This theory is based on the discovery of a fossilized psittacosaurus, which had scales similar to those of modern reptiles across most of its body, but feather-specific skin on its tail only, according to a new study in the journal Nature Communications.

Over the last 30 years, the fossil record has surprised scientists in regard to feather evolution. Future discoveries of fossil feathers may help us understand how dinosaurs and their relatives evolved flight, warm-blooded metabolisms, and how they communicated with each other.

Paleontologists at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland have discovered that some feathered dinosaurs had scaly skin like reptiles today, thus shedding new light on the evolutionary transition from scales to feathers.