Found fossils of ancient birds after dinosaurs extinction

Fossils of small-sized birds found in New Mexico, the United States have revealed to scientists a few things that happened after the extinction of dinosaurs.

Accordingly, the fossil of the rat-bird set 62 million years ago showed that the bird layer was 'renaissance' , rapidly differentiating and reaching large numbers like today.

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences magazine, the team said new fossils were found as debris rather than whole bones. However, thanks to important features such as the fourth toe can move around, up or down to help them climb or grip, they believe that this is the fossil of the old mouse bird.

They named this fossil Tsidiiyazhi abini . The descendants of this rat family are still living on sub-Saharan trees today.

A picture of a set of rat birds whose fossils have just been found by scientists - (Photo: Sean Murtha).

The most interesting point of these fossils is the age of fossils , about several million years after the meteorite hit Earth leading to extinct dinosaurs about 66 million years ago.

Other mammals as well as amphibians have also increased rapidly after the event.

Because fossils of birds in this period are rare, scientists must use genetic studies to infer that some species have survived and grown again.

Previous genealogies also used this data to classify birds, but it was not possible to determine the time when new birds separated from the birds. Now, with time-defined fossils, the team can know exactly when birds evolved.

In addition, Ksepka Daniel, an ancient bird researcher at Bruce Museum in Connecticut, said the team has identified the ancestors of nine important terrestrial birds that have also proliferated after the great dinosaur period. the strain, from the set of rats, owls to birds of prey like hawks or eagles. After about 3.5 million years, these birds began to separate.

At the same time, Ksepka also said that recent studies show that birds familiar with water like penguins also experience the same process. Earlier this year, a research team found fossils of 1.5m high penguins about 61 million years ago in New Zealand.

'New fossils are extremely valuable' , says Helen James, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. 'This research has strengthened the evidence of a rapidly increasing period of modern birds'.