The discovery has taken place in the Chinese province of Hebei, where members of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology have found a pair of perfectly preserved fossils of this new species, baptized with the name of Archaeornithura meemannae.
According to researchers in statements to the journal Nature Communications, this species lived 130.7 million years ago, during the Lower Cretaceous, and has become the most distant relative of all birds until now. The two specimens found resemble the gray plover or the stilt, and it is suspected that they originated in semi-aquatic environments.
"These fossils have a morphology extremely similar to modern birds , although they also have very primitive characteristics, such as teeth in the mouth," said Novella Razzolini, a researcher at the Mesozoic group at the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP).
The most remarkable thing, they point out, is that the plumage is almost completely preserved, and this reveals that it has modern aerodynamic anatomical characteristics . In addition, the group of feathers located at the end of the wing is essential to be able to perform complicated maneuvers during flight, landing, or diving.
From an evolutionary point of view, these birds are the most successful , "hence modern birds have the same characteristics as these specimens," the expert concluded.
Image: Zongda Zhang
