Thursday, October 13, 2016

Cretaceous Waterfowl Honked

Or quacked, or something similar:
A new study of a 66-million-year-old bird may provide insight into some of the noises possibly heard at the end of the dinosaur era.

Researchers studying the fossilized remains of an Antarctic waterfowl called Vegavis iaai discovered within its chest the oldest known avian voice box, called a syrinx. The finding, published Wednesday in Nature, suggests that the ancient bird “honked” and “quacked” like today’s geese and ducks.

No comments: