Chinese scientists discover oldest bird fossils, rewrite history of avian evolution

Chinese scientists have discovered one of the world's oldest bird fossils of Baminornis zhenghensis in East China's Fujian Province, which is also the only confirmed Jurassic avian to date, and found that the body structure of modern birds had already emerged in the Late Jurassic, approximately 150 million years ago, according to a research report published on Thursday.

The research was jointly conducted by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, with their findings published in the academic journal Nature on Thursday.

The study pushes back the appearance of an important avian feature, represented by the pygostyle, by nearly 20 million years.

The fossil, discovered in November 2023, was identified as a bird after one year of restoration and analyses by the research team. Although incomplete, the fossil retains key features, including separate scapulae and coracoids, and most notably, a fully fused pygostyle, a key structural feature in modern birds, according to the China Central Television (CCTV).

The oldest bird currently widely recognized is Archaeopteryx, discovered in Germany and dating back to the Jurassic period, approximately 150 million years ago. However, recent studies have challenged its classification, suggesting it may be more closely related to deinonychosaurian dinosaurs than to the birds, as reported by CCTV.

The discovery of the Baminornis zhenghensis reveals for the first time that the body structure of modern birds appeared in the Jurassic, pushing the origin of birds back to around 172 to 164 million years ago. It is currently the most definitive and only known Jurassic bird, reshaping people's understanding of avian evolution.