Chinese researchers dig out fossil of bizarre creature that has bird’s body and dinosaur’s head
Artist impression of the 120-million-year-old bird Cratonavis zhui
Scientists have unearthed the fossil of a bizarre creature in China dating back to 120 million years that has the head of a dinosaur and the body of a bird, further complicating the debate whether birds are the descendants of dinosaurs.
The fossil was excavated in northern China, and the scientists believe that this discovery would provide significant insights into the evolution of modern birds.
The creature named Cratonavis zhui had long shoulder blades and claws, and its large skull was almost identical to Tyrannosaurus rex and other meat-eating theropods, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The CAS researchers studied the fossil by scanning the skull with high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanning.
Using the digital versions of the mineralized bones, they reconstructed the shape and function of the skull as it was during the bird's life.
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The result showed that the shape of theCratonavis skull was similar to that of T-rex and not like birds.
In the avian branch of the dinosaur’s family tree, Cratonavis comes between the long-tailedArchaeopteryx, which was more like a reptile, and theOrnithothoraces, whose characteristics can be found in modern birds.
"The primitive cranial features speak to the fact that most Cretaceous birds such asCratonaviscould not move their upper bill independently with respect to the braincase and lower jaw, a functional innovation widely distributed among living birds that contribute to their enormous ecological diversity," CAS palaeontologist Zhiheng Li said, co-author of the study, said in a statement.
Co-author of the study Wang Min said that the peculiar nature of the scapula (bone in the shoulder) allowed Cratonavis to better rotate its wing, compensating for its underdeveloped flight capabilities.
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