In Antarctica, a skull of the oldest bird was found, closest to modern waterfowl

Researchers discovered an almost complete petrified skull, belonging to the oldest known scientist of a “modern” bird. The age of fossil is estimated at 68 million years.

The skull belongs to the bird of the extinct look called Vegavis IAAI. These birds lived at the end of the Cretaceous period (145–66 million years ago), during the dominance of dinosaurs. It is believed that modern birds appeared after the strike of an asteroid, because of which dinosars died out.

The petrified skeleton Vegavis was found during the 2011 expedition. For the first time, paleontologists described this species about 20 years ago, but previous bird skeletons did not have a skull. However, it is he, as the professor of the anatomical sciences of the University of Ohio Patrick O'Connor notes, which makes it possible to most accurately determine the features characteristic of modern birds: for example, the absence of teeth.

Birds - contemporaries of dinosaurs were distinguished precisely by a toothy beak, but Vegavis had no teeth. Scientists came to the conclusion that Vegavis is a “modern” bird, and the found fossil skull belonged to the early representative of this subclass.

The bird resembled modern ducks or Gagar and led a similar lifestyle. It is one of the earliest representatives of a group of waterfowl, who dived into the water in search of prey:

“69 million years ago, Antarctica did not look like today. In fact, it was covered with forests. It was a cool moderate climate. <...> We found this bird in the sea breed, so we can assume that it persecuted the prey, diving into the sea, ”says Patrick O'Connor.