A new report from scientists says remains of the first bird may have been discovered in China, according to Live Science.
The Aurornis xui was first discovered by a farmer in the Liaoning Province. It was located in 2012 at the Fossil and Geology Park, in one of the park’s museums.
There have been some who have challenged the conclusion that the fossil belonged to a bird. However, according to Nature News, paleontologist Pascal Godefroit of the Royal Belgian institute of Natural Sciences believes “it’s a bird.” He did acknowledge, "The differences between birds and [nonavian] dinosaurs are very thin."
The analysis also ensured the Archaeopteryx fossil was avialan—experts had recently opposed this classification.
"Traditionally, we have defined birds as things like Archaeopteryx and closer to things like modern birds," said vertebrate paleontologist Luis Chiappe of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "If you stick to the definition, this thing is not earliest known bird.”
However Chiappe says the most important thing is the research "still helps us understand better the origin of birds," he said.
Research showed the bird, Auronis xui, was about a foot and a half long with tiny teeth.
According to Godefroit, the bird was most likely not able to fly.
According to the researchers, the Auronis is older than the Archaeopteryx, which was previously classified as the olderst bird.
According to Live Science, the research also classified “another family of birdlike dinosaurs, known as Troodontidae, as a sister group to the avialans.”
The research was published in the May 30 copy of journal Nature.
