Some paleontologists claim that the discovery of what appear to be feathers in the fossil of an Archosaur could force a revision of current theories on the phylogeny of Archosaurs, alter conceptions of dinosaur skin surfaces, and require scholars to credit birds with a far earlier orion than previously thought.
Paleontologists hypothesize that modern birds evolved from the family of dinosaurs that included Tyrannosaurus rex. This hypothesis would be strongly supported if evidence that dinosaurs from this family had a body covering resembling feathers could be found, but so far no such evidence has been found. Which of the following, if true, would most help the paleontologists explain why no evidence of feathered dinosaurs has yet been found?