A newly discovered 69-million-year-old fossil from Antarctica has provided the earliest known evidence of modern birds, shedding light on their evolution during the Cretaceous period.

The fossil, a nearly complete skull belonging to the extinct bird Vegavis iaai, suggests that modern waterfowl-like birds existed alongside dinosaurs before the mass extinction event.

Published in the journal Nature, the study was led by Dr. Christopher Torres, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Postdoctoral Fellow at Ohio University.

Researchers believe this discovery strengthens the argument that Vegavis was an early relative of ducks and geese, placing it firmly within the modern bird lineage. The skull’s shape, particularly its long beak and brain structure, aligns with features seen in present-day waterfowl.

These features place Vegavis in the group that includes all modern birds, representing the earliest evidence of a now widespread and successful evolutionary radiation across the planet.

"Few birds are as likely to start as many arguments among paleontologists as Vegavis," says lead author Dr. Torres, now a professor at University of the Pacific. "This new fossil is going to help resolve a lot of those arguments. Chief among them: where is Vegavis perched in the bird tree of life?"

The fossil was collected during a 2011 expedition by the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project. Until now, Vegavis had been known from fragmentary remains, making its evolutionary position uncertain.

However, this new specimen preserves unique traits, such as traces of strong jaw muscles suited for underwater foraging, similar to grebes and loons rather than typical ducks and geese.

Dr. Julia Clarke of The University of Texas at Austin first reported Vegavis two decades ago, proposing it as a modern bird ancestor.

However, due to the rarity of pre-extinction modern birds, doubts persisted.

The newly analyzed skull, according to Dr. Patrick O’Connor of Ohio University, resolves much of the debate by confirming Vegavis as part of the waterfowl group.

"This fossil underscores that Antarctica holds crucial clues to modern bird evolution," said O’Connor, who is also the director of Earth and Space Sciences at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Other Late Cretaceous birds found in Madagascar and Argentina had teeth and long tails, whereas Vegavis exhibited more modern traits, hinting at a unique evolutionary path in the Southern Hemisphere.

The study suggests that Antarctica played a significant role in shaping early modern bird species.

Other contributors to the study include Joseph Groenke (Ohio University), Ross MacPhee (American Museum of Natural History), Grace Musser (The University of Texas at Austin and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History), and Eric Roberts (Colorado School of Mines). #