80-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur-Era Bird Discovered, Experts Say 'Fossil Is Truly So One-Of-A-Kind'

Scientists have been able to fill a crucial gap in the evolution of birds with the help of a recent finding. Researchers have found the fossil of a dinosaur-era bird and after analyzing its brain have procured crucial details regarding the development of bird intelligence in the species during that time, IFL Science reported.

The fossil dates back to the Mesozoic era, making it a crucial find, as researchers know next to nothing regarding how bird brains developed during that era. Findings regarding the fossil has been published in Nature.

Researchers have long been trying to understand how birds developed from the 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx to present-day species, Science Daily reported. The lack of fossil evidence has made this pursuit difficult. Before the dinosaur-era bird fossil was discovered in Brazil, scientists had no idea of the development of bird brains for 70 million years, encapsulating the Mesozoic era. Researchers have named the fossil's species, Navaornis hestiae. 

The fossil was found in a near-perfect condition, IFL Science reported. Scientists took the fossil for scanning and initially assumed that the remains were of a pigeon. On a closer analysis though, they found out that the bird was an enantiornithine, a group that diverged from modern birds around 130 million years ago. This kind also had complex feathers, and the ability to fly, but did not have the cerebellum required for advanced spatial control.

Researchers state that Navaornis hestiae's cerebellum was larger than Archaeopteryx, BBC reported. This implied that the discovered bird had advanced cognitive abilities compared to its ancestors. Other brain components were notably less developed and were not much different from Archaeopteryx. The discovery showcases that Navaornis was a bridge between Archaeopteryx and modern birds.

"The brain structure of Navaornis is almost exactly intermediate between Archaeopteryx and modern birds," said Dr. Guillermo Navalón, co-lead author from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences. "It was one of these moments in which the missing piece fits absolutely perfectly."

The fossil showcases how ancient bird species were slowly transforming to adapt to the changing conditions. "This fossil represents a species at the midpoint along the evolutionary journey of bird cognition," Professor Daniel Field, senior author of the study said. "Its cognitive abilities may have given Navaornis an advantage when it came to finding food or shelter, and it may have been capable of elaborate mating displays or other complex social behavior."

For years, researchers have postulated that birds are the beings with the strongest cognitive abilities after mammals, BBC reported. The recent findings will aid experts in understanding how these abilities have been fostered and developed within birds over centuries.

"Modern birds have some of the most advanced cognitive capabilities in the animal kingdom, comparable only with mammals. But scientists have struggled to understand how and when the unique brains and remarkable intelligence of birds evolved – the field has been awaiting the discovery of a fossil exactly like this one," Field said.