It’s kinda of a mystery, and I’m not sure I can solve it, but…
… what do you call those things on its rump?!
Protofeathers
Quills
Type I feathers
Ornithofibres (variation of pycnofibres, British spelling and everything)
Dinofuzz type II (typical dinofuzz, sensus Sinosauropteryx, would be “type I”)
I invite viewers to suggest something else … more viable. It doesn’t matter whether they are homologous or not to Prum’s type I feathers/protofeathers/dinofuzz (although I am sure it would help in figuring our WHAT they are). This is strictly about trying to find out what these curvy, bent over structures could reasonably be called.
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Jaime A. Headden
“Quills” seems to be winning, and I think for good reason. It’s much more appropriate descriptive term than anything involve fuzz, and it’s more phylogenetically appropriate than anything involving feathers since it doesn’t presume homology but leaves it on the table as a hypothesis to be tested.
I agree with Mike.
Yes, I agree with quills for the name too, counting with the fact it is already diffused under this term.
The first technical description of this specimen referred to them as “bristle-like structures” (Mayr et al., 2002).
Why is “quills” a more popular option than “bristles”?
Because they’re hollow.