Go fish! Ancient birds evolved specialist diving adaptations
Friday, May 22, 2015 - 11:00
in Paleontology & Archaeology
A new study of some primitive birds from the Cretaceous shows how several separate lineages evolved adaptations for diving. Living at the same time as the dinosaurs, Hesperornithiform bird fossils have been found in North America, Europe and Asia in rocks 65-95 million years old. This research shows that separate lineages became progressively more adept at diving into water to catch fishes, like modern day loons and grebes.