And now two researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have unveiled the clearest picture yet of how dinosaurs’ proto-feathers became the soft and vibrant feathers we know today.

Scientists believe feathers evolved from simple structures called proto-feathers, found in some dinosaurs. Early feathers were simple, straw-like tubes, unlike modern branched feathers.

The "proto-feathers" may have been used to keep the smaller dinosaurs warm in polar habitats Georgia Slater is a staff editor on the Parents team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2018.

Mar. 20, 2025 — Feathers, essential for thermoregulation, flight, and communication in birds, originate from simple appendages known as proto-feathers, which were present in certain dinosaurs.By ...