Illustration of the Jurassic bird Baminornis Zhenghensis, showing fossilized bones
Zhao chuang
A chinese fossil for 150 million can be the most popular bird in the world. The discovery shows that the short features of modern birds evolved much before what was thought before.
The birds evolved in theropodsTyrannosaide and Velociraptors, during the Jurassic season, the set of dinosaurs that included tyrannosaurs and velocirmeters. Archeopteryx, Found in 1961It has long been one of the first birds in the fossil record. But It is discussed in the evolutionary tree In fact, despite the feathers of wing, Archaopteryx It is similar to non-Avian thermal to have a long and long tail.
The new fossil found in Zhenghe County in Fujian province in November 2023 and has been registered for the species Baminornis Zhenghensis. Only one part of the trunk, precedent, pelvis and the back are preserved.
Baminormis lived at the same time Archaopteryx But it has a short tail similar to modern birds, encouraging the date of this evolutionary innovation for 20 million years.
“A short tail is very beneficial because it is aerodynamically beneficial and the reduction of the tail is the most dramatic change in the transition of the birds”, says Min wang In the Chinese Academy of Beijing Science, the member of the group studied fossils.
Weighs 140 to 300 grams, Baminormis was much smaller than Archaopteryx – About the size of a galejo – and seemed more than modern birds Archaopteryx He did, he said Wang.
Some parts of his body maintained the morphology of such hands, the ancestors of the dinosaurs, and his pectoral anatomy and pelvis were similar to modern birds. “This shows that different body regions evolved independently,” Wang said.
“Considering all this, I would say Baminormis It is probably the oldest reference in birds. “
That is thinking Archaopteryx Short explosions could only fly, like a FaisaBut Wang and his colleagues say Baminormest The features suggest that it has been a better aircraft than the famous contemporary contemporary.
Patrick O’Connor The new discovery in Ohio says that “Amazing fossil” is “a mosaic of birds and bird characteristics” Bird-like thermal representatives “.
“First birds like dinosaurs, shapes, sizes, and anatomy of anatomy are represented by a wonderful diversity, including modern birds,” says O’Connor. “You will see bird stalks or” similar birds like dinosaurs. “
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