Smallest Bird Fossil Found: 127-million-year-old Baby Bird Belonged To The Enantiornithine Family Discovered
Researchers further say that the discovery gives a peek into the lives of the ancient long-extinct bird that lived between 250 and 66 million years ago. The study revealed that the chick probably could not fly at this stage.
Scientists have unveiled one of the smallest fossils that is helping them to understand how early birds came into the world in the age of dinosaurs. The fossil of a 127-million-year-old bird belonged to a primitive group of birds that shared the planet with the dinosaurs. Researchers further say that the discovery gives a peek into the lives of the ancient long-extinct bird that lived between 250 and 66 million years ago. The research is published in Nature Communications, reveals that the bird belonged to the enantiornithine family. This group contained many specimens, most of which had teeth and clawed fingers on each wing, but otherwise looked like a modern bird.
Luis Chiappe, from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and study's co-author said, “This new discovery, together with others from around the world, allows us to peek into the world of ancient birds that lived during the age of dinosaurs. It is amazing to realise how many of the features we see among living birds had already been developed more than 100 million years ago.”
The specimen measures less than five centimetre and would have stood no higher than a human little finger and it weighed just 10 grams when it was alive. It died shortly after it hatched, thus leaving a unique opportunity for the scientists to study the bone structure of young prehistoric avians. What makes this fossil so important is the fact that it died long after its birth; a critical stage in a bird’s skeletal formation. The study explained that the chick probably could not fly at this stage.
Researchers say that studying the process of bone development can explain a lot about a young bird’s life. It can help them to understand everything from whether it could fly or if needed to stay with its parents just like modern day species, lover birds or could survive on its own just like the independent chickens. The study further suggests that the enantiornithines were diverse in their behaviour and development.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2018 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).