An international team of scientists has identified the most complete bird specimen found so far encased in Burmese amber, which provides a detailed look at young birds that lived nearly 99 million years ago.
Xing Lida from China University of Geosciences, who is leading the research team, says the nine-centimeter-long specimen included most of the skull and neck, a partial wing, and hindlimb, and soft tissue of the tail.
The nestling's feet /China University of Geosciences Photo
The nestling's feather /China University of Geosciences Photo
Xing said the proportions of body parts and form of the feathers indicated it was a very young and highly advanced hatchling, adding that the unusually detailed feathers revealed unexpected diversity in primitive birds.
"Many people thought it was a lizard. But the scales, thread-like feathers, and sharp claws on the feet were so noticeable that I thought they must belong to a bird," said Chen Guang, owner of the specimen and curator of a museum in southwest China's Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar.
"There were no obvious signs of struggle. The overall posture of the bird resembled hunting, with its lifted body, open claws and beak and spread wings," said Tseng Kuowei with the University of Taipei. "It was possibly engulfed by falling resin at the exact moment it was hunting."
Scientists from China, the US and Canada jointly examined the first amber of ancient nestling, which is believed to from 99 million years ago, the same era as dinosaurs. /China University of Geosciences Photo
The paper, titled, "A mid-Cretaceous enantiornithine (Aves) hatchling preserved in Burmese amber with unusual plumage," co-authored by a group of Chinese, Canadian and US scientists, was published by Gondwana Research this month.
(Source: Xinhua)
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