A discovery of Argentine researchers in Antarctica could change the study of birds

February 1, 2019

The Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) has discovered the skeleton of a 65 million year old bird on Marambio Island, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Researchers of the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) they made known the Discovery of fossils of a new genus and a new species of bird aged about 65 million years on Marambio Island, according to the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This discovery could have an impact on the evolutionary theory of these animals and "constitute the basis of new theories about modern birds ".

The discovery was made in the 2007 Campaign as part of a project coordinated by the Argentine Antarctic Institute. The fossils found reveal that it is a flying bird belonging to the Anseriformes group, as it resembles the ducks, geese and swans that we know today. hui.

The "surprising" discovery on life discovered by a group of scientists from Antarctica

"It would be a flying bird, with elongated legs, living in an ecosystem of temperate forests. The discovery allows to badume that the typical peak form of the current ducks would have appeared early in the evolution of this group of birds.", They pointed out of the Argentine Foreign Ministry.

Archaeologists have called him Antarctic conflict because they are different from other known birds. His discovery represents a fossil record of a non-marine bird that is very important to the southern hemisphere and the hypothesis developed in the work based on this discovery could form the basis of new theories about the world. evolution of modern birds.

According to the official statement, it is First skull of a fossil penguin at the top full. This discovery will make significant progress in the evolutionary studies of these birds which are now distributed exclusively in the southern seas.

Find | Flames could be the key to an effective flu shot

The project is led by Dr. Marcelo Reguero, from the Argentine Antarctic Institute, the working group is composed of Dr. Javier N. Gelfo, Dr. Nicolás Bauzá and Dr. Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche, the Museum of La Plata, UNLP and CONICET.