Ancient Avian Skull Could Be World’s Oldest-Known Modern Bird

A Nature study on an ancient avian skull is strengthening the case for Vegavis iaai as the world’s oldest-known modern bird. The extinct, goose-like bird lived in Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous. Professor Julia Clarke co-authored research on the 69-million-year-old skull. The research was led by Chris Torres, an assistant professor at University of the Pacific, who earned his doctoral degree at The University of Texas at Austin working with Clarke.

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