Scientists were able to describe in detail the excellently preserved feathers of Gesperornis for the first time. This species belongs to an extinct group of waterfowl that inhabited freