small bird fills big fossil gap
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

With 2-pronged tail

Small bird fills big fossil gap

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Small bird fills big fossil gap

Archaeopteryx, 150m year old fossil
Paris - Arab Today

The 115-million-year-old remains of a tiny toothed bird with a two-pronged tail resembling a pair of darts have filled knowledge gaps about feather evolution, scientists reported Tuesday.

The remarkably-preserved 3-D specimen from northeast Brazil is the oldest bird fossil yet from Gondwana, the supercontinent that broke up into today's southern landmasses.

Until now, birds with this unusual and now extinct tail design were known to have lived only in China, which was not part of Gondwana, during this period of Earth's history.

"The bird looks like a small hummingbird," study co-author Ismar Carvalho of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro told AFP.

"It has big eyes, plumes (feathers) surrounding the body and two long feathers in the tail. There are also teeth in his beak."

The critter measured about six centimetres (2.4 iches) from the tip of its nose to the beginning of its double-shafted, ribbon-like tail.

Not yet given a name, the new bird belonged to a group known as Enantiornithes whose members had teeth and clawed wings, and are not thought to have left any living descendants.

The fossil is exceptional in that the impression of the bird, left in rock, has not been totally flattened out.

Instead, the imprint retains some volume, which in turn greatly helps understanding of the bird's shape and possible motion.

The team also found rows of spots distributed symmetrically along the tail feathers, which they took to be the remains of a colour pattern.

Given that the plumes did not appear to have been useful for body balance or flight, they were probably used for sexual display, species recognition or visual communication, the researchers concluded.

The earliest known relative of birds is generally agreed to be Archaeopteryx, considered a transitional species from non-avian dinosaurs with feathers which lived about 150 million years ago.

The study appears in the journal Nature Communications.
Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

small bird fills big fossil gap small bird fills big fossil gap

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

small bird fills big fossil gap small bird fills big fossil gap

 



GMT 15:46 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Festive Fashion by Dubai-based designer ASMARAÏA

GMT 22:29 2017 Monday ,10 July

Spanish queen cancels jubilee trip to London

GMT 11:21 2017 Wednesday ,15 November

UN condemns N. Korea for firing missiles as people starve

GMT 06:37 2017 Sunday ,02 July

Citizen releases two new models for Citizen L

GMT 14:38 2017 Sunday ,08 October

Trio takes chemistry Nobel for ‘cool’ method

GMT 07:01 2017 Tuesday ,14 February

Ready for intense times

GMT 20:26 2017 Wednesday ,08 March

At least 19 die in fire in Guatemala juvenile center

GMT 16:22 2017 Friday ,10 February

Makkah governor inaugurates projects in Rabigh

GMT 16:49 2018 Thursday ,18 October

Vidal fined 800,000 euros for Munich nightclub fight

GMT 14:04 2013 Thursday ,18 July

Chinese automakers rev up overseas expansion

GMT 23:43 2017 Tuesday ,14 March

Internationally renowned speaker to visit Dubai
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday