Birds descended from dinosaurs, so why did they survive and thrive as their relatives died? New Scientist explores five enigmas of avian evolution
FROM the toucans of the tropics to the penguins of the Antarctic, ours is a world of birds. They are among the most successful of land animals 鈥� and have been for a very long time. If a birdwatcher could step back 70 million years, they would be absolutely dazzled by the birds on show.
But the evolutionary history of birds has long been an enigma. Ever since a single fossil feather was dug up 150 years ago, the origins of birds have been one of biology鈥檚 most contentious issues.
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That has all changed with a string of recent discoveries, most notably the famous feathered dinosaurs of China. In a little over a decade these have transformed our understanding of bird origins.
It is all a far cry from when that first feather was found in a quarry at Solnhofen in southern Germany. The exact date of discovery is disputed 鈥� some accounts say 1860, others 1861 鈥� but we do know it was quickly followed by a near-complete skeleton of its presumed owner, archaeopteryx. This 145-million-year-old enigma combined the teeth and long tail of a dinosaur with the wings and feathers of a bird. It assumed enormous importance as a 鈥渕issing link鈥� between two animal groups, exactly as Charles Darwin had predicted in 1859.
Archaeopteryx continues to be an icon of evolution, with new insights about it being made every year, but it has now been joined by dozens of bird-like dinosaurs and dinosaur-like birds, all helping to finally tell the full story of bird origins. Here is New Scientist鈥榮 round-up of where we stand on the biggest questions.
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Living dinosaurs: Are we sure birds are dinos?
Only now can we say beyond reasonable doubt that birds don鈥檛 just have anatomy like dinosaurs 鈥� they are dinosaurs
Living dinosaurs: Was archaeopteryx really a bird?
It had wings and feathers, but also the teeth, legs, claws and tail of a dinosaur 鈥� what kind of beast was archaeopteryx?
Living dinosaurs: How did feathers and flight evolve?
The ancestors of the dinosaurs may have sported feathers long before the first dino took a leap of faith
Living dinosaurs: When did modern birds evolve?
Late Cretaceous birdwatchers would have been spoiled for choice of flying oddities 鈥� but some of the animals in the sky would have looked familiar
Living dinosaurs: Why did modern birds survive?
An asteroid strike killed off the dinosaurs and most of their relatives. Perhaps being birdbrained isn鈥檛 such a bad thing after all
