Name: Remy
Age: One year, two months old

Gender: Male
Kind: Huacaya Alpaca

Home: Pennsylvania, USA

Pet of the Day: This is Remy, and his is my Huacaya Alpaca! Remy is the biggest ham you will ever meet. If you call his name he will instantly put his tail in the air (an alpaca sign of submission) and come running over with a toothy "grin". He is a wonderful cuddler and enjoys being trained for show and agility. Being a lover of food, he took right to clicker training and is willing to try just about any new trick to get his treat! After volunteering at the alpaca farm where he was born, I fell in love with his personality and trainability and decided that he would be perfect to add to my family. And he is!

He gets along great with the other alpacas. He is a roommate to another young male at the moment. He is sheeted once a year. Alpacas cannot sweat! So in the spring they must be given their hair cut. He is sporting a show cut, the fiber being left on his face, legs and tail so that it grows in properly for the fall show season. To be shorn they lay them out on the floor and stretch them out so they don’t get hurt. They use clippers like they use for sheep. The fiber is taken to the mill and turned into yarn. Many things are made from it! I have loads of socks and shoe insoles. But there are also scarves, clothing, stuffed animals, jewelry, etc. it is next to cashmere in its softness and quality.

Remy was bred and raised at Cider Press Alpacas. In case you are wondering what "huacaya" means, alpacas come in two types:   "huacaya" (like Remy) which have fiber like a teddy bear and "suri" which have fiber more like a angora rabbit. Alpacas also have no teeth on the top front of their mouth! They use the bottom teeth and the hard pallet to cut grass.

You know your are smiling!!

UCLA Shutterbug – Wyoming Outing

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

UCLA Schutterbug  -  Kisses for Schatze

Reddit/orangefever  -  Just Wrestling

UCLA Shutterbug -  Having a PowWow

UCLA Shutterbug  -  Whole Family is Asleep… Pups 7-Weeks Old

Two-faced kitten  -  It’s oddly adorable!

Radio Patriot:  A rare, two-faced kitten was born in Amity, Ore., on Tuesday. Stephanie Durkee, the owner of both the female kitten and its mother, took the two-faced cat to a vet, who say she’s in good health. (She meows "loudly from both mouths," according to the Guardian.)

Durkee told Portland’s KGW-TV the kitten — named "Deucy" — has been rejected by her mother, so she’s been feeding her warmed kitten formula from a syringe.

"The kids … came in and said, ‘Mom there’s a kitty with two heads,’" Durkee told Portland’s NBC affiliate. "And I said, ‘I think you guys are just tired, you’re crazy, that doesn’t happen.’"

Durkee, who plans to keep Deucy, says the kitten was born at "6:11 a.m. on 6/11 under the ‘Gemini’ astrological sign." Durkee said she "can’t help but wonder at the ‘double’ coincidences surrounding Deucy’s birth."”

Two-faced cats — known as Janus cats, for the two-faced Roman god who also gave us the word "January" — are unusual but not unprecedented.

In 2012, a Port Charlotte, Fla., couple’s cat gave birth to a two-faced male kitten. (They named him Harvey Dent, after the two-face "Batman" character.)

Sadly Harvey died after two days.

Examiner:

Deucy is just the latest of animals born with two faces or heads, a condition known as polycephaly, or having more than one head. Specifically, having two heads is called bicephaly or dicephaly. It is a product of the same genetic malfunction that causes conjoining, or, as in some cases, a parasitic twin.

The condition can also be a product of diprosopus, or craniofacial duplication, where, as the latter name suggests, a genetic disorder causes the parts or all of an animal’s face to be duplicated on the head.

In April a pig was born in China with two two faces, complete with two snouts, the heads meeting at a single eye (giving the pig an odd three-eyed visage).

A two-headed blue shark fetus was discovered in a pregnant shark caught in the Indian Ocean earlier this year, and, in 2011, the first ever two-headed bull shark was pulled out of the Atlantic just off the Florida Keys.

But of all animals, snakes are the most common to produce polycephalic offspring.

It is unclear if there have been any astrological significance placed on the births or their timings, but it is not unusual for people to attach supernatural or superstitious portentous import to such occurrences.

But one has to wonder, if such births are in any way significant as "signs," why there aren’t hundreds of such two-faced animals born in Washington, D. C.

Frank and Louie, the two-faced cat who was born 13 years ago, like the two-faced kitten born in Oregon, has made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest recorded Janus or two-faced cat.

