Scientists have discovered a 150-million-year-old quail-sized bird fossil in southeastern China, rewriting the history of avian evolution. The newly identified Baminornis zhenghensis lived during the Jurassic Period and possessed surprisingly modern traits.
Baminornis, about six inches long, was more advanced anatomically than Archaeopteryx, another ancient bird species discovered in Germany in 1861. While Archaeopteryx had a longer, skinnier tail, Baminornis had a shorter tail with a pygostyle, a bone plate formed by fused vertebrae at the end of the vertebral column. This unique feature is also found in modern birds.
The discovery suggests that millions of years of avian evolution occurred before the appearance of Archaeopteryx and other early bird species. Paleontologist Min Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said, “Baminornis looks more like modern birds than Archaeopteryx.”
The fossil was discovered in 2023 during scientific fieldwork in Fujian Province’s Zhenghe County. It preserves much of the bird’s skeleton but lacks the skull, leaving gaps in understanding its diet and lifestyle.
Baminornis lived in a swampy area alongside meat-eating dinosaurs and semi-aquatic reptiles. The discovery sheds new light on the evolution of birds, suggesting that they evolved from small feathered dinosaurs over 172-164 million years ago.
This find joins other ancient bird species like Eoconfuciusornis, Protopteryx, Cruralispennia, and Archaeornithura as some of the oldest-known birds. The discovery is considered a landmark in evolutionary biology, providing new insights into the evolution of flight and bird diversity during the Jurassic Period.
Baminornis’s advanced anatomy and modern traits make it a significant find, rewriting the history of avian evolution.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/science/jurassic-fossil-china-rewrites-history-bird-evolution-2025-02-12