Nature·3 min read·hard
Jurassic flightless bird reveals early ecological diversity of avialans
X
Xu, Liming
✦AI Summary
Researchers have discovered a new Late Jurassic flightless bird species, Yuezhuornis yangyuanensis, in southeastern China. The fossil reveals a unique mosaic of avian and theropod features, suggesting that early birds explored diverse ecological niches before the evolution of powered flight.
Why it matters
This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the early evolution of birds and provides critical evidence for the terrestrial, flightless lifestyle of early avialans.
Nature volume 658 , pages 690–697 ( 2026 ) Cite this article
scienceeducation
✦
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in