“Janus cats appear to be conjoined twins, but their condition is actually not the result of incomplete separation of two embryos in the womb. It’s triggered by a protein called sonic hedgehog homolog (SHH). Yes, there’s a protein called the sonic hedgehog protein,” reported BuzzFeed in February of 2013 in an article about 13-year-old two-faced cat Frank and Louie.

Like two-faced kitten Deucy, two-faced Frank and Louie was brought into a pet hospital when he was a just one day old. Today, two-faced Frank and Louie is 13 years old and therefore has a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living two-faced cat. Maybe eventually two-faced kitten Deucy will join Frank and Louie in the Guinness Book of Records — the world is rooting for the little two-faced kitten.

TownHall: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It’s the age old and seemingly answerless question: What in the world is my dog thinking? And one that has spawned a growing market not only of scientific research but of everything from decks of pet tarot cards to television and radio shows and books by pet psychics and animal trainers.

Whether any one of them can ever provide real answers to what dogs are thinking or what drives their good or bad behavior is a matter of opinion – or belief. But pet owners can spend a lot of time and money trying.

And even if they never find a real solution, people who love their dogs admit they can learn to better connect with their pets, or sometimes just have fun trying.

Andrea Gladstone and David Radis of Encino, California, wanted to know more about what was going on in their rescue dog’s head, so they bought "The Original Dog Tarot: Divine The Canine Mind," a set of 30 cards and guidebook that were developed by Heidi Schulman, a freelance writer and former television news producer who now lives in Santa Fe, N.M.

They spread the deck on the floor, then asked LoLa why she chewed up her puppy training book and the Dog Tarot guide.

The answers, they divined from the three cards she picked – The Cat, the Pack and Justice – was that she was insecure with her place in the new home and wrecked the books to establish her security and see if they held grudges.

Radis said his wife gave him the deck of cards as a gift.

"For me it is more the fun of it than the life lessons to be learned. But I respect the tarot," he said. "I have done one reading for each of my dogs and they were both spot on. I spread the cards out and ask the dog to touch the cards with their nose or paw."

But not everyone consults the latest books for gimmicks or fun. Cathy, an entertainment paralegal in California who asked that her last name not be used, called on pet psychic Jocelyn Kessler, author of the Secret Language of Dogs, to help her communicate with her 11-year-old lab Champ when he fell ill.

Kessler, she said, "communicated with him energetically so that she could not only learn what he needed through his veterinary care, but also to understand whether he wanted us to stop medical treatments."

Through Kessler, Cathy said, she was able to learn that Champ needed fewer injections, and she was able to surround him with his favorite plants in his final days.

There is no real research to show spending on dog mind-reading or behavior-related services, but a report from the American Pet Products Association says Americans spent $53 billion on their pets last year, including nearly $4 billion on services not related to food, supplies or health care. That category, which includes grooming, pet-sitting and pampering, was the fast-growing, increasing 9.7 percent over 2011. And it is forecast to remain the fastest-growing.

And anecdotal evidence indicates pet owners are willing to spend a lot. Kessler, for example, charges about $350 a session and her book has been displayed prominently on coveted airport bookstore shelves.

Another pet psychic, Sonya Fitzpatrick, who used to have a television show on Animal Planet and now hosts a popular call-in radio show on Sirius XM, recently hosted two sold-out $500 a day workshops that promised to help owners deal with everything from dogs that pee on the rug to biting children.

Like Kessler, Fitzpatrick says she has been able to communicate with animals since she was a child.

And like Kessler, she keeps her client list private, but shares stories of being called to help with everything from caged crocodiles to finding lost cats.

Fitzpatrick offers telephone consultations, asking only that the pet owners send pictures.

"The pet can be anywhere. Telepathic communication works no matter where you are," she said.

Albuquerque veterinarian Jeff Nichol, who specializes in behavior work and writes a weekly column for the Albuquerque Journal, says he has seen a noticeable increase in pet owners who have turned to the nontraditional methods since the explosion on Animal Planet and other networks of shows involving pet trainers and other self-proclaimed experts.

He cautions against such services for behavioral or medical issues.

"Often the methods worsen the problem, and the behavior becomes more challenging to turn around," he said.

That it turn, he says, results in more pets going to shelters or other action "that is completely unnecessary if they get this thing properly evaluated."

Neither Kessler nor Fitzpatrick pretends to offer medical care, but both say they can often aid vets by opening communication about what is bothering a pet. And Kessler said she is very careful not to take on cases of, for instance, aggressive biting dogs.

