The evolution of birds from feathered avian dinosaurs is characterized by the gradual increase in the ability of flight, and evolution of the beak from a mouth of teeth.
In the Cretaceous time of the dinosaurs there was a wide variety transitional species living in the forests at the same time.
From: Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers | Science | Smithsonian
Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers
A skeleton from the Cretaceous found in Japan reveals an early bird with a tail nub resembling the avians of today
image: https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/4goW...e27/life-restoration-of-fukuipteryx-prima.jpg
Life restoration of Fukuipteryx prima. (Masanori Yoshida )
By Riley Black
SMITHSONIAN.COM
NOVEMBER 14, 2019
raptor-like dinosaur. Dozens of fossils uncovered and described during the last three decades have illuminated much of this deep history, but the rock record can still yield surprises. A fossil recently found in Japan is one such unexpected avian that raises questions about what else may await discovery.
The skeleton, named Fukuipteryx prima, was described by Fukui Prefectural University paleontologist Takuya Imai and colleagues today in Communications Biology. And while numerous birds of similar geologic age have been named in the past few decades, the details of these bones and where they were found have experts a-flutter.
The 120 million-year-old fossil was discovered in the summer of 2013 while searching for fossils at Japan’s Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry. “One of my colleagues at Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum spotted tiny bones in a block of siltstone,” Imai says. At the time, it wasn’t clear what creature the bones belonged to, but once the encasing rock was chipped away, the structure of the fossil became clear. The skeleton was an early bird, and an unusual one at that.
Small bodies and hollow bones have made birds relatively rare finds in the fossil record. Only a few unique fossil deposits, like China’s 125 million-year-old Jehol Biota or the United States’ 50 million-year-old Green River Formation, allow paleontologists to get a good look at ancient avians. To find a well-preserved fossil bird outside such places of exceptional preservation represents a noteworthy paleontological discovery, and Fukuipteryx in Japan adds another significant spot on the map for fossil birds.
Read more: Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers | Science | Smithsonian
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In the Cretaceous time of the dinosaurs there was a wide variety transitional species living in the forests at the same time.
From: Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers | Science | Smithsonian
Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers
A skeleton from the Cretaceous found in Japan reveals an early bird with a tail nub resembling the avians of today
image: https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/4goW...e27/life-restoration-of-fukuipteryx-prima.jpg
Life restoration of Fukuipteryx prima. (Masanori Yoshida )
By Riley Black
SMITHSONIAN.COM
NOVEMBER 14, 2019
raptor-like dinosaur. Dozens of fossils uncovered and described during the last three decades have illuminated much of this deep history, but the rock record can still yield surprises. A fossil recently found in Japan is one such unexpected avian that raises questions about what else may await discovery.
The skeleton, named Fukuipteryx prima, was described by Fukui Prefectural University paleontologist Takuya Imai and colleagues today in Communications Biology. And while numerous birds of similar geologic age have been named in the past few decades, the details of these bones and where they were found have experts a-flutter.
The 120 million-year-old fossil was discovered in the summer of 2013 while searching for fossils at Japan’s Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry. “One of my colleagues at Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum spotted tiny bones in a block of siltstone,” Imai says. At the time, it wasn’t clear what creature the bones belonged to, but once the encasing rock was chipped away, the structure of the fossil became clear. The skeleton was an early bird, and an unusual one at that.
Small bodies and hollow bones have made birds relatively rare finds in the fossil record. Only a few unique fossil deposits, like China’s 125 million-year-old Jehol Biota or the United States’ 50 million-year-old Green River Formation, allow paleontologists to get a good look at ancient avians. To find a well-preserved fossil bird outside such places of exceptional preservation represents a noteworthy paleontological discovery, and Fukuipteryx in Japan adds another significant spot on the map for fossil birds.
Read more: Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers | Science | Smithsonian
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! Give the gift of Smithsonian
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
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