Question: Scientists have declared that they identified the fossil of a giant bird called Pelagornithids. From where the scientists got these fossils.
a) South Africa
b) Australia
c) Antarctica
d) Alaska ( USA)
Answer: (c)
Related Facts:-
- October 2020; Scientists have declared that they identified the fossil of a giant bird called Pelagornithids.
- The team of American and Chinese researchers has undertaken the research about this large sized bird.
- Pelagornithids are known as bony-toothed birds, because of the bony projections on their jaws.
- These birds lived on Earth about 50 million years ago and the details have been published in a journal called Scientific Reports.
- Fossils of this kind of bird already recovered from Antarctica in the 1980s but now the scientists have revealed the results of their extensive study about this bird.
- It belongs to the oldest giant members of an extinct group of birds that patrolled the southern oceans.
- The wingspans of these birds went up to 21 feet much greater than the present day albatross which has wingspan of eleven-and-a-half foot.
- It should be known that albatross is today’s largest bird, wandering the earth.
- Scientists believe that the Pelagornithids evolved to a gigantic size relatively quickly after the extinction of dinosaurs.
- The last known bird of this species lived an estimated 2.5 million years ago, a time when the climate was changing as Earth cooled, and the ice ages began.
- Pelagornithids are known as ‘bony-toothed’ birds because of the bony projections on their jaws.
- Although these birds appear to be bony-toothed, but these protrusions are not like human teeth.
- Tooth like projections in their beak are actually pseudo teeth (false teeth) as they were covered by a horny material, keratin, which is like our fingernails.
- These pseudo teeth or the protrusions helped the birds snag squid and fish.
- Pelagornithids though evolved after the dinosaurs were wiped out, but never reached the colossal size of pterosaurs.
By – Rajesh Tripathi
Links:-
https://theprint.in/scientifix/fossils-found-in-antarctica-in-1980s-belong-to-giant-bony-toothed-birds-from-2-5m-yrs-ago/534460/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fossils-antarctica-birds-pelagornithid-uc-berkeley-b1394252.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-75248-6