For Schulman, development of the dog tarot was simply "to bring people closer to their animals."

She said she came up with the idea when she was ill, and cooped up in a small apartment with her beloved rescue dog, Bosco, who has since died.

"I noticed he was very tuned into me," she said. "He knew exactly when to leave me alone, when to bother me. We seemed to develop this nonverbal communication and he looked like he wanted to talk…. I thought if he could speak what would he say? I tried with logic. But I couldn’t figure it out logically. So I thought, ‘What if we could just invoke a little magic?"

Related:

‘Dogs Have The Intelligence of a Human Toddler’

Photos From the Frontlines–The Dogs of War 

He Doesn’t Want a Cookie… 

Are Our Pets Spiritual Assignments

Gary Stevens, aboard Preakness winner Oxbow, was going to relinquish the lead to the hard-charging Palace Malice, and he knew it. He glanced over to his right and looked at good friend Mike Smith and told him: "You go on with him, big boy, you’re moving better than me."

Belmont Stakes: Palace Malice upsets the Triple Crown winners. (AP Photo)

Was he ever.

Palace Malice seized the lead with a quarter-mile to go Saturday in the final leg of the Triple Crown and ran off to a 3¼-length victory over Oxbow at Belmont Park, with Kentucky Derby winner Orb another 1¾ lengths back in third.

"Mike rode a superb race," Stevens said. "Midway around the turn, I said, ‘Well maybe.’ But I have ridden long enough to know that he (Oxbow) was going to walk home. To finish second, I am really surprised."

Palace Malice, who came into the race with only one win in seven starts, vindicated trainer Todd Pletcher’s support of the 3-year-old colt despite a 12th place finish in the Derby.

"It’s huge. It’s huge," Pletcher said about his second Belmont win. "We always felt like he had a big one in him. We were just waiting for it to finally develop. I told (owner) Mr. (Cot) Campbell this horse is training unbelievable. I know he’s got a big run, we just need to put it all together."

The Belmont concludes a Triple Crown season in which hopes were high that Orb could break the 35-year drought without a sweep of the classics. In fact, it’s the fourth time in five years each race was won by a different horse.

Palace Malice, who skipped the Preakness, covered the 1½ miles in a slow 2:30.70 on a fast track following a 24-hour downpour. A crowd of 47,562 turned out on a warm, sunny afternoon as Tropical Storm Andrea moved out of the area.

For the second time during this Triple Crown run, Pletcher sent out five horses. He came up short in the Derby five weeks ago, skipped the Preakness and regrouped, and came through at his home track for an owner who has supported him from the start.

"It’s the mother of all great moments, I’ll tell you that," the 85-year old Campbell said. "I’m proud for Dogwood and proud for my partners, and I’m proud of Todd, one of the greatest horse trainers of all time."

Sent off at odds of 13-1, Palace Malice returned $29.60, $11.20 and $6.70. Oxbow, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, returned $9.90 and $6.10, and Orb, the 2-1 favorite trained by Shug McGaughey, paid $3.30.

"He made a good run around the turn, but we had given up so much," McGaughey said about the colt who was still ninth with a half-mile to go and just could not make up the difference. "I don’t think he got tired. He put up a pretty good run to get where he was, and those horses just weren’t coming back."

Incognito was fourth, followed by Revolutionary, the filly Unlimited Budget, Overanalyze, Vyjack, Golden Soul, Will Take Charge, Giant Finish, Midnight Taboo, Freedom Child and Frac Daddy.

Rosie Napravnik, who was aboard Unlimited Budget, became the first female to ride in all three Triple Crown races in the same year. She was trying to become the second female jockey to win a Triple Crown race.

Pletcher’s other Belmont starters were Revolutionary, Unlimited Budget, Overanalyze and Midnight Taboo.

All week, Pletcher expressed optimism that Palace Malice was ready to unleash a big effort. On June 2, the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin put in a blazing 4 furlong workout in 47.40 seconds. Pletcher called it one of the most impressive works he’d ever seen.

And it carried over to the race and gave the nation’s leading trainer his second Belmont win (he won the 2007 Belmont with the filly Rags to Riches) to go with his 2010 Derby win with Super Saver. Smith won his second Belmont, having won aboard Drosselmeyer in 2010.

"The game plan was mapped out, and it really went according to plan," Smith said. "We were laying third on the outside of Oxbow, like we wanted. At the three-eighths, Gary said, ‘Go on, little brother.’ … And we went on it with it, man."

