Researchers in China found Baminornis zhenghensis, which lived at roughly the same time as the famous Archaeopteryx but looked much more like modern birds due to its short tail

Scientists have discovered the oldest bird fossil shedding light on birds' origin in China, and reshaping the timeline of bird evolution.

The fossil of B. zhenghensis, a bird from the late Middle Jurassic period, was unveiled by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, alongside the Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, on Thursday.

Scientists have unearthed in southeastern China the fossil of a quail-sized bird that lived about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period and possessed surprisingly modern traits, a discovery that rewrites the history of avian evolution.

This discovery strengthens the idea that birds had already begun to diversify by the late Jurassic period. The presence of Baminornis zhenghensis suggests that key bird features, such as shorter tails, evolved much earlier than previously believed.

A newly discovered fossil provides strong evidence that modern birds lived alongside dinosaurs. The 69-million-year-old skull of Vegavis iaai, found in Antarctica, features a toothless beak and a brain structure similar to that of present-day birds.

The discovery of a 6-inch (15 cm) fossil of a small bird, 150 million years old, reveals unexpected modern anatomical features. This fossil, named Baminornis zhenghensis, challenges our

Does a duck always look like a duck and quack like a duck? Sixty-six million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, an asteroid impact near the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico triggered the extinction of all known non-avian dinosaurs.