Geologists at the University of Rochester have discovered a new species of birds in the Canadian Arctic. Dating to 90 million years old, the new discovery is among the oldest avian records found in this part of the world and proof of the intense warming event in the latter part of the Cretaceous Period.
According to John Tarduno, Professor and Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University who also serves as expedition leader as well, the bird is a cross between a seagull and a diving bird and likely had teeth. Tarduno's team called the new species Tingmiatornis Arctica. Tingmiat was derived from the Inuktitut language spoken in the Central and Eastern Canadian Artic which means "those that fly."
The new discovery, published in Scientific Reports, adds to previous fossil records that Tarduno's team discovered from the same geological time period and location in past expeditions. When added together, the findings will show a clear picture of an ecosystem that would have existed during the Cretaceous periods which lasted from 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago.
After unearthing three bones of the bird - the ulna and the parts of the humerus located in the wings, Julia Clarke, the team palaeontologist, was able to identify the evolutionary relationship of the new bird and whether it could fly or dive.
"These birds are comparatively close cousins of all living birds and make up some of the oldest record of fossil birds from North America. Details of the upper arm bones tell us about features of the flightstroke seen in living species came to be." explained Clarke.
In explaining the cause of survival of the bird during the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event that happened 66 million years ago that wiped out three quarters of the plant and animal species on the planet, Tarduno attributed physiological factors such as rapid growth and maturation rate. While they are still conjectures, the environment of the bird provides a clear indication of why the fossils were found in the location.
