What can prehistory tell us about the origins of modern birds? Bhart-Anjan Bhullar from Yale University talks with us about how the discovery of a 95 million year old Ichthyornis fossil in 2014 revealed some unexpected insights into the minds — and mouths — of today’s birds. His article, “Complete Ichthyornis skull illuminates mosaic assembly of the avian head” was published on May 3, 2018 in Nature with Dan Field and six other researchers.
Websites and other resources
Neurocranium of the newly discovered Ichthyornis
- “Evolutionary insights from an ancient bird” (commentary by Kevin Padian on Anjan’s study)
- “Dinosaur-Era Bird Found With Shockingly Intact Skull” (National Geographic discussion with lead author Dan Field)
- “Early Evolution of Modern Birds Structured by Global Forest Collapse at the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction” (recent study led by Dan Field)
- Extended data and additional figures
- Supplement information (including multiple videos)
- Othneil Charles Marsh biography
- “Early Evolution of Modern Birds Structured by Global Forest Collapse at the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction” (article by Dan Field and multiple co-authors)
- Related: “Scientists have successfully replicated the molecular processes that led from dinosaur snouts to the first bird beaks” (Yale Department of Geology & Geophysics)
Press Coverage
NPR |BBC | The Guardian | Reuters | Science News | Independent
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Hosts / Producers
Ryan Watkins & Doug Leigh
How to Cite
Watkins, R., Leigh, D., & Bhullar, B.-A.. (2018, July 10). Parsing Science – Prehistoric origins of birds. figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.6799199
Music
What’s The Angle? by Shane Ivers
