Tag: paleontology

Illustration showing Archaeopteryx in life, including its tertial feathers that would have helped it fly. Credit: Michael Rothman. Click image to enlarge.

US: Ongoing Analysis of – Archaeopteryx Fossil – Continues to Proves Darwin Right! (21.3.2026)

Differences in modern birds

Modern birds evolved shorter upper arm bones and specialized tertial feathers to close this gap.

Remarkably, the Chicago specimen of Archaeopteryx shows it had long tertial feathers too – something unseen in its flightless dinosaur relatives.

“Our specimen is the first Archaeopteryx that was preserved and prepared in such a way that we can see its long tertial feathers,” she noted.

These feathers, absent in closely related non-avian dinosaurs, suggest those creatures couldn’t fly.

“That tells us… Archaeopteryx could,” O’Connor added. “This also adds to evidence that suggests dinosaurs evolved flight more than once – which I think is super exciting.”

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Shrub Ox Evolved Outside North America!

China: North American Shrub Ox Fossils Discovered in Eurasia! (24.10.2024)

Phylogenetic studies show that shrub oxen formed a sister group with musk oxen, indicating a closer evolutionary relationship between the two compared to other bovidae. 

“Building on previous research, we expanded our study to include Quaternary musk oxen and concluded that their evolution can indeed be divided into two groups: high-horned and low-horned species. These two groups migrated from Eurasia to North America during the Late Early Pleistocene to Early Middle Pleistocene, and the Late Middle Pleistocene, respectively,” Bai stated.

This research provides new material on the diversity and evolution of musk oxen and is significant for understanding faunal exchanges between Eurasia and North America during the Quaternary period.

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