When thinking about dinosaurs, one usually imagines T-rex like creatures, fierce and muscular, beautiful in their own beastly way. Crocodiles, rhinos and elephants also take us millions of years back in an effort to imagine a young Earth populated by massive animals and savage vegetation. Recent discoveries, on the other hand, suggest that birds are directly connected to dinosaurs. Recently, in Argentina, scientists have discovered a predatory dinosaur, about the size of Tyrannosaurus Rex, with a breathing mechanism very similar to what birds use today.

Aerosteon riocoloradensis, the name scientists gave the animal, lived 85 million years ago and it is believed it was covered in feathers. Though it is not the first dinosaur covered in feathers, Aeroston proves that evolution is more complicated than anybody ever believed. Birds and dinosaurs, though connected, are pulled apart by dead links, researches not knowing the exact evolutionary steps nature took when going from a feather-covered predatory dinosaur to a, let’s say, canary.

Aeroston is a fascinating find because it couldn’t fly and most probably used its bird-like features for adjusting his body temperature. The bird-like breathing mechanism would help it to cool down, while the feathers provided the role of keeping the animal warm. The air-sacs also explain how predatory dinosaurs could go to fantastic physical efforts and manage to keep the situation under control. Unlike lungs, air-sacs make breathing easier, this also explaining why birds fly higher and faster than bats.

The Aeroston fossils were found in 1996 but the very meticulous process of separating the fossilized bones from the rock took 12 years. Fortunately the 12 years of scrubbing off rock paid off and paleontologists have revealed another clue regarding the complex steps of evolution.