A Cretaceous Period bird called Vegavis iaai dives for fish in the shallow ocean off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula in this illustration released Feb. 5. Near the end of the age of dinosaurs, a ...

A newly studied Vegavis iaai skull from Antarctica confirms that modern bird lineages, like ducks and geese, were evolving alongside non-avian dinosaurs. This study supports Vegavis' placement in the ...

The fossil records so far support the latter version, known as the "big bang" theory of bird evolution. But if the new find, known as Vegavis iaai, really is a relative of the duck, it would lend ...

A recent study found a nearly complete skull in Antarctica that may belong to an ancient ancestor of ducks and geese called Vegavis iaai. This species lived around 68 million years ago, during the ...

A pair of Vegavis iaai, the earliest known modern bird at 69 million years ago, foraging for fish and other animals in the Late Cretaceous ocean off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: ...

An artistic depiction of a pair of Vegavis iaai, the earliest known modern bird at 69 million years ago, foraging for fish and other animals in the Late Cretaceous ocean off the coast of the Antarctic ...

Paleontologists have found the first complete skull of a controversial prehistoric bird. Known as Vegavis iaai, the bird thrived in late-Cretaceous Antarctica, then a tropical paradise. About a ...

Scientists say a 69-million-year-old fossil found in Antarctica now represents the earliest known modern bird, shedding new light on the evolution of early avian species. The skull of Vegavis iaai, a ...

The fossil belongs to Vegavis iaai, an extinct bird species. A recent discovery in Antarctica has unearthed a 68-million-year-old fossil, providing significant insights into the history of modern bird ...

A 68-million-year-old Antarctic fossil revealed the oldest known modern bird, Vegavis iaai, a duck-sized diver with traits linking it to today’s waterfowl.

For decades, scientists have wondered at the taxonomy of Vegavis iaai— an ancient avian specimen that lived in what is now Antarctica during the late Cretaceous period. A new study, in which ...