The American scientists at the Pacific University and other research institutions have discovered the fossils of the oldest modern birds of Vegavis Iai at the South Pole.
According to Oxu.AZ, the study was published in the Scientific Magazine Nature.
Vegavis Iai were aquatic birds who lived 69 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. They belonged to a group that includes ducks and necks.
The team of researchers found in Antarctica an almost complete skull of the species *Vegavis *. It has unique features, such as a sharp beak and a brain shape similar to that of modern birds.
The discovery of vegavis helps to clarify the long debates about the origin of modern birds. Its skull retains traces of strong maxillary muscles, suggesting an adaptation to diving for cave capture – an unusual strategy for modern aquatic birds, but similar to that of the sea raven and the soup.
According to the researchers, in the past, Antarctica had a temperate climate and a lush vegetation. This environment could have offered a refuge for birds, allowing them to survive the extinction at the end of Cretaceous, which led to the disappearance of dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Most birds in Cretaceous, discovered in other regions, differ significantly from modern ones. Due to its isolation, Antarctica could have functioned as a “incubator” for the early forms of birds, which later spread throughout the planet, concluded scientists.
