From about 66.7 million years ago, such an ancient fossil of an anatomically modern bird had never been found before.
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Unearthed in Belgium and named Asteriornis maastrichtensis or ‘wonder chicken’, the fossil of a dinosaur-era bird features an unprecedented look at the early evolution and origins of modern birds, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
The scientists involved confirmed that the skull in question, which was found hidden in a rock, belonged to the oldest known anatomically modern bird and who lived a few years ago 66.7 million years. To analyze it, the specialists resorted to computerized axial tomography technologies, after which they detailed that it shares the structure of the skull with modern land birds such as chickens, turkeys, quail and pheasants, and also with ducks, geese and swans.
“It is one of the fossils of bird skulls best preserved of any age, from anywhere in the world. We almost had to pinch ourselves when we saw him, knowing that he lived at such an important moment in Earth’s history, ” highlighted study lead author Daniel Field.
These specialists consider that the finding may help clarify why the birds survived the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period, while the dinosaurs failed to survive.
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“The origins of modern bird diversity are shrouded in mystery. Other than knowing that they appeared sometime towards the end of the age of dinosaurs, we have very little fossil evidence for them,” said co-author Albert Chen. “This fossil gives us a first direct insight into what modern birds were like during the early stages of their evolutionary history,” he added.
According to Field, the fossil shows that at least some modern birds of those times had a fairly small body and lived near the seashore. Specialists hope that this discovery marks a new era of fossil finds that can help “clarify how, when and where modern birds first evolved.”
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