Feathers are under-represented in the fossil record because soft tissues do not usually preserve well in sedimentary sequences. Fossil feathers are nevertheless extremely important in resolving pattern and process related to the origin of dinosaur flight. In recent years, a number of feathers have been discovered which have been mummified in amber; these feathers are preserved in three dimensions with remarkable sub-microscopic details and are especially important for our understanding of the early development of feathers. In this paper, we describe a diverse assemblage of mid-Cretaceous feathers contained within seven pieces of amber that have been recovered from northern Myanmar (Burma). These pieces include pennaceous primary feathers, contour feathers, and rachis-dominated feathers, and also a plumulaceous (downy) feather. Subcomponents of these feathers, such as barbs, barbules, and nodes are immediately recognizable. One extraordinary piece contains the distal remains of the first four primary flight feathers and a small number of possible hooklets. These pieces are discussed in terms of evolutionary development and comments are made on flight ability where appropriate. These feather-types are classified and compared with similar structures seen in Mesozoic and extant birds. We consider that integumentary feathers and ‘feather-like’ structures fall within two major structural categories (‘shafted’ and ‘non-shafted’).

Angiosperms are the single most important plant group in the current ecosystem. However, little is known about the origin and early evolution of angiosperms. Jurassic and earlier traces of angiosperms have been claimed multiple times from Europe and Asia, but reluctance to accept these records remains. To test the truthfulness of these claims, palaeobotanical records from continents other than Europe and Asia constitute a crucial test. Here I document a new angiosperm fruit, Dilcherifructus mexicana gen. et sp. nov, from the Middle Jurassic of Mexico. Its Jurassic age suggests that origin of angiosperms is much earlier than widely accepted, while its occurrence in the North America indicates that angiosperms were already widespread in the Jurassic, although they were still far away from their ecological radiation, which started in the Early Cretaceous.