Ancient footprints show oldest known evidence of birds in southern hemisphere

By Isobel Williams via SWNS

Ancient footprints found in Australia dating back more than 100 million years are the earliest known evidence of birds in the southern hemisphere.

The new study by Emory University, in Atlanta, published in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that early birds made it to southern polar environments 120 million years ago.

Cretaceous bird fossils such as this are abundant in northern continents but extremely rare in the south.

Until now paleontologists have struggled to understand the distribution of early birds due to this lack of evidence.

The 27 individual footprints with bird-like features found in Victoria, Australia, could help them with this challenge.

The varying sizes and shapes of these tracks indicate the presence of several different types of birds, including some of the largest known from the Cretaceous Period.

The marks suggest that the birds might have visited this area seasonally, perhaps as part of a migratory route.

Other than one bone and a few feathers, these tracks represent the oldest known evidence of birds living in Australia or any part of ancient Gondwana, and the oldest known evidence of birds living in ancient polar environments.

The findings could suggest that the early birds were more abundant in southern regions than we once thought.

The authors, led by Professor Anthony Martin said: “We are very excited to document that a variety of birds were living in polar Australia during the Early Cretaceous Period.

“But we also hope our trace fossil discovery inspires other researchers to look for and find more Early Cretaceous bird tracks elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.”