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New study reveals rare dinosaur find: A still unknown flying theropod from the late Jurassic discovered
The origin and development of birds has long been a fascinating area of research. A new study has now made an important contribution to clarifying these questions. In a publication in the renowned journal Nature, the researchers present their investigations into a newly discovered fossil bird that lived in China during the late Jurassic period. The study, conducted by an international team of scientists, sheds light on the evolutionary history of birds by providing a rare glimpse into an early species that evolved along the avian lineage. Until now, very little was known about this crucial period of evolution...
New study reveals rare dinosaur find: A still unknown flying theropod from the late Jurassic discovered
The origin and development of birds has long been a fascinating area of research. A new study has now made an important contribution to clarifying these questions. In a publication in the renowned journal Nature, the researchers present their investigations into a newly discovered fossil bird that lived in China during the late Jurassic period.
The study, conducted by an international team of scientists, sheds light on the evolutionary history of birds by providing a rare glimpse into an early species that evolved along the avian lineage. Until now, very little was known about this crucial period of evolution because the fossil archive from this period is extremely limited.
The new fossil, named Fujianvenator prodigiosus, was discovered in Zhenghe, China. It is one of the latest and southernmost representatives of the Jurassic period avian (bird-like) dinosaurs. The particular significance of this find lies in the unusual morphological features that it shares with other representatives of this group, but also with other related dinosaur species such as the troodontids and dromaeosaurids.
Particularly notable is the exceptionally elongated hind limbs of the Fujianvenator prodigiosus, suggesting a terrestrial or wading lifestyle. In contrast, other early birds show morphological adaptations to life in trees or locomotion in the air. These differences highlight evolutionary change and mosaicism along the line of bird evolution.
Other fossils were also discovered during the excavations, including fish, turtles and a special group of archosaurs called choristoderes. The precise chronological classification of these fossils enabled the researchers to date the find layer to the Tithonian age around 148-150 million years ago.
The diversity of the Zhenghe fauna and its precise temporal framework provide important insights into Late Jurassic terrestrial ecosystems. By combining in situ radiometric dating and stratigraphic studies, researchers were able to not only identify this unique fossil, but also gain valuable information about the environment and life in this distant past.
This new study makes a significant contribution to understanding the origin and evolution of birds. The findings help to clarify phylogenetic controversies about the origin of birds and to better understand the characteristic “body plan” of birds.
The publication of this groundbreaking study in Nature can be read at the following link: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06513-7. The close study of Fujianvenator prodigiosus provides fascinating insights into the evolution of birds and expands our knowledge of life during the Late Jurassic.