Flight Feathers (Score 1)

The interesting thing about this finding is that the feathers in this dinosaur were associated with the ulna. In birds, most feather follicles are embedded in the skin. Only the flight feathers are attached to a bony structure. This is presumably because in birds, feathers form a major structural component of the wing itself. They need stiff shafts and a firm anchor to the skeletal system so as to maintain the form of the wing during flapping flight. The shape of a bat wing is maintained by a bat's modified finger bones and pterosaurs had some spine structures to support the wing membrane.

So why did this presumably non-flighted dinosaur require feathers with secure attachment to the bones of its forelimb?