Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Science › Chinese fossil find shows birds shed their dinosaur...
Science

Chinese fossil find shows birds shed their dinosaur tails step by step

Chinese fossil find shows birds shed their dinosaur tails step by step
South China Morning Post Saturday 18 July 2026, 04:00 UTC By Victoria Bela 1 min read
Key Points

A fossil found in China suggests modern birds shed the long, bony tails of their dinosaur ancestors through a step-by-step process, rather than a sudden evolutionary transition as previously believed. The transition to a short, feathered tail was one of the most important steps in the evolution and survival of birds, the only living group of dinosaurs to survive a mass extinction event 66 million years ago. “The evolutionary assembly of the flight-adapted bird body plan encompasses some of...

A fossil found in China suggests modern birds shed the long, bony tails of their dinosaur ancestors through a step-by-step process, rather than a sudden evolutionary transition as previously believed. The transition to a short, feathered tail was one of the most important steps in the evolution and survival of birds, the only living group of dinosaurs to survive a mass extinction event 66 million years ago. “The evolutionary assembly of the flight-adapted bird body plan encompasses some of the...
Chinese (ORG) China (LOCATION)
Originally published by South China Morning Post Read original →

Related Stories

FCC approves first launch for space reflector constellation

FCC approves first launch for space reflector constellation Swati Mestri Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor Reflect Orbital moves ahead with the company's first Eärendil launch amid concerns from the astronomical community. A new constellation of bright reflector satellites could soon compete with the night sky. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved the first demonstration launch of Reflect Orbital's Eärendil-1 satellite.

Phys.org 2h ago

South African genomics projects direct 10% of budgets to community-chosen benefits

South Africa is pioneering new ways to embed ethical benefit sharing in genomics research through community-led decision-making. Speaking at the World Congress of Bioethics (WCB) in Johannesburg on 8–10 July, Ngoni Ngwarai, assistant director of systems and operations at the SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), presented an operational blueprint for researchers, universities, funders and industry partners seeking to translate ethical principles...

Phys.org 3h ago

Backlash in Japan over Fukuoka officials’ costly overseas ‘research trips’

Officials in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka are facing growing scrutiny over a series of overseas “research trips” that included stays in Paris and London and millions of yen in hotel upgrades, as public frustration builds over political spending during a period of rising household costs. The controversies have put pressure on Governor Seitaro Hattori and the local chapter of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Fukuoka, one of Japan’s most important regional governments...

South China Morning Post 3h ago

Algorithm for NP-Complete Sudoku

Topological Collapse of Complexity: P = NP under the NLS Structural Paradigm. Authors/Creators Description This document proposes a conceptual and constructive solution to the millennium problem $P$ vs $NP$. It is demonstrated that the asymmetrical complexity barrier between verification (P) and resolution (NP) is a direct consequence of using a deficient algebraic coordinate system (sequential brute force).

Hacker News 4h ago