Pterosaurs soared through the air 66 million years ago, but they weren’t the only animals to roam the skies. Creatures that resemble birds of prey likely killed prey when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
Some were about the size of falcons and had strong raptor legs, a research team writes in the journal ‘Plos One’. When dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops were still alive, the ancestors of today’s birds already flew through the air.
Their relatives included the Enantiornithes, who at that time populated almost the entire world.
But like the dinosaurs, they became extinct about 66 million years ago after an asteroid impact. Remains of three such birds from two species from the Late Cretaceous have now been scientifically described. According to Alexander Clark’s team at the University of Chicago, their bones indicate powerful leg muscles.
It is unclear exactly what the birds looked like: so far only foot bones have been found. Yet there is a lot to be gained from this, Clark explains. “Every angle and bump on a bone can tell us something about where the muscles or tendons attached and how big they were.”
The fossils were found in the American state of Montana, in a layer of 66 to 68 million years old, i.e. from a time shortly before the extinction of the dinosaurs. The species was given the names Magnusavis ekalakaensis and Avisaurus darwini.
Source: Krone
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