Fossil of 50-million-year-old giant bird with 21-foot wingspan identified


Team Udayavani, Oct 28, 2020, 4:02 PM IST

Source: UC Berkeley Image courtesy Peter Kloess

Los Angeles: Scientists have identified the fossil of a giant bird that lived about 50 million years ago, with wingspans of up to 21 feet that would dwarf today’s largest bird, the wandering albatross. The fossils recovered from Antarctica in the 1980s represent the oldest giant members of an extinct group of birds that patrolled the southern oceans.

By comparison, today’s largest bird, the wandering albatross has a wingspan of 11 and-a-half-foot. Called pelagornithids, the birds filled a niche much like that of today’s albatrosses and traveled widely over Earth’s oceans for at least 60 million years.

Though a much smaller pelagornithid fossil dates from 62 million years ago, one of the newly described fossils — a 50 million-year-old portion of a bird’s foot — shows that the larger pelagornithids arose just after life rebounded from the mass extinction 65 million years ago, when the relatives of birds, the dinosaurs, went extinct. A second pelagornithid fossil, part of a jaw bone, dates from about 40 million years ago, according to the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“Our fossil discovery, with its estimate of a 5-to-6-meter wingspan — nearly 20 feet — shows that birds evolved to a truly gigantic size relatively quickly after the extinction of the dinosaurs and ruled over the oceans for millions of years,” said Peter Kloess, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley in the US. The last known pelagornithid is from 2.5 million years ago, a time of changing climate as Earth cooled, and the ice ages began, they said.

Pelagornithids are known as ‘bony-toothed’ birds because of the bony projections, or struts, on their jaws that resemble sharp-pointed teeth, though they are not true teeth, like those of humans and other mammals. The bony protrusions were covered by a horny material, keratin, which is like our fingernails, the researchers said.

Called pseudo teeth, the struts helped the birds snag squid and fish from the sea as they soared for perhaps weeks at a time over much of Earth’s oceans, they said. Large flying animals have periodically appeared on Earth, starting with the pterosaurs that flapped their leathery wings during the dinosaur era and reached wingspans of 33 feet, according to the researchers.

The pelagornithids came along to claim the wingspan record in the Cenozoic, after the mass extinction, and lived until about 2.5 million years ago. Around that same time, teratorns, now extinct, ruled the skies, they said.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Teachings of Lord Christ celebrate love, harmony: PM Modi at Christmas celebrations

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal passes away

Passenger gets back misplaced bag containing valuables worth Rs 20 lakh at Mangaluru airport

Karnataka govt approves 9 industrial projects worth Rs 9,823 Cr

Shami not fully fit yet, ruled out of remaining two Tests in Australia

Rafi@100: When Amitabh Bachchan paid tribute to Mohammed Rafi in 1990 movie ‘Kroadh’

Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar in UPSC cheating case

Related Articles More

ISRO to study how crops grow in space on PSLV-C60 mission

ISRO & ESA agree to cooperate on astronaut training, mission implementation

Snatcher lands in police net in Delhi, AI tech helps reveal identity

AI Meets Health: The Rise of Smart Fitness Solutions

Power Up by Powering Down: 10 Energy-Saving Tips for Every Home

MUST WATCH

Tulunadu Daivaradane

Feeding Birds with Creative Paddy Art!

Areca Nut

HOTEL SRI DURGA BHAVANA

Harish Poonja


Latest Additions

Teachings of Lord Christ celebrate love, harmony: PM Modi at Christmas celebrations

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal passes away

Passenger gets back misplaced bag containing valuables worth Rs 20 lakh at Mangaluru airport

Police ‘killed’ Dalit man, alleges Rahul in Parbhani; CM Fadnavis says visit politically motivated

Karnataka govt approves 9 industrial projects worth Rs 9,823 Cr

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.