CHALK up another evolutionary first for dinosaurs. A little predatory dinosaur with the implausibly cute name Bambiraptor evolved opposable fingers some 75 million years ago, long before our ancestors developed opposable thumbs.
Phil Senter of Lamar State College in Orange, Texas, used models of bones to compare the arm movements of Bambiraptor with those of another well-preserved dromeosaur, Deinonychus. He found that both animals could hold prey in their arms and use them to bring objects to their mouths. But he was surprised to find that, unlike other dinosaurs, Bambiraptor could also put the tips of the outer…
