The earliest known bird may have been a quail-sized feathered dinosaur

The 150 million-year-old fossil from China may be the world's earliest known bird. The discoveries show that the distinctive short tails of modern birds evolved much faster than previously thought.

Birds evolved from theropods, a group of dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurus and velociraptoes during the Jurassic period. Archeopteryx, It was discovered in 1961 and is considered one of the earliest birds in the fossil record. However, its location for evolutionary trees is debated despite having feathered feathers. Archeopteryx It has a long, reptile tail, making it similar to a non-bird theropod.

The new fossil was discovered in Zenge County, Fujian Province in November 2023 and was given a species name Baminornis Zhenghensis. Only the trunk, forelimbs, pelvis, and part of the hind legs are preserved.

Baminornis I lived at the same time Archeopteryx But it has a short tail like a modern bird, pushing back the date of this evolutionary innovation after 20 million years.

“Short tails are widely considered aerodynamic beneficial, and tail reduction constitutes the most dramatic change during the transition of dinosaur birds.” Min Wang At the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, a member of the team that analyzed the fossils.

Weight: 140-300 grams, Baminornis It was much smaller Archeopteryx – The size of the quail – and it would have looked like a modern bird Archeopteryx The king said.

Parts of the body, such as its hands, retained the form of the dinosaur's ancestors, and its chest and pelvic anatomy resemble modern birds. “This indicates that different body regions evolved independently,” Wang says.

“In light of all this, I'll say Baminornis Probably the oldest clear record of birds. ”

That is thought Archeopteryx He could fly just for short bursts like a pheasant, but the king and his colleagues say Baminornis's The features suggest that it was a better flyer than the famous modern era.

Patrick O'Connor At Ohio University, the new discoveries are “surprising fossils,” indicating “a mosaic of dinosaur and bird characteristics of very early representatives of bird-like theropods.”

“These first, highly dinosaur-like birds are represented by a wonderful variety in shape, size and singular anatomy, not included in modern birds,” says O'Connor. “These will be called stem birds or “early bird-like dinosaurs.” ”