Paleontologists have actually discovered the fossilized seeds of gymnosperm trees– family members these days’s conifers and ginkgos– in stomachs of 2 specimens of Longipteryx chaoyangensisamong the earliest recognized birds and among the strangest. The discovery reveals that these birds were consuming fruits, regardless of an enduring hypothesis that they delighted in fish, and more current hypotheses it consumed pests, with its exceptionally strong teeth.

Longipteryx chaoyangensis resided in what is now northeastern China throughout the Cretaceous duration, some 120 million years back.

Explained in 2000, this ancient bird had a long skull and teeth just at the suggestion of its beak.

“Tooth enamel is the hardest compound in the body, and Longipteryx‘s tooth enamel is 50 microns thick,” stated Alex Clark, a Ph.D. trainee at the Field Museum and the University of Chicago.

“That’s the very same density of the enamel on huge predatory dinosaurs like Allosaurus that weighed 4,000 pounds, however Longipteryx was the size of a bluejay.”

Researchers formerly recommended that a kingfisher-like extended skull of Longipteryx chaoyangensis implied that it hunted fish. This hypothesis has actually been challenged by a number of research studies.

“There are other fossil birds, like Yanornisthat consumed fish, and we understand since specimens have actually been discovered with maintained stomach contents, and fish tend to protect well,” stated Dr. Jingmai O’Connor, associate manager of fossil reptiles in the Field Museum.

“Plus, these fish-eating birds had great deals of teeth, all the method along their beaks, unlike how Longipteryx just has teeth at the really pointer of its beak. It simply didn’t build up.”

No specimens of Longipteryx chaoyangensis had actually been discovered with fossilized food still in their stomachs for researchers to verify what it consumed– previously.

In the brand-new research study, the paleontologists took a look at 2 brand-new specimens of this types.

They had the ability to figure out that the small, round structures in the birds’ stomachs were gymnosperm seeds.

Considering that Longipteryx chaoyangensis resided in a temperate environment, it most likely wasn’t consuming fruits year-round.

The authors presume that it had a combined diet plan that included things like bugs when fruits weren’t offered.

Longipteryx chaoyangensis belongs to a bigger group of ancient birds called the enantiornithines, and this discovery marks the very first time that researchers have actually discovered any stomach contents from an enantiornithine in China’s Jehol Biota in spite of countless exposed fossils.

“It’s constantly been unusual that we didn’t understand what they were consuming, however this research study likewise means a larger photo issue in paleontology, that physical attributes of a fossil do not constantly inform the entire story about what animal consumed or how it lived,” Dr. O’Connor stated.

Because Longipteryx chaoyangensis obviously wasn’t searching for fish, that leaves a concern: what was it utilizing its long, pointy beak and crazy-strong teeth for?

“The thick enamel is subdued, it appears to be weaponized,” Clark stated.

“One of the most typical parts of the skeleton that birds utilize for aggressive screens is the rostrum, the beak.”

“Having a weaponized beak makes good sense, due to the fact that it moves the weapon even more far from the remainder of the body, to avoid injury.”

“There are no contemporary birds with teeth, however there are these actually cool little hummingbirds that have keratinous forecasts near the idea of the rostrum that resemble what you see in Longipteryxand they utilize them as weapons to combat each other,” Dr. O’Connor included.

“Weaponized beaks in hummingbirds have actually developed a minimum of 7 times, permitting them to contend for minimal resources.”

The findings were released today in the journal Existing Biology

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Jingmai O’Connor et alDirect proof of frugivory in the Mesozoic bird Longipteryx opposes morphological proxies for diet plan. Existing Biologyreleased online September 10, 2024; doi: 10.1016/ j.cub.2024.08.012