Earliest Bird Discovery May Settle Long-Running Mystery
"Few birds are as likely to start as many arguments among paleontologists as 'vegavis,'" said professor Christopher Torres.
After the asteroid, the earliest bird ancestors thrived in Antarctica
With its glaciers and sub-zero temperatures, Antarctica hardly seems like a place of refuge. However, the now icy continent might have been just that for the early ancestors of today’s living waterbirds –especially after an asteroid slammed into the Earth.
Fossil of oldest known modern bird discovered in Antarctica
A 68-million-year-old skull fossil found in Antarctica has revealed the oldest known modern bird, which was likely related to the waterfowl that live by lakes and oceans today, according to new research.
Loon-like waterfowl from dinosaur-era Antarctica is oldest 'modern' bird
Near the end of the age of dinosaurs, a bird resembling today's loons and grebes dove for fish and other prey in the perilous waters off Antarctica. Thanks to a nearly complete fossil skull, scientists now have identified this waterfowl as the oldest-known member of the lineage spanning all birds alive today.
Ancient relative of geese is the earliest known modern bird
A newly analysed fossil skull settles a palaeontological debate over Vegavis iaai, confirming it as a relative of ducks and geese that lived 69 million years ago
Paleontologists Discover Fossil of the Oldest Known Modern Bird—but It Raises More Questions Than It Answers
Paleontologists have been arguing whether modern birds developed before or after the infamous asteroid for decades. Now, a team of researchers has analyzed a 69-million-year-old fossil belonging to the long-extinct bird Vegavis iaai that could put the discussion to rest.
Cretaceous fossil from Antarctica reveals earliest modern bird
Digital reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous (~69 million years old) crown bird Vegavis iaai that was completed following high-resolution micro-computed tomography of a fossil-bearing concretion discovered on Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: Joseph Groenke (Ohio University) and Christopher Torres (University of the Pacific), 2025.
Remarkable Fossil Discovery Hints at Antarctic Origins of All Modern Birds
A near-perfect fossilized skull discovered in Antarctica reveals the bridge between prehistoric and modern birds, a new study has found. The fossil is a specimen of a species called Vegavis iaai, which lived around 69 million years ago – more than 2 million years before the mass extinction that wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs.
Fossil of ancient duck-like creature discovered
Scientists in Antarctica claim they have may have discovered the oldest modern bird ever found. The fossil which is a skull is believed to be 69-million-years old and belonged to a species called Vegavis iaai.
69-million-year-old fossil discovery reveals earliest modern bird
Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. Yet, some early birds, including the ancestors of modern waterfowl, survived. A new discovery from Antarctica provides fresh insight into their evolution.
This Prehistoric Duck-Like Creature May Be The Earliest Modern Bird Ever Discovered
In 1992, a paleontologist unearthed the fossil of a prehistoric bird called "Vegavis iaai" in Antarctica and hypothesized that it was an early relative of today's ducks and geese. However, because the fossil was missing a skull,
Scientists Just Found The Oldest Modern Bird Buried in the Antarctic Ice
For decades, scientists have wondered at the taxonomy of Vegavis iaai—an ancient avian specimen that lived in what is now ...
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‘Weird and wonderful’: Antarctic fossil forces scientists to redraw the bird family tree
In a nutshell A newly discovered 69-million-year-old bird skull from Antarctica proves that modern birds were already diverse ...
The Search for the Original Silly Goose in the Fossil Record
Some paleontologists think that fossils recovered from Antarctica are evidence of birds similar to modern geese and ducks ...
69-Million-Year-Old Fossil Bird Skull in Antarctica Sheds Light on Waterfowl Evolution
A fossilised bird skull found in Antarctica reveals evolutionary links between Vegavis iaai and modern waterfowl species.
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Did you know?
Scientists identify Vegavis iaai, a 69 million-year-old bird from Antarctica, as the oldest-known relative of modern birds, ...
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Artist interpretation of Vegavis (IMAGE)
An artist’s interpretation of Vegavis iaai diving for fish in the shallow ocean off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula, with ammonites and plesiosaurs for company.
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Antarctica's Ancient Avians & Other Science Marvels
A fossil from Antarctica unveils the oldest-known modern bird, Vegavis iaai, dating back 69 million years. In Chile, ...