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.

Before this discovery, Vegavis was mainly known from postcranial ... The results revealed critical avian traits, such as a beak devoid of teeth, a reduced maxillary contribution to the beak ...

Chief among them: where is Vegavis perched in the bird tree of life ... reveal an aviary of bizarre early birds with teeth and long bony tails that are only distantly related to modern birds.

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.

Researchers believe Vegavis iaai is the oldest known modern ... Unlike findings in Madagascar and Argentina, where ancient birds had teeth and long tails, it seems Antarctica had a unique ...

It belongs to a species that was first identified two decades ago named Vegavis iaai, which lived in the late Cretaceous Period alongside the last dinosaurs. But because only fragments of skulls ...

Vegavis was first reported 20 years ago by study ... now-extinct species with teeth and long bony tails, only distantly related to modern birds. "Something very different seems to have been ...

Vegavis, however, would have been ducklike in ... Skulls are where the most characteristic features of modern birds, such as a lack of teeth and an enlarged premaxillary bone in the upper beak ...

According to researchers, Vegavis was originally discovered in 2011 by the Antarctic ... most Late Cretaceous bird fossils come from places like Madagascar and Argentina, where species had teeth and ...

The new skull of Vegavis iaai exhibits features consistent with modern birds, including a long, pointed beak characterized by the absence of teeth and a reduced maxilla, with a unique bone in the ...