A spectacularly preserved new Chinese fossil reveals a previously unseen stage in the early evolution of flight.
Called Eoconfuciusornis, it is a missing link between the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx, and more advanced birds that have been discovered in the Yixian geological formation in China.
The Yixian deposits have yielded remarkably diverse fauna that have revolutionised avian palaeontology, but they are limited to a period from 125 to 120 million years ago - too narrow a time span to show much evidence of evolution within bird lineages.
A huge interval separates the Yixian birds from Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago, leaving a gap in scientists' knowledge of bird evolution over this period.
------- "The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder" (Ralph W. Sockman)
5:23 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: April 2006 | Days Active: 585 Join to learn more about MoridinSweden | AsexualMale | Posts: 12,701 | Points: 19,493
iinsurgent
Soothsayer Ad Free
this name i can't pronounce. no fun =[
------- finnaly i throw my toung into your throught
5:24 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: May 2008 | Days Active: 217 Join to learn more about iinsurgentAzerbaijan | MetrosexualFemale | Posts: 8,205 | Points: 11,355
daniellamarie29
Dairy Product Addict
oh wow. Interesting story.
------- The left way is the right way.
5:25 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: May 2008 | Days Active: 25 Join to learn more about daniellamarie29New York, United States | StraightFemale | Posts: 1,704 | Points: 1,975
5:27 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: Oct. 2007 | Days Active: 362 Join to learn more about Latin MuscleArgentina | StraightMale | Posts: 20,780 | Points: 20,500
necronomicon servant
Soothsayer
amazing! i knew the fossil records didnt quite fit
------- Who am I? What am I?
5:28 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: May 2008 | Days Active: 234 Join to learn more about necronomicon servantCalifornia, United States | StraightMale | Posts: 10,770 | Points: 13,609
amazing! i knew the fossil records didnt quite fit
It does. There are a massive amount of transitional fossils.
------- "The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder" (Ralph W. Sockman)
5:29 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: April 2006 | Days Active: 585 Join to learn more about MoridinSweden | AsexualMale | Posts: 12,701 | Points: 19,493
Reconciliation
Dairy Product Addict Patron
thats pretty cool
------- Nipple Piercings by 6/19/08. pics afterward
5:34 pm on May 25, 2008 | Joined: April 2008 | Days Active: 44 Join to learn more about ReconciliationCalifornia, United States | BisexualMale | Posts: 1,241 | Points: 1,274
603 users online 
211565 members 
You have 1 new message.
Ad Free
A spectacularly preserved new Chinese fossil reveals a previously unseen stage in the early evolution of flight. 
Patron
