I think finds like this are definitely important to
our overall understanding of life on Earth (and
reality in general). It's also important because it
forces us to keep in mind that fuzz need not evolve
solely (or even at all) for the purpose of insulation
(I certainly don't hear any marine biologists calling
this guy warm-blooded).
If it were only known from fossils then I'd certainly
hope that there would be great reluctance in accepting
it. Skepticism keeps science honest. It was skepticism
that exposed Piltdown man, "Archaeoraptor" and the
alleged human clone cells.
Even though we are 99.9% sure that dogs came from
wolves and that water is composed of two hydrogens and
an oxygen, it still pays to question the mainstream
views now and again (preferably with valid doubts, and
not just hand waving, "I don't like it" arguments). As
such I can't really condone the works of the BAND
crowd, nor Horner's views on _T.rex_. Still, I am glad
that they are there. It would be nice if Horner didn't
get as much air time with these particular views, but
it's still good to ask these things every now and
again.
Hell, just think of where dinosaurs (and knowledge of
animal thermophysiology in general) would still be if
Ostrom, Bakker et al didn't question the mainstream
view of dinosaurs?
Jason
"I am impressed by the fact that we know less about many modern [reptile]
types than we do of many fossil groups." - Alfred S. Romer
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