Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
Daniel Field wasn’t expecting to see much when he put a broken rock in a CT scanner. The University of Cambridge paleontologist and his student, Juan Benito, were looking at a donation to the Natural History Museum in Maastricht, the Netherlands, which appeared to have some prehistoric bird leg bones sticking out of it.
CT scans are a matter of course in this kind of research, Field says. The technology uses X rays to outline 3D versions of whatever is inside scanned objects, and in paleontology, lets researchers see through stone. When the team scanned the rock, they hoped the data would reveal more information about the limb bones.
But when Field digitally swept aside a layer of rock, staring back at him and Benito from the screen was a remarkably complete, 3D bird skull. "We almost died," Field says.
Read the full story at: discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/new-fossil-is-the-oldest-bird-relative-ever-found
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Credit: Daniel J. Field, University of Cambridge.
Full research paper: Field, D.J. et al. Late Cretaceous neornithine from Europe illuminates the origins of crown birds. Nature 579, 397–401(2020) doi: dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2096-0
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Daniel Field wasn’t expecting to see much when he put a broken rock in a CT scanner. The University of Cambridge paleontologist and his student, Juan Benito, were looking at a donation to the Natural History Museum in Maastricht, the Netherlands, which appeared to have some prehistoric bird leg bones sticking out of it.
CT scans are a matter of course in this kind of research, Field says. The technology uses X rays to outline 3D versions of whatever is inside scanned objects, and in paleontology, lets researchers see through stone. When the team scanned the rock, they hoped the data would reveal more information about the limb bones.
But when Field digitally swept aside a layer of rock, staring back at him and Benito from the screen was a remarkably complete, 3D bird skull. "We almost died," Field says.
Read the full story at: discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/new-fossil-is-the-oldest-bird-relative-ever-found
—
Credit: Daniel J. Field, University of Cambridge.
Full research paper: Field, D.J. et al. Late Cretaceous neornithine from Europe illuminates the origins of crown birds. Nature 579, 397–401(2020) doi: dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2096-0
—
ABOUT DISCOVER:
Discover is your source for science that matters, makes sense and is a lot of fun, too.
Visit us at: discovermagazine.com
FOLLOW US:
Facebook: facebook.com/DiscoverMag
Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoverMag
Instagram: instagram.com/discover.magazine
SUPPORT US:
Subscribe to Discover: bit.ly/34seAFT
Sign up for our newsletter: discovermagazine.com/newsletter-signup
My Science Shop: myscienceshop.com
FOLLOW ANNA:
Twitter: twitter.com/DrAnnaFunk
STAY CURIOUS!
