New Discoveries in Paleontology: Ancient Raptors Discovered in North America

In the late Cretaceous period, when the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex reigned over western North America, it shared its world with numerous other predators. Researchers have now discovered remarkable fossil remains of two newly identified bird species in Montana, indicating that birds of prey also enriched the ecosystems of the late dinosaur era. These newly discovered species, which lived around 67 million years ago, possess anatomical features similar to modern birds of prey. Particularly interesting is a foot bone that, akin to those in today's falcons, owls, and eagles, enabled the hunting of prey. The fossils come from the Hell Creek Formation, which spans four U.S. states and is renowned for significant dinosaur finds like T. rex and Triceratops. Of the two new bird species, the larger one is known as Avisaurus darwini and might have reached the size of a large falcon with a wingspan of about 1.3 meters. The second species, smaller and also belonging to the genus Avisaurus, has yet to receive a specific species name. Equipped with strong legs and powerful talons, these birds might have hunted small mammals and other birds. Researchers suspect that these enantiornithine birds, which went extinct 66 million years ago during a mass extinction event, occupied ecological niches similar to those of today's birds of prey. This group was one of four main lineages of birds in the age of dinosaurs and is not directly related to modern birds. Nevertheless, the morphological features necessary for predatory behavior appear to have evolved multiple times in evolution. Another find from the same era is Magnusavis ekalakaensis, about whose lifestyle little is yet known. These discoveries shed light not only on the end of the dinosaur era but also on the evolutionary history of birds in one of Earth's most significant epochs. This study provides a picture of the enormous versatility and diversity of Cretaceous ecosystems, which hosted not only giants like T. rex but also a wealth of smaller, fast-paced predators.