Daily Current Affairs

'Wonderchicken': oldest fossil of modern bird discovered

General Studies (P. Patwari) Environment

Scientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (UK) have discovered a fossil of the world’s oldest known modern bird skull dating to about 66.8m – 66.7m years ago- means the birds lived alongside dinosaurs for around a million years before the latter died out.
Scientists dubbed the creature as ‘Wonderchicken‘, which is thought to be a common ancestor of modern chickens and ducks.
The scientific name of the bird is Asteriornis maastrichtensis, a reference to the place,where it was found & in recognition of the ancient Greek goddess of falling stars, Asteria.