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Fossil Reveals Weird, Toothed 'Toucan' That Lived Alongside The Dinosaurs - ScienceAlert

Fossil Reveals Weird, Toothed 'Toucan' That Lived Alongside The Dinosaurs - ScienceAlert

Fossil Reveals Weird, Toothed 'Toucan' That Lived Alongside The Dinosaurs - ScienceAlert
Nov 27, 2020 37 secs

The discovery of a creature described as resembling a "buck-toothed toucan" that lived some 68 million years ago has upended assumptions about diversity in the birds that lived alongside dinosaurs.

At less than nine centimetres (3.5 inches) long, the delicate skull of the bird scientists have dubbed Falcatakely forsterae might be easily overlooked.

The fossilised skull of Falcatakely forsterae.

When researchers finally turned their attention to it seven years later, they faced a problem: the skull and beak were far too fragile to extract for examination.

"These features give the skull of Falcatakely an almost comical profile - imagine a creature resembling a tiny, buck-toothed toucan," Field wrote.

None of the approximately 200 bird species known from the period "has a skull resembling anything like Falcatakely", he added.

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