GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers have described a newly identified Jurassic-age avialan that appears to have been flightless, adding to the fossil record of early bird-line dinosaurs from China's Yanliao and Jehol biotas. The find joins other recent discoveries, such as short-tailed and bony-tailed avialans, that document a wider range of body plans among the earliest relatives of birds than previously documented.
Researchers analyzing fossil evidence from the Jurassic period report that certain early bird species showed skeletal features consistent with flightlessness. This suggests loss of flight occurred much earlier in avian evolution than previously documented, closer to the origin of birds themselves.
Researchers at Fundación Dinópolis identified 14 tail vertebrae and chevron bones from the La Tejería site near El Castellar, Teruel, as belonging to Diplodocus, a genus previously known only from North America. The specimen, dated to roughly 150 million years ago, is estimated at 25 meters long, comparable in size to its American counterparts.