Chinese fossil of a Jurassic bird rewrites history of avian evolution
The fossil of a Jurassic bird unearthed in southeastern China has major implications for the history of avian evolution, researchers say.
The fossil of a Jurassic bird unearthed in southeastern China has major implications for the history of avian evolution, researchers say.
The newly discovered Baminornis zhenghensis, a quail-sized bird, roamed the skies some 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, meaning it is among the oldest birds known to mankind, along with the iconic Archaeopteryx that was discovered in Germany in 1862 and is of similar age.
“For more than 150 years now, Archaeopteryx has stood alone,” said Steve Brusatte, a University of Edinburgh paleontologist who wrote a commentary accompanying the study.
“During all of that time, it has remained as the only unquestionable bird fossil from the Jurassic Period,” he told NBC News in an email.
While there have been other birdlike Jurassic fossils found here and there, Brusatte said, there was a “huge mystery and a frustrating gap” in the fossil record: If Archaeopteryx was flying by then, other birds must have been too. So where were their fossils?
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