Archeology
Jurassic Bird Fossil in China Reveals Earliest Evidence of Flight Loss
A 150-million-year-old fossil uncovered in southeastern China represents the earliest known instance of a bird lineage losing the ability to fly. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Fujian Institute of Geological Sciences identified the crow-sized species, Yuezhuornis yangyuanensis, in the Late Jurassic Zhenghe Fauna. The discovery reveals an unexpected evolutionary innovation, showing that early avians adapted to terrestrial ecological niches rather than progressing solely toward powered flight.
Giovanni Sapere
