Researchers say a 4-inch-long bird fossil discovered in Spain supports the idea that birds evolved from dinosaurs.
The fossil of a baby bird that lived 130 million years ago is the earliest hatchling ever discovered. It has a head and teeth like a dinosaur, but its wings, shoulders and breast bone are more like those of modern birds, researchers report in a study published in the journal Science.Scientists said the wing structure, which included evidence of feathers, suggests the bird would have been a more-skilled flier than Archaeopteryx, an animal that lived about 150 million years ago and is the earliest known true bird.
The fossilized baby bird is thought to represent a new species, but it has not been given a scientific name.
Bones of the hatchling have clusters of small holes, similar to the pattern found in the nestlings of modern birds. The bone structure suggests the bird would have grown rapidly, as do modern birds.