Fossil of a Prehistoric Bird Helps Scientists Understand Bird Evolution

A miniature fossil of a prehistoric bird helps scientists understand bird evolution during the time of the dinosaurs. The fossil from the Mesozoic era (250 to 65 million years ago) is a bird from the group of prehistoric birds known as Enantiornithes. Almost the entire skeleton is among the smallest birds ever discovered from the Mesozoic period.

It is shorter than five centimeters and likely weighed around 85 grams while alive. What makes this fossil so significant and unique is that the bird died very shortly after hatching, which is a crucial period for the formation of a bird’s skeleton. This means that the very short lifespan of the bird provided scientists with a rare opportunity to analyze the bone structure and development of the bones of that species.

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The study of ossification, the process of bone development, can explain much about the life of the young bird, scientists say. It can help them discover everything from whether it could fly or if it had to stay with its parents after hatching, to whether it could survive on its own.

The lead researcher, Fabien Knoll from the University of Manchester, explains:

– The evolutionary diversification of birds has resulted in a wide range of developmental strategies for chicks and significant differences in their growth rates. By analyzing bone development, we can study the entire range of evolutionary traits.

Because the fossil is so small, the team used synchrotron radiation in its study to see the microstructure of the bones in detail. Knoll says that new technologies offer paleontologists unprecedented opportunities to explore fossils.

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Scientists found that the bird’s breastbone was largely made of cartilage and had not yet ossified, meaning it could not yet fly. The ossification patterns observed in this and other very young birds from the Enantiornithes group suggest that the developmental strategies of this group of ancient birds were more diverse than previously thought.

The team emphasizes that the lack of an ossified system does not necessarily mean that the chick was overly dependent on its parents for food. Today’s bird species, such as lovebirds, are very dependent on their parents when they hatch, while others, like chicks, are very independent.

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Co-author of the study, Luis Chiappe from the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, says that the new discovery, along with others from different parts of the world, provides a glimpse into the world of ancient birds that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.

– It is fascinating how many features we see in today’s birds were developed more than a hundred million years ago.