The 14-horse field — the largest since 1996 — got off to an even start.

Frac Daddy and Freedom Child set out for the lead from their inside posts, with Oxbow not far behind. As the field came out of the turn, Oxbow had the lead heading into the long backstretch run. But unlike the Preakness, he had company up front and the pace was a bit quicker. By the time Oxbow reached the far turn, Palace Malice loomed and Orb was beginning to make a run from way back in the pack.

And that’s when Palace Malice took charge. The only question was whether anyone was going to catch him. Unlike the Derby, Orb could not complete a come from behind victory. He couldn’t even reel in the tiring Oxbow.

"It’s been fun. I’ve got no problems with anything, everything’s

fine with me," McGaughey said. "I just wish we would have showed a little better performances in the Preakness and the Belmont."

About 50,000 wild horses are in holding facilities, costing about $40 million a year, according to a report. (Scott Sonner, The Associated Press)

Denver Post: GRAND JUNCTION — A long-anticipated report on government management of wild horses and burros has reached a conclusion that all sides of this controversial issue, including the ASPCA, can agree on: The management program needs an overhaul. 

A 14-member panel assembled by the National Academy of Sciences released a report Wednesday, based on two years of research, that found the current method of managing wild horses and burros has only served to worsen the problem of overpopulation in the wild. It has allowed horse populations to grow at a rate of 15 percent to 20 percent annually and has resulted in an untenable and expensive situation of having about 50,000 wild horses in holding facilities at a cost of about $40 million a year.

The 436-page report found that the Bureau of Land Management has used some haphazard science in estimating herd sizes and in predicting how removal of animals would affect herd size and range conditions. The agency also has not done well at incorporating public opinion into its decision-making, the report found.

The $1.5 million report was commissioned by the BLM, the agency responsible for management of the wild herds under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act that mandated protection for the animals.

Wild-horse activists have long charged the agency has unnecessarily shrunk the areas where the animals are allowed to roam, removed too many of the animals from the range to accommodate livestock, and used ineffective and sometimes cruel ways of trying to control herds.

Government bureaucrats and wild horse activists were scrambling Wednesday to digest the lengthy and dense report to try to divine what it will mean for the future of mustangs on the 179 herd-management areas in the country, including four in Colorado.

Horse advocates were lauding what they view as the report’s vindication of their criticisms of the BLM’s management.

“For years we’ve been saying the BLM has been pulling numbers out of thin air,” said Ginger Kathrens, executive director of the Colorado-based Cloud Foundation, which was named for a wild palomino stallion. “Hopefully, the BLM will take this to heart.”

The controversy over management of wild horses had bedeviled former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and he said Wednesday that he hoped the report would help with a problem that has been festering for nearly four decades.

“It has had significant challenges, and many of my predecessors have sought solutions to the problem,” he said, after noting that he hasn’t seen the report yet. “I am sure that my successor is continuing to look at it. It’s a very difficult and complex problem, and I’m hoping that, as the BLM continues to look at those issues, they’ll be able to find a common-sense solution.”

His successor, Sally Jewell, could not be reached for comment. She said last month in an interview with The Denver Post that she was still undecided about how to handle the wild horse and burro issue and that she was awaiting the study to determine how best to handle the horses.

“It’s going to help identify what’s the sustained capacity of our public lands to handle our wild horses, what is the effectiveness of things like birth control methodology to try and deal with the issue,” Jewell said.

The report looked at those issues, as well as the issues of maintaining genetic diversity, estimating population and growth rates, and maintaining enough forage for the animals. It also devoted a chapter to a topic that was a welcome surprise for some involved in horse management — societal opinions.

The report recommended that the BLM find ways to involve citizens in data-gathering and other scientific practices relating to herd management so that the public will have more understanding of the issues involved in management of the horses and burros.

“I do believe the public should have input,” said Callie Hendrickson, a member of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. “But I don’t think that should be how decisions are made.”

Hendrickson suggested that the BLM should turn to local elected officials for more input on herd management in specific areas.

The report also urged the BLM to do more fertility control using three favored methods. They include administering a contraceptive drug to mares, using more of a vaccine that works on stallions and also adding a “chemical vasectomy” for stallions.

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, nlofholm@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nlofholm

Denver Post Staff writers Allison Sherry and Lynn Bartels contributed to this report.

