China-US research unveils dinosaur-bird transition

Researchers from China and the United States have shed new light on the ancient evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds, thanks to a remarkably well-preserved specimen of Archaeopteryx.

The study, jointly led by Hu Han of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Jingmai O'Connor of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, was published this month in the journal Nature.

Archaeopteryx, widely recognized as the most primitive known bird from the Late Jurassic period around 150 million years ago, is considered a pivotal species in paleontology for displaying features of both birds and non-avian dinosaurs.