-avian dinosaur to be described from Brazil's Crato Formation, a shallow inland sea laid down about 110 million years ago.

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Varieties

Hurricane Hone Sweeps Past Hawaii, Dumping Enough Rain to Ease Wildfire Fears

This Aug. 25, 2024 satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Hone passing south of Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)
This Aug. 25, 2024 satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Hone passing south of Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)
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Hurricane Hone Sweeps Past Hawaii, Dumping Enough Rain to Ease Wildfire Fears

This Aug. 25, 2024 satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Hone passing south of Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)
This Aug. 25, 2024 satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Hone passing south of Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)

Hurricane Hone passed just south of Hawaii on Sunday, dumping so much rain that the National Weather Service called off its red flag warnings that strong winds could lead to wildfires on the drier sides of the islands.

Meanwhile, the eastern Pacific saw a new threat emerge as Tropical Storm Hector formed, packing top sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph). There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect as Hector churned far out at sea, the National Hurricane Center said, The AP reported.

Hone (pronounced hoe-NEH) had top winds of 85 mph (140 kph) Sunday morning as it swirled slowly past the Big Island, centered about 45 miles (72 kilometers) off its southernmost point, according to Jon Jelsema, a senior forecaster at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. He said tropical storm force winds were blowing across the island’s southeast-facing slopes, carrying up to a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain.

Floods closed Highway 11 between Kona and Hilo, and a higher-altitude alternative, the Cane Road, was closed by flooding as well, isolating properties like the Aikane Plantation Coffee Co. outside Pahala, where owner Phil Becker said his 10-inch (25-centimeter) rain gauge overflowed in the deluge.

“We’ve got quite a lot of flood damage, the gulches are running full speed ahead and they’re overflowing the bridges, so we’re trapped down here, we can’t get in or out,” Becker said Sunday.

Becker said his plantation is off the grid, powered with batteries charged by solar electricity, and his family is safe, so they have no reason to evacuate. The weather may even prove beneficial: “We’ve been in a drought situation so the coffee is probably loving all this rain,” he said.

Hurricane Gilma, meanwhile, weakened to a still-major Category 3 hurricane Saturday night, but it was far east of Hawaii and forecast to weaken into a depression before it reaches the islands.

Shelters were opened as Hurricane Hone blew in and beach parks on the eastern side of the Big Island were closed due to dangerously high surf, Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth said.

Jelsema offered a vivid metaphor for the rainfall: “As the rain gets pushed up the mountain terrain it wrings it out, kind of like wringing out a wet towel,” he said.

“It’s been really soaking those areas, there’s been flooding of roads. Roads have been cut off by high flood waters there in the windward sections of the big island, and really that’s the only portion of the state that’s had much flooding concern at this point,” he said.

Hone, whose name is Hawaiian for “sweet and soft,” poked at memories still fresh of last year's deadly blazes on Maui, which were fueled by hurricane-force winds. Red flag alerts are issued when warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds combine to raise fire dangers. Most of the archipelago is already abnormally dry or in drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.

The Aug. 8, 2023, blaze that torched the historic town of Lahaina was the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century, with 102 dead. Dry, overgrown grasses and drought helped spread the fire.

Calvin Endo, a Waianae Coast neighborhood board member who lives in Makaha, a leeward Oahu neighborhood prone to wildfires, has worried for years about dry brush on private property behind his home. He's taken matters into his own hands by clearing the brush himself, but he's concerned about nearby homes abutting overgrown vegetation.

“All you need is fire and wind and we’ll have another Lahaina,” Endo said as the storm approached. “I notice the wind started to kick up already."

The cause of the Lahaina blaze is still under investigation, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds. The state’s two power companies, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, were prepared to shut off power if necessary to reduce the chance that live, damaged power lines could start fires, but they later said the safety measures would not be necessary as Hone blew past the islands.

Roth said a small blaze that started Friday night in Waikoloa, on the dry side of the Big Island, was brought under control without injuries or damage.