• Osteochondrosis is one of a variety of developmental orthopedic diseases that occur in young, fast-growing dogs, typically large and giant breeds. The most common form of osteochondrosis in dogs is osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), which can cause angular limb deformities in long bones, and cartilage damage in shoulders, elbows, knees and hocks.
• Inappropriate nutrition has been identified as an important factor in the development of bone disease in big puppies. Free-feeding, overfeeding, and improper feeding of energy-dense diets, excessive calcium and mineral intake, and an imbalance of vitamin D metabolites present significant risks to growing large and giant breed puppies.
• The diets of big puppies should be carefully managed to help prevent developmental orthopedic disease. The problem in today’s young, growing dogs is not one of dietary deficiency, but rather one of “over-nutrition” caused by overfeeding and inappropriate supplementation of certain nutrients.
• To avoid “overgrowing” a large or giant breed puppy, the first step is to feed portion-controlled meals rather than free-feeding. Puppies should be maintained in optimal body condition, not maximal body condition.
• The best diet for a large breed puppy is designed to meet the nutrient requirements for growth in large breeds, contains the proper amount of calories to avoid rapid growth, and also the appropriate levels of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D, and the correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio.

By Dr. Becker

Osteochondrosis is one of several developmental orthopedic diseases that occur in young, fast-growing dogs, especially large and giant breeds like the Doberman Pinscher, the Labrador Retriever, Great Danes and Newfoundlands.

The most common form of osteochondrosis in dogs is called osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), which is a defect in bone development at the extremity of a bone. The problem is thought to be a disruption in the manufacture of bone tissue that results in injury to growth cartilage. These injuries can cause angular limb deformities in long bones, as well as damage to the cartilage in the shoulder, stifle (knee joint), hock (the joint in the rear leg below the knee), and the elbow.

Inflammatory joint disease often follows osteochondrosis, ultimately leading to degenerative joint disease.

Developmental orthopedic diseases occur during the early stages of bone growth, before the growth plates close. This crucial period (the first year of life) is when a puppy’s skeletal system is most vulnerable to physical, nutritional and metabolic damage due to increased metabolic activity. The reason large and giant breeds are at higher risk is because genetics cause their bodies to grow very rapidly. Another predisposing factor is whether a puppy’s parents developed osteochondrosis.

Nutrition Can Be a Significant Risk Factor for Bone Disease

Studies of nutritional risk factors involved in osteochondrosis have identified free-feeding and overfeeding – especially of high-energy foods designed for rapid growth – as contributors. Energy-dense diets can promote increased levels of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor, insulin and thyroid hormones. Other dietary influences include excessive calcium intake, excessive mineral intake, and an imbalance of vitamin D metabolites.

For optimal bone development in puppies, diets must include appropriate and balanced amounts of nutrients. Excessive calcium and energy (calories), plus rapid growth predispose dogs to developing osteochondrosis. When a growing dog — especially a large or giant breed — is overfed and overweight, the bones are stressed by both static and dynamic forces that can cause damage to the skeleton.

In one study, Great Dane puppies that were free-fed a diet high in energy and minerals, or a diet high in calcium, developed osteochondrosis with clearly visible symptoms.

Studies have also shown that large breed puppies fed diets with high calcium content or high calcium and phosphorus content also acquired developmental orthopedic disease.

This is because puppies aren’t able to control or limit absorption of dietary calcium and certain other minerals. Absorption occurs through the intestines, and the higher the calcium and mineral content of the diet, the greater the level of absorption and assimilation into developing bone structure. This can disturb the natural process of bone growth and result in lesions in the skeleton and joints.

Even when highly palatable, energy-dense diets are well-balanced, when free-fed to large and giant breed puppies, the risk of OCD and other orthopedic diseases is increased. This is one of many reasons I don’t recommend free-feeding any pet. Most dogs and cats will overeat if free-fed, and as you can see, this is especially hazardous to the health of growing large and giant breed puppies.

To date, no studies have found protein intake to be a factor in the development of osteochondrosis.

Large Breed Puppy Diets Should Be Carefully Managed

Careful management of the diets of large and giant breed dogs won’t eliminate every instance of developmental bone disease, but it’s a crucial step in decreasing risk factors. The problem in today’s young, growing dogs is not one of dietary deficiency, but rather one of “overnutrition” caused by overfeeding and over-supplementation.

Young large breed dogs are at higher risk of developing skeletal problems than small breed dogs, even when both are fed diets with too little or too much calcium. Even when calcium intake is optimal, big dogs have more growth-related skeletal issues than smaller breeds.

To help prevent disease, we must make every effort to control the rate at which big dogs grow by feeding only the amount of calories needed to keep their bodies lean while they develop. The first step is to feed portion-controlled meals rather than free-feeding. We want to help dogs maintain optimal body condition, not maximal body condition.

Diets should not be extremely high in calories. Many super premium dog foods on the market are highly energy-dense. By contrast, large-breed puppy foods have reduced caloric density, calcium and phosphorus levels compared with other canine growth diets.

Switching a big puppy to an adult diet to try to control growth rate is not recommended. Adult diets don’t have the calories per serving that big puppies require, so they can end up eating more food and taking in excessive levels of other nutrients, which can be risky.

The Right Way to Feed a Large or Giant Breed Puppy

The ideal diet for a large breed puppy is designed to meet the nutrient requirements for growth in large breeds, contains the proper amount of calories to avoid rapid growth, and also the appropriate levels of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D, and the correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Large and giant breed puppies continue to grow until about 18 months of age, so they should be kept on a specially designed growth diet until they are fully grown.

The goal in feeding a large or giant breed puppy is to keep him lean, with controlled growth. A healthy, large or giant breed puppy will thrive on a portion-controlled, balanced, species-appropriate diet. You can feed an ideally balanced homemade diet or an excellent quality commercially available food.

What about those large breed puppy foods? Traditional puppy foods often provide much higher calorie content than large breed puppies require, causing them to gain too much weight too quickly. This is why pet food manufacturers began producing formulas specifically for large breed puppies.

These are typically diets lower in calorie density (the number of calories per cup or gram of food) than a regular puppy diet. They’re also usually lower in calcium on an energy basis.

These are two very important factors for reducing too-rapid growth in big puppies. Some adult foods may also be low calorically, but often they have high calcium content on an energy basis, which is not what you want for a growing large or giant breed pup.

If you’re going to feed kibble to a large breed puppy, I recommend you look for special large breed puppy formulas or a formula (preferably a balanced, raw food diet) that is "Approved for all life stages." This means the food is appropriate for growing puppies or adult dogs.

I do not recommend feeding a traditional (high growth) puppy food to large breed puppies.

Fox News: A birdlike dinosaur from the Middle/Late Jurassic of China could be the first of the bird group. (Masato Hattori)

The skeleton of a Jurassic dinosaur from China could also be the oldest known bird, scientists report.

The fossil of Aurornis xui was found last year in a museum at the Fossil and Geology Park in Yizhou, China, long after a farmer first dug it up in the Liaoning Province. The feathery specimen represents the most ancient of the avialans, the group that includes birds and their relatives since their split from nonavian dinosaurs.

The research also reconfirms the birdlike fossil Archaeopteryx as an avialan, a classification that was challenged by some recent research. [Avian Ancestors: Dinosaurs That Learned to Fly]

Not everyone agrees that the new specimen is strictly a bird. "In my opinion, it’s a bird," study author Pascal Godefroit, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, told Nature News. Even so, he added, "The differences between birds and [nonavian] dinosaurs are very thin."

"Traditionally, we have defined birds as things like Archaeopteryx and closer to things like modern birds," vertebrate paleontologist Luis Chiappe of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, who was not involved in the study, told LiveScience. "If you stick to the definition, this thing is not earliest known bird," Chiappe said, but that’s missing the point, he said. What matters, is that it’s a very interesting animal that "still helps us understand better the origin of birds," he said.

Aurornis xui was a feathered dinosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic period about 150 million years ago, analysis shows. It was about 1.6 feet from beak tip to tail tip, and possessed small, sharp teeth and long forelimbs.

The creature probably couldn’t fly, Godefroit said, but may have used its wings to glide between trees. The fossil’s feathers aren’t well-preserved, but the hip bones and other features strongly suggest it was a relative of modern birds, he said.

The researchers assert that Aurornis displaces Archaeopteryx as the oldest avialan, placing Archaeopteryx further along in the avialan lineage. Since Archaeopteryx was a flying creature, its placement among avialans means dinosaurs would have only had to develop powered flight once during evolutionary history.

The new findings also classify another family of birdlike dinosaurs, known as Troodontidae, as a sister group to the avialans. This reshuffling of the bird-dinosaur family tree suggests birds and nonavian dinosaurs diverged in Asia during the Middle to Late Jurassic.

The findings are detailed in the May 30 issue of the journal Nature.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Patriotic Memorial Day Pet Photos