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Researchers utilized robotic and computer-simulated models of pennaraptorans to demonstrate that early protowings likely served display functions for hunting insects rather than facilitating flight. This study highlights a shift toward active behavioral experimentation with extinct species, validating hypotheses derived from modern bird analogs through field tests and neural response measurements. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that visual luring tactics preceded the evolution of aerial capability in feathered dinosaurs.

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Simulated Dinosaurs Show Wings First Lured Insects to Prey

Quantum ZeitgeistMay 22, 20265 min read

Researchers used digital models of dinosaurs to suggest early wings weren’t for flight, but display—potentially luring insects as prey, like some.

Robotic and computer-simulated dinosaurs are offering a new perspective on the evolution of flight, suggesting that wings may have initially served a purpose other than taking to the skies. Researchers focused on pennaraptorans, small, feathered dinosaurs whose “protowings” were likely unsuitable for flight, according to Minyoung Son, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Inspired by observations of modern bird behavior in the American West, zoologist Piotr Jablonski hypothesized that dinosaur feathers were first used for display and hunting; he thought that…

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