(Press-News.org) Early birds had made it to southern polar environments by 120 million years ago, according to a study published November 15, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Anthony Martin of Emory University, USA and colleagues.
Cretaceous bird fossils are abundant and diverse in northern continents, but extremely rare in southern continents, regions that were once part of the landmass of Gondwana. This presents a challenge for paleontologists trying to understand the distribution of early birds. In this study, Martin and colleagues report the discovery of a series of bird footprints from the Early Cretaceous (129-120 million years old) Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria, Australia.
The researchers described 27 individual footprints with features attributable to birds. The varying sizes and shapes of these tracks indicate the presence of several different types of birds, including some of the largest known from the Cretaceous Period. The tracks are present in multiple stratigraphic layers of an ancient polar floodplain, suggesting that these birds might have visited this area seasonally, perhaps as part of a migratory route.
Other than one bone and a few feathers, these tracks represent the oldest known evidence of birds living in Australia or any part of ancient Gondwana, and also the oldest known evidence of birds living in ancient polar environments. These findings have important implications for understanding how early birds dispersed across landmasses and biomes. It is possible that future efforts to seek early bird fossils in Gondwanan landmasses might reveal that they were more abundant in southern regions than the known fossil record has hitherto indicated.
The authors add: “We are very excited to document that a variety of birds were living in polar Australia during the Early Cretaceous Period. But we also hope our trace fossil discovery inspires other researchers to look for and find more Early Cretaceous bird tracks elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.”
#####
In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293308
Citation: Martin AJ, Lowery M, Hall M, Vickers-Rich P, Rich TH, Serrano-Brañas CI, et al. (2023) Earliest known Gondwanan bird tracks: Wonthaggi Formation (Early Cretaceous), Victoria, Australia. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0293308. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293308
Author Countries: USA, Australia
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
END
Australian footprints are the oldest known evidence of birds from southern regions
A diverse fauna of birds lived in southern polar regions during the Early Cretaceous
2023-11-15
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Treatment strategy for certain advanced prostate cancers shows promise in preclinical models
2023-11-15
Study Title: Targeting DNA methylation and B7-H3 in RB1-deficient and neuroendocrine prostate cancer
Publication: Science Translational Medicine [10.1126/scitranslmed.adf6732]
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute author: Himisha Beltran, MD
Summary: Epigenetic changes can cause prostate cancer to resist treatment by switching genes on or off. One epigenetic mechanism tags genes with DNA methylation marks. This process is mediated by molecules called DNA methyltransferases. These tags can alter gene expression in ways that promote tumors to grow and transition ...
Devil in the detail – What corporations aren’t disclosing about their C02 emissions
2023-11-15
A new study estimates most corporations are not reporting the full scope of their carbon footprint with many claiming to be ‘green’ despite a lack of reporting on Scope 3 key categories.
Though CO2 reporting is currently voluntary for most firms, corporations are under pressure from investors, regulators, politicians, non-profit organisations and other stakeholders to disclose and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
The standard for greenhouse gas accounting, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, is used worldwide to measure a company’s total carbon footprint with three levels of reporting.
The first measures the GHG emissions directly produced by a company ...
New ‘patch’ uses natural body motion to fix disc herniation
2023-11-15
PHILADELPHIA— A new biologic “patch” that is activated by a person’s natural motion could be the key to fixing herniated discs in people’s backs, according to researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the CMC VA Medical Center (CMCVAMC). Combining years of work from many different projects, the “tension-activated repair patches” (TARPs) provide controlled release of an anti-inflammatory molecule called anakinra from microcapsules over time, which helped ...
The liking gap is real for second language English speakers, new Concordia research shows
2023-11-15
A new study from Concordia’s Applied Linguistics Lab suggests that most people are usually overly harsh on themselves when speaking in a second language.
Writing in the journal Languages, PhD student Rachael Lindberg and her co-authors build on the previous understanding of individuals’ metaperception—a person’s idea of how they are perceived by others.
The idea that people frequently underestimate how likeable they are, known as the Liking Gap, ...
Study reveals link between neighborhood environmental burden and risk of cardiovascular disease
2023-11-15
BOSTON – A national study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) demonstrates that neighborhood exposure to environmental hazards is significantly associated with poor cardiovascular health across the United States. The study, presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in JAMA Cardiology, found that greater cumulative environmental burden (e.g., air pollution, nearby hazardous/toxic sites, poor built environment) was linked ...
Cancer: Discovery of the mechanisms regulating cancer formation
2023-11-15
To form a cancer, cells need to accumulate oncogenic mutations that confer tumor-initiating properties. However, recent evidence has shown that oncogenic mutations occur at a surprisingly high frequency in normal tissues, suggesting that mutations alone are not sufficient to drive cancer formation and that other mechanisms should promote or restrain oncogene-expressing cells from progressing into invasive tumors.
In a study published in Nature, researchers led by Prof. Cédric Blanpain, MD/PhD, investigator of the WEL Research Institute, Director of the Stem Cells and Cancer Laboratory and Professor at the Université ...
Researchers halt progression in Parkinson's disease mouse model
2023-11-15
BOSTON – In a study published in Nature Communications, investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) shed new light on key cellular processes involved in the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Affecting around 10 million people worldwide, Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the progressive loss of the group of brain cells responsible for producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a critical role in regulating movement and coordination. As these neurons degenerate and dopamine levels decrease, individuals with Parkinson's disease experience a wide range of symptoms, including ...
Study: People with obesity burn less energy during day
2023-11-15
PORTLAND, Oregon – Weight influences how and when bodies burn energy, new research indicates.
An Oregon Health & Science University study published in the journal Obesity found people who have a healthy weight use more energy during the day, when most people are active and eat, while those who have obesity spend more energy during the night, when most people sleep. The study also found that during the day, those with obesity have higher levels of the hormone insulin — a sign that the body is working harder to use glucose, an energy-packed sugar.
“It was surprising to learn how dramatically the timing of when our bodies burn energy differed in ...
Female MP pioneers lost unique appeal to voters because of increasing party control over campaigning, study shows
2023-11-15
Early women parliamentary candidates found it harder to make unique appeals to represent the ‘woman’s point of view’ over time because of increasing national control over campaigning, a new study shows.
The increasing trend for men to present themselves as diligent workers for their constituents’ welfare and keen supporters for social reform also meant they challenged the idea that only female politicians could represent their sex properly in parliament, researchers have found.
The first women parliamentary candidates built on the suffrage campaigners’ argument that there was a distinctive woman’s point of ...
Can gene expression predict if a brain tumor is likely to grow back?
2023-11-15
Doctors often prescribe radiation along with surgery to treat a brain tumor called meningioma that originates in the protective membranes surrounding the brain. But side effects from radiation can be serious, including memory loss and cognitive decline, so it’s important to know which patients really need it.
Now, researchers at UC San Francisco and Northwestern Medicine, in collaboration with 10 other medical centers, have found a highly accurate way to predict the best treatment for patients based ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue
UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’
New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening
Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas
Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition
CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves
Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam
Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand
Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch
New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed
New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations
Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency
How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads
Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids
Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation
Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria
Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options
Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity
Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers
Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time
‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’
Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible
Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound
American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care
Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential
Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration
Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce
Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care
Resident physician intentions regarding unionization
[Press-News.org] Australian footprints are the oldest known evidence of birds from southern regionsA diverse fauna of birds lived in southern polar regions during the Early Cretaceous