“Unearthed: The Prehistoric ‘Duck’ That Could Redefine Our Understanding of Modern Birds!”
“Vegavis seems to have been a bit of an odd duck,” Daniel Ksepka, a paleontologist at the Bruce Museum in Connecticut, told Live Science. “Provided the phylogeny is correct, a duck-like bill must have either evolved during the Cretaceous Period but been lost by Vegavis, or evolved multiple times independently. It will be interesting to see if future fossils confirm one of these scenarios.”
While analysis of V. iaai is ongoing, researchers hope to collect more fossils of both flora and fauna from the Cretaceous Period in Antarctica to better understand how species there evolved and survived through one of the largest extinction events in Earth’s history.
After reading about Vegavis iaai, the oldest modern bird, learn about mega penguins, the giant prehistoric birds that would have towered over modern humans. Then, discover 11 of Earth’s most incredible prehistoric animals.
