A study by Yale University (USA) suggests thatthe meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago also almost completely wiped out ancient birds. Details of the investigation are published today inMagazineProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
For decades, scientists have wondered whether Cretaceous birds – vastly different from modern birds – slowly died or were exterminated by theChicxulub meteorite, the same one that killed the dinosaurs. Now a team of American paleontologists has found evidence in favor of the second hypothesis. According to Nicholas Longrich and his colleagues at Yale University (USA), the analysis of 24 fossils of prehistoric birds of different species has allowed them to prove that their extinction was sudden. The sizes of the species examined ranged from a starling to a goose, and some had long, toothy beaks.
As Longrich suggests, a small part of those Cretaceous birds survived the impact, giving rise to modern birds. However, today’s birds are much more diverse and occupy much larger ecological niches. Just compare penguins with hummingbirds or pink flamingos. “After the mass extinction, birds re-evolveddeveloping the diversity that we see today, “Longrich suggests.” It’s similar to what happened to mammals after the age of dinosaurs. “
Cretaceous bird fossils are rare, as their bones are very light and fragile, so they are easily damaged.
