The new 150 million year old fossil has rewritten the history of bird evolution-explains a biologist

Fossil discoveries unlock the chapters of our planet’s preserved history. Recently, a fundamental finding in China has rewritten a central page in the Aviaan Evolution Book.

A 150 million year old fossil of Bamornis zhenghensisis– a bird that holds a mix of dinosaurian and modern features – has emerged from the late Jurassic deposits of the Fujian province.

For decades, Archeopteryx reigned as the only representative of the birds of the Jurassic era. However Baminornis Not only does it challenge that notion, but it also reveals a more diverse and complex view of early bird evolution.

We are now witnesses of an evolutionary mosaic where traits appear, disappear and reappear, offering new knowledge of the transition from dinosaurs to modern birds.

The miracle of Baminornis

Detected at the ZHEWHE district outputs, Bamornis zhenghensisis It is the first final bird with short tail from the Jurassic period. Unlike her famous counterpart Archeopteryx, which sports a long tail, reptile, Baminornis Possesses a melted pygostyle-a composite tail pillar that supports fan-shaped tail feathers.

This adaptation, essential for the aerodynamic efficiency of modern birds, shifts the center of mass forward, allowing more versatile flight. Paleontologists appreciate that Baminornis It weighed about 100-130 grams and was approximately the size of a dove, making it one of the smallest but more evolutionary (early birds) aircraft of its time.

The listing of the traits it boasts is really stunning: while the shoulder and pelvis band have a wonderful resemblance to modern birds, its hand holds primitive dimensions, similar to dinosaurs. This is the classic evolution of the mosaic, where different parts of the anatomy evolve at a distinct rate.

The discovery suggests that the birds were diversified much earlier than it was once thought and also asked questions about how and when these main flight adaptations emerged. Researchers are now proposing that the origin of modern bird characteristics can be traced almost 20 million years ago than previously believed.

By reassessing Archeopteryx

For over 150 years, Archeopteryx It has been a poster of bird evolution. Discovered in Germany’s Solnhofen limestone, this iconic fossil has long symbolized the transitional phase between non-Avian dinosaurs and birds.

With his wings with the feather and the tail of the reptiles, Archeopteryx It amazed the scientific world and borrowed the support of the theory of evolution of Darwin. However, the closest examination of his morphology revealed more than he fulfills the eye.

Long, bone tail – a work of its dinosaurian past – harshly controls with the short modern tail of Bamornis zhenghensisiscausing the aforementioned reassessment of his country to the evolutionary tree.

Recent studies have even cast doubt on whether Archeopteryx should be considered a “real” bird or more precisely a relative of deinonychosaurian dinosaurs. Its mixture of bird and non-Avian traits underlines the complexity of the transition.

ABOUT Baminornis Entering the stage, paleontologists are forced to review long assumptions for Jurassic Avifauna. The developing consensus is that while Archeopteryx There must be a critical specimen, it can only represent one branch of a once -diversity tree of early birds whose members have been lost in the past.

Opposite anatomical features between Archeopteryx AND Bamornis zhenghensisis Show that the evolution of flight -related adaptations was not a linear process, but rather a branch route marked by experimentation and rapid diversification.

A lonely rod and his non -nameless kin

In the same excavation that gave Bamornis zhenghensisisThe researchers also discovered a lonely desire strip – a brush – believed to belong to another early bird species.

In modern birds, brush It serves as a critical component of the flight apparatus, providing an anchor point for the muscles and contributing to the biomechanics of the wing movement. However, the isolated nature of this fossil has prevented scientists from assigning it to a new taxon eventually.

Advanced geometric morphometric and phylogenetic analyzes suggest that this rod of desires may belong to ornituromorpha, a kada that later caused the wide variety of modern birds during the Cretan period.

The presence of this brush together Baminornis It implies that a richer and more complex poultry ecosystem than previously predicted in the Jurassic period. It raises the tantalizing opportunity that numerous bird lines, each experimenting with various flight adaptations, co -existed and competed in ancient ecosystems.

Finding strengthens the argument that the evolution of modern bird traits began earlier than early Cretaceous. Moreover, it serves as a reminder that our current fossil record is simply a picture – a brief appearance in an evolutionary tapestry that is much more complicated than the linear models of the past can suggest.

A new chapter in the evolution of the birds

Together, these discoveries warn of a seismic shift in our understanding of poultry. Coexistence of Bamornis zhenghensisis With the other remnants of the plane, including the enigmatic desire bar, indicates that the roots of modern birds extend deeper into Jurassic than we have ever imagined.

For evolutionary biologists, this opens new windows in the past – one that forces us to review the selective processes and pressures that gave it to the refined locomotive and, after all, the unparalleled diversity of birds today.

At the end, Baminornis And his contemporaries remind us that evolution is not a straight line, but a branching network of evidence and adaptations. With each new discovery, we take another step to understand the complex history of life on Earth – a story that is still being written millions of years later.

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