Prehistoric birds sacrifice their tails to evolve

Early birds 100 million years ago gave up the long bone tail in exchange for flexible legs and evolutionary advantages.

Fossil bird of the early dinosaurs - (Photo: Oxford University)

A group of experts from Oxford University (England) examined fossils of the first birds from the Cretaceous period, which was 145 to 66 million years ago.

They found that their long, full-tailed bones automatically shed, after the birds were able to fly, resulting in a variety of changes in the composition of the early birds.

This change allows for the production of all kinds of claws and feet, making their modern descendants more successful.

'Early birds are not as complicated as birds we know today', according to team leader Roger Benson, but what surprised the experts was that the evolution of their legs was too diverse.

According to a report published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B , experts concluded that the aquatic birds began as a dinosaur, but they quickly broke out on the path of evolution to rise above relatives. Dinosaurs and survive to this day.