It was announced that a research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered two Turkish bird fossils in Fujian province in southeast of China. The fossils, which dated about 149 million years ago, shed light on the early evolutionary process of birds, while at the end of the Jurael period, the diversity of birds is among the most powerful findings.
Researchers called one of the two fossils ‘Baminornis Zhenghensis’. This fossil draws attention with its advanced Ornithothoracine (shoulder and hip bones similar to modern birds), as well as having a primitive dinosaur -like hand structure. These features show the role of mosaic evolution in early bird evolution. At the end of the short tail of Baminornis Zhenghensis, a compound bone structure called ‘Pygostiyle’ in modern birds. This structure is considered to be the oldest record in birds that carry the evolution of the short tail for about 20 million years.
To date, Archeopteryx was the only bird -accepted bird species of the Jurassic era. Although Archeopteryx had feathers -covered wings, he resembled dinosaurs with long and reptile -like tail. Recent studies have shown that Archeopteryx may not be directly linked to birds and may belong to Deinonychosauria, a sub -group of dinosaurs. This raised the question of whether there were other fossils belonging to birds during the Jurael period.
The second fossil discovered by researchers is only a furcula (combination of collarbone). The geometric morphometry and philogenhetic analyzes show that this furcula may belong to the Ornituromorph group. Ornithhuromorph is known as a group containing various birds from the Cretaceous period. However, due to the weak protection of the fossil, it was not called a new species, and more fossil findings are needed to finalize the connection with birds.
While the results of the study draw attention in the scientific world, it is seen as an important step to understand the evolutionary process of birds.
