"Unique" bird fossils fill the 70 million-year gap in bird brain evolution｜Expo Daily

Could Black Swans Become an Invasive Species in my country? !

The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a bird native to Australia. Its natural distribution is limited to the Australian region and it has no migratory habits.

Therefore, the black swan is not a native swan in my country, but an alien species introduced by humans, and is not a national protected animal. However, in domestic news about black swans, there are often imprecise descriptions such as "national second-level protected animal" and "on migration".

The direct impact of black swans on native ecosystems has not yet been significant, but their rapidly increasing numbers and wide distribution indicate potential environmental threats.

In other countries where black swans have been introduced, their presence is not always so pleasant. In Germany and the Netherlands, black swans can hybridize with local mute swans, causing genetic contamination (pictured); in France, black swans are aggressive to other native species of the swan genus and humans; in Belgium, Japan and Florida, the black swan has been officially recognized as an invasive species.

In addition, black swans also have the risk of carrying viruses . There have been cases of black swans being infected with avian influenza virus in China. In 2021, a total of three black swans died in the Old Summer Palace Ruins Park. Clinical diagnosis, pathological autopsy and laboratory diagnosis confirmed that they were highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N8 subtype.

Image source: pixabay

'Unique' bird fossil

Filling a 70-million-year gap in bird brain evolution

Recently, a team led by researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in the United States published a paper in Nature, reporting a "unique" bird fossil, which the researchers named Navaornis hestiae.

It fills a 70-million-year gap in the study of brain evolution in birds from Archaeopteryx 150 million years ago to today, and is expected to become a "Rosetta Stone" for determining the origin of brain evolution in modern birds .

In the animal kingdom, modern birds have advanced cognitive abilities that are even comparable to some mammals. However, how modern birds' unique brains and intelligence evolved has always been one of the mysteries in the field of vertebrate evolution.

The fossil is unique because its skull is preserved almost intact , which is very rare in any bird fossil. The three-dimensional, perfectly preserved skull allowed researchers to digitally reconstruct the bird's brain using advanced micro-computed tomography technology.

The researchers found that Navaornis had a larger brain than Archaeopteryx, suggesting it had more advanced cognitive abilities, but that most areas of its brain, such as the cerebellum, were less developed, suggesting it had not yet evolved the complex flight control mechanisms of modern birds.

Image source:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08114-4

Reference: Chiappe, LM, Navalón, G., Martinelli, AG et al. Cretaceous bird from Brazil informs the evolution of the avian skull and brain. Nature 635, 376–381 (2024).

Dream! Heading towards the mantle!

"Drilling through the earth's crust and entering the deep earth" has long been a scientific dream of mankind. Now, China's latest research vessel is expected to turn this dream into reality.

On November 17, China's first ocean drilling ship "Dream" was commissioned in Guangzhou. It is the world's drilling ship with the strongest drilling capability, the most comprehensive scientific research functions, the highest level of intelligence, and the lowest operation and maintenance cost.

The "Dream" has a total length of 179.8 meters, a width of 32.8 meters, a gross tonnage of 33,000, a cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles, a self-sustaining capacity of 120 days, a crew of 180, and is equipped with a DP-3 dynamic positioning system. It can operate normally in level 6 sea conditions and survive safely in a level 16 super typhoon, and has the ability to operate in unlimited areas in global waters.

The construction of the "Dream" involves 2,330 sets of equipment, 48,696 pipes, and 1,200 kilometers of cables. It is an extremely complex giant system, and the amount of work is dozens of times that of a ship of the same size.

The "Dream" is equipped with four drilling modes and three coring methods, which can meet different operational needs such as ocean coring and deep-sea resource exploration. The comprehensive drilling efficiency and hard rock drilling capabilities have been greatly improved, and the maximum drilling depth can reach 11,000 meters . It is expected to help scientists around the world realize the scientific dream of "drilling through the earth's crust and entering the deep earth."

Fire and water don't mix?

You can do it at Xinjiang Flame Spring!

There is a huge group of Yadans in the wilderness east of Baicheng County, at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Kizil Ghost City is a huge red stone forest. It is a very niche attraction, famous for its "Flame Spring". The Flame Spring is a natural phenomenon. Under the action of crustal movement and geological structure, underground natural gas enters the surface through cracks and pores, reacts with oxygen in the air, and produces flames. The raging fire and the spring water are intertwined, and water cannot extinguish the fire, and fire cannot dry up the water . It is very spectacular.

Daipoe, no wonder people call you "stinky aunt"!

You are so unhygienic.

In many places, people call the hoopoe "stinky aunt" . It turns out that although this bird is not bad looking, it does not pay much attention to personal hygiene. Especially during the breeding season, the female bird will not leave the nest at all while incubating eggs. She eats, drinks, defecates and urinates in the nest, making the nest dirty and smelly. Not only that, the female bird will also secrete a kind of stench oil, which makes the bird's nest stink.

Image source: pixabay

The content is compiled from China Science Popularization Expo Weibo, Science Academy, Beijing Association for Science and Technology, China Science Daily, Science Popularization China, Science Popularization Xinjiang

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