Popular Fragments

Protoavis has never fully ascended to the popularity of an animal that was whole or to the kind of animal that Protoavis really had the potential to be. Lacking the solid evidence that proves that the fossil is or is not a chimeric group of fossils, we can never be entirely sure of the nature of Protoavis. If it is a very early bird it pushes back the origin of birds into another age (the Triassic) and makes birds even more ancient than previously thought. If it is a theropod, but not a bird, then Protoavis is a bipedal dinosaur well on its way to the building blocks of bird origins despite not being a bird. The alternative, that it is a group of fossils, makes the remaining material of little use and uninformative. Whatever one decides, there is a lot of literature that needs to be examined in order to make an informed decision.