Exciting news for all nature enthusiasts! 🌿 Chinese scientists have discovered the oldest short-tailed bird fossil, dating back around 150 million years, in east China's Fujian Province. This groundbreaking find suggests that birds might have evolved much earlier than we previously thought.
The fossilized bird, named Baminornis zhenghensis, was unearthed in Zhenghe County, Fujian Province. Its short tail ends in a compound bone known as the pygostyle, a feature we see in all modern birds today. This discovery indicates that the body structure of modern birds emerged during the Late Jurassic Period, which is 20 million years earlier than what scientists had believed.
What makes this fossil even more fascinating is its unique mix of traits. It boasts modern bird-like shoulder and pelvic girdles, while its hand resembles those of non-avian dinosaurs. \"This is a groundbreaking discovery. It overturns the previous situation that Archaeopteryx was the only bird found in the Jurassic Period,\" said Zhou Zhonghe, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Based on this discovery, researchers speculate that the earliest birds could trace their origins back to even earlier, possibly between 172 million to 164 million years ago.
The study, a collaboration between the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) and the Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
Reference(s):
Jurassic fossil discovery in China sheds new light on origin of birds
cgtn.com
