It was millions of years before the earliest birds appeared on the scene that mystery animals walked on birdlike feet, a new study finds.
The evolution of birds is one of the most fascinating stories in biology, with a variety of theories as to their origins. While any potential precursor animals of ancient birds are long extinct, the fossil record of these creatures is scant.
Now, new research led by the University of Arizona has uncovered a surprising insight into the pre-bird world. Using advanced biomechanical analysis and computer tomography of the fossilized feet of the 260 million-year-old species, Tiarajudens eccentricus, the team determined that the animals shared many features with birds.
Their finding indicates that some of the adaptations which allowed modern birds to take flight significantly earlier than previously thought.
The researchers determined that T. eccentricus had ankles with flexibility similar to that of many present day birds. This pronounced flexibility offered a range of motion that allowed the animal to run quickly and jump.
Additionally, the toes of the animal had short and stout claw-like digits. This birdlike shape of the feet was in sharp contrast to that of other reptiles of the era which had flatter feet.
The team also found that T. eccentricus had muscular attachments to the feet and could apply force from the hind leg to the claw which would push the back feet forward in the same way that modern birds use their feet to move.
By uncovering how early in the development of the animal kingdom some of the key features that allowed flight emerged, the research is offering first-hand evidence for the debate on bird evolution.
While they didn’t evolve until much later, it seems that there were ancient animals with various birdlike attributes that provided a precursor for the aerodynamic creatures of today.
This new evidence supports the idea that certainarcheotherian species were evolutionary experiments in how flight eventually would appear in nature. As this study has underscored, these pre-bird animals had surprising abilities even in the absence of wings.
