2 Jurassic Fossils Could Be Earliest True Birds Ever Found

150-million-year-old fossil shows early bird diversification in the Jurassic Period
The bird has a short tail ending in a pygostyle, an important aerodynamic innovation moving the center of mass forward toward the wings.
Two Jurassic Fossils Could Be The Earliest True Birds Ever Found
Two fossils suggest that birds were thriving and diversifying in China as the Jurassic Period closed, new research reveals. Given the contentiousness of avian origins, however, the debate may have a fair way to run.
Scientists Discover 'Groundbreaking' Jurassic Fossil That Could Overhaul the Evolutionary History of Birds
Researchers have discovered a 149-million-year-old bird fossil in southeastern China, featuring a short tail structure that could rewrite the evolutionary history of birds. As detailed in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature,
Why this Jurassic bird fossil from China might rewrite evolutionary history
The short-tailed find with the forelimb of a raptor is an extremely rare example of the transition from dinosaurs to birds Chinese palaeontologists have found what could be the world's oldest bird fossil,
Oldest Jurassic fossil discovery sheds new light on bird origins
A short-tailed bird fossil, stated to be the oldest dating back about 150 million years, was discovered by Chinese scientists in east China’s Fujian Province shedding a new light on the origin of the birds,
earth20h
Earliest modern bird lived in Antarctica 69 million years ago
Certain birds that gave rise to today’s ducks and geese found sanctuary in Antarctica during a mass extinction event 66 ...
After the asteroid, the earliest bird ancestors thrived in Antarctica
With its glaciers and sub-zero temperatures, Antarctica hardly seems like a place of refuge. However, the now icy continent ...
Scientists Just Found The Oldest Modern Bird Buried in the Antarctic Ice
For decades, scientists have wondered at the taxonomy of Vegavis iaai— an ancient avian specimen that lived in what is now ...
Phys.org on MSN7d
Cretaceous fossil from Antarctica reveals earliest modern bird
Digital reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous (~69 million years old) crown bird Vegavis iaai that was completed following ...
Earliest Bird Discovery May Settle Long-Running Mystery
"Few birds are as likely to start as many arguments among paleontologists as 'vegavis,'" said professor Christopher Torres.
Smithsonian Magazine8d
Paleontologists Discover Fossil of the Oldest Known Modern Bird—but It Raises More Questions Than It Answers
Mark Witton, 2025. The Chicxulub impactor smashed into Earth, wiped out around 75 percent of our planet’s animals and ended ...
EurekAlert!7d
Rare bird skull from the age of dinosaurs helps illuminate avian evolution
A new study in Nature describing a fossil of a nearly complete and intact bird skull from Antarctica is shedding light on the ...
StudyFinds on MSN3d
‘Weird and wonderful’: Antarctic fossil forces scientists to redraw the bird family tree
Discover the remarkable bird fossil from Antarctica that is rewriting the story of bird evolution. Learn how this 69-million-year-old bird challenges previous theories.
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Scientists discover skull of oldest known modern bird
An asteroid impact near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, ...