A Fossilized Bird Footprint Puzzles Scientists as It Predates the Existence of Birds.
Recently, a research team from the University of Cape Town discovered a 210-million-year-old fossil in Africa that bears a footprint resembling that of a bird.
A three-toed bird-like footprint found before the first birds appeared on Earth. (Photo: PLOS ONE).
Notably, even the ancestors of birds did not emerge until 150 million years ago, which is 60 million years after this fossil was formed.
It is known that among the fossils collected from four distinct sites in the area, researchers identified two distinct types of footprints.
The first type has large feet, long toes, and the toes are positioned closer together. According to the researchers, these resemble a different form of fossil footprint known as Anomoepus, which was left by a type of dinosaur.
For the second type, these footprints are of medium size, approximately half the size of the first type, with slimmer toes. This morphological type is closely related to modern bird species.
Three-toed footprints resembling birds that baffle scientists. (Photo: PLOS ONE).
With current scientific knowledge, the mystery of which ancient creature left these traces remains unresolved. Researchers hypothesize that these could be the footprints of some three-toed dinosaur.
It is likely that these creatures may later evolve into the ancestors of modern birds and crocodiles, as they share a branch in the evolutionary tree. It is also possible that dinosaurs in the past began to exhibit bird-like characteristics much earlier than previously thought.
Scientists believe that the findings from this fossil hunt could provide us with an exciting glimpse into the life of animals hundreds of millions of years ago, as well as open up new knowledge about the evolution of birds since then.
