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Ancient Bird Boasted Giant Tail Feathers
27 May
Summary
- A new bird species, Plumadraco bankoorum, had tail feathers twice its body length.
- This Cretaceous bird lived approximately 121 million years ago in China.
- Feathers likely aided in attracting mates, similar to modern bird displays.
A newly identified species, named Plumadraco bankoorum or 'Banko's feather dragon,' has been unearthed from Cretaceous fossil records dating back approximately 121 million years. Discovered in Liaoning, China, this ancient bird measured about 6 inches from beak to tail, but its twin tail feathers were an astonishing 12 inches long, nearly double its body size.
The remarkably preserved fossil reveals not only body and wing feathers but also these extraordinarily long tail plumes. Researchers hypothesize these were primarily ornamental, used by likely male Plumadraco for flashy displays to attract potential mates, a behavior observed in many modern bird species.
This finding, published in PLOS One, suggests that elaborate feather ornamentation and mate choice have played a significant role in bird evolution for over 120 million years. The discovery was made by a PhD student who spotted the unique specimen among hundreds of unanalyzed fossils in a Chinese museum.
