Earliest modern bird lived in Antarctica 69 million years ago

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid impact near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico ended the era of non-avian dinosaurs. But amid the global upheaval, certain birds – and the group that gave rise to today’s ducks and geese – found sanctuary in the temperate habitats of Antarctica. 

Now, an article published in the journal Nature describes a nearly complete, 69-million-year-old fossil skull of Vegavis iaai, an early relative of modern waterfowl.

Study lead author Christopher Torres spent three years at Ohio University as an NSF postdoctoral fellow. He investigated how various factors – ranging from ecological roles to brain anatomy – played into bird diversification and resilience to extinction. 

“Few birds are as likely to start as many arguments among paleontologists as Vegavis,” said Torres. “This new fossil is going to help resolve a lot of those arguments. Chief among them: where is Vegavis perched in the bird tree of life?” 

Controversy surrounding the bird fossil 

Originally identified two decades ago by study co-author Julia Clarke of The University of Texas at Austin and colleagues, Vegavis was suggested to be a primitive modern (crown) bird related to waterfowl. 

Yet, given the scarcity of modern-type birds before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, some researchers questioned Vegavis’s classification. 

The newly studied fossil addresses these doubts because it incorporates anatomical regions absent from earlier fossils – particularly a nearly intact skull.

Notable features of the bird skull

Skepticism surrounding the bird’s identity has largely been dispelled by notable skull features, including the structure of the beak and brain region, which align with traits found in present-day waterfowl. 

The specimen further preserves strong jaw muscles, likely advantageous for diving and seizing fish – a departure from the feeding habits of most modern waterfowl but more reminiscent of species like loons and grebes.

These skull features, combined with other evidence in the skeleton, support the idea that Vegavis propelled itself through water with its feet in pursuit of aquatic prey – an approach that diverges from what is typical of modern ducks and geese.

“This fossil underscores that Antarctica has much to tell us about the earliest stages of modern bird evolution,” said co-author Patrick O’Connor, a paleontologist at Ohio University, and director of Earth and Space Sciences at Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Late Cretaceous bird fossils

Bird fossils from this Late Cretaceous interval in other regions of the world tend to look distinctly un-modern. Moreover, localities that preserve delicate avian remains are quite rare, often providing fragments insufficient for determining much about the species’ evolutionary connections – mirroring the situation with Vegavis until now.

“And those few places with any substantial fossil record of Late Cretaceous birds, like Madagascar and Argentina, reveal an aviary of bizarre, now-extinct species with teeth and long bony tails, only distantly related to modern birds,” said O’Connor.

“Something very different seems to have been happening in the far reaches of the Southern Hemisphere, specifically in Antarctica.”

Antarctica and early bird evolution 

Exactly how the Antarctic continent shaped the development of current ecosystems across deep time remains a focus of worldwide scientific inquiry. 

According to study co-author Matthew Lamanna of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Antarctica is in many ways the final frontier for humanity’s understanding of life during the Age of Dinosaurs.

“This discovery exemplifies the power of scientific research and the crucial role our institution plays in advancing knowledge about Earth’s deep history,” said Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. 

“This research not only enhances our understanding of early bird evolution but also highlights the invaluable contributions of Ohio graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who are at the forefront of these expeditions. It is through these global, expeditionary efforts – whether in the field or in the lab – that we can truly grasp the dynamic changes our planet has undergone over millions of years.” 

Gonzalez noted that the study is a prime example of real-world experiential learning that connects STEM education with hands-on, transformative research, preparing the next generation of scientists to tackle the challenges of the future.

“Large-scale projects like this one, involving students and postdoctoral researchers, prepare the scientists of tomorrow to collaborate, advance science, and tackle the biggest questions facing our planet,” O’Connor concluded.

Image Credit: Mark Witton, 2025.

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