Oldest Ancestor of Modern Duck Discovered in China

Sino-US Scientists found five well-preserved Chinese ancient duck (Gansus yumenensis) fossils in Northwest China's Gansu Province and said the bird was one of the oldest members of the lineage leading to modern birds. But due to the lack of bird's skulls in the fossils, scientists can't figure out what the animal once fed on.

Living about 110 million years ago, the amphibious avian suggests that early birds may have been waterfowl.

The fossils include nearly complete skeletons consisting of three-dimensional, mostly uncrushed bones. Several of the specimens even contain appreciable carbonized remains of feathers and webbed feet.

According to a release from You Hailu, a scientist with the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and the primary author of the Science article, details in the hind legs and feet of the Gansus show that the bird was probably a foot-propelled diver like today's grebes, loons and many ducks, although the species might not have been as good at diving as its modern counterparts.

"It must have been much smaller than the modern chicken, based on the fossils," co-author Jerry Harris, director of paleontology of Dixie State College in Utah, said in a telephone interview.

But scientists failed to find a skull during the excavation, which is crucial in tracing back what the bird fed on, Harris said.

"Without the skull, we could not tell the skeletal shape of its beak," he said.

The study results was published on the journal Science of June-16 issue.

Link

Tags: duck ancestor bird animal family tree avian fossil paleontology science chicken excavation