Birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs, however some birds were already around back when they still roamed the Earth. And this is what experts are calling a “one of a kind” fossil dating back 80 million years, one which finally provides a better understanding of avians and their intelligence.
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00:00Birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs, however some birds were already around back
00:08when dinos still roamed the earth, and this is what experts are calling a one-of-a-kind
00:12fossil dating back 80 million years, one which finally provides a better understanding of
00:17avians and their intelligence.
00:19The creature which they have now named Naviornis lived in what is now Brazil, and the fossil
00:24which was recovered is almost entirely intact, which is why researchers were able to digitally
00:28reconstruct the creature's brain, essentially filling in the 70 million year gap between
00:33this bird and the 150 million year old Archaeopteryx.
00:37Experts discovered a larger cerebellum than its progenitor, suggesting more advanced cognitive
00:41abilities, however many other areas were actually less developed, meaning it may have not had
00:45the same flying abilities as modern avian varieties.
00:48With the researchers writing about it, the brain structure of Naviornis is almost exactly
00:52intermediate between Archaeopteryx and modern birds.
00:55It was one of these moments in which the missing piece fits absolutely perfectly, with
00:59the researchers saying its advanced brain could have made them better at finding food
01:03and shelter, or creating elaborate mating displays or other complex social behavior.
01:07With the researchers adding, this discovery shows that some of the birds flying over the
01:11heads of dinosaurs already had a fully modern skull geometry more than 80 million years
01:16ago.