The oldest known perching bird found in Wyoming and Germany

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A new genus of perching bird has been described from Early Eocene age remains found in both the Green River Formation of Wyoming and the Messel pit of Germany. It has been given the new genus name Eofringillirostrum ("Dawn finch beak") with two distinct species (E. boudreauxi ("Boudreaux's dawn finch beak") and E. parvulum ("Small dawn finch beak")), with the genus name originating from the new genus' status as one of the earliest known perching birds and its similar beak to a modern finch, the first species name originating from Terry and Gail Boudreaux, longtime supporters of the Field Museum, whose researchers discovered this species, and the second species name originating from the bird's small size. The shape of the beak of the new genus suggests that it had a diet of small, hard seeds, revealing an important look at the early ecology of the perching bird group. The new find suggests that a distinct diversity of bill types had already evolved in the early ancestors of perching birds in the Eocene, with the distance between the two finds suggesting a widespread distribution and the paucity of known specimens suggesting a small number of individuals. Here is an image of the specimen used to describe E. boudreauxi and a link to the paper describing the two species in the new genus.



Paper (abstract only): https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)31674-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982218316749%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

[ITdactyl]

What a beautiful fossil.  And, is that the trachea? Considering how 'bare' the skull is, it's amazing the throat was preserved.

[Logo7]

What a beautiful fossil.  And, is that the trachea? Considering how 'bare' the skull is, it's amazing the throat was preserved.

The paper describes them as the tracheal rings that help to support the trachea.