A fossil discovered in Brazil could renew everything we know about how the brains of today’s birds evolved. Bird fossil found that could shed light on 70 million years of history.
In a study led by Cambridge University and the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, scientists examined a bird fossil that was close to the size of a starling.
The fossil examined belonged to the Mesozoic Era, when dinosaurs also lived.
Scientists were able to digitally redesign the bird’s brain structure from the fossil and the evolutionary history of today’s bird brain was examined.
Dr. Guillermo Navalon, a member of the research team, points out that the skull part of the fossil is almost completely preserved.
Navalon noted that the examination of the fossil, which he said he admired, will help us understand the anatomy of today’s birds.
The bird called Navaornis lived approximately 80 million years ago within the borders of today’s Brazil.
It is known that all flightless dinosaurs disappeared from the face of the earth shortly after this period.
Information on how the brain of birds evolved includes a 70 million-year gap.
The links between Archaeopteryx, which lived 150 million years ago and is thought to be the first bird species, and today’s birds still remain a mystery.
It was determined that Navaornis’ brain had a larger cerebrum (nervous system section) than Archaeopteryx. For this reason, it is estimated that it had a more advanced cognitive capacity.
However, when compared to today’s birds, many parts of its brain appear less developed.
In other words, the mechanisms that enabled Navaornis’ flight are weaker than those of today’s birds.
Dr. “We have one of those examples where the missing piece fits the chain perfectly. That’s why I was amazed when I first saw it,” Navalon said.
Prof. Daniel Field from Cambridge University is also one of the pioneers of the study.
Field points out that today’s crows or parrots have very advanced cognitive abilities.
He states that scientists have difficulty understanding how the brains of these birds developed so much and continues:
“Researchers were waiting for a fossil like this to be found. This may be a single fossil, but it is definitely the missing piece of the puzzle in the evolution of the bird brain.”
Dr. Luis Chiappe notes that this new finding reveals that some birds flying on top of dinosaurs had today’s skull geometry 80 million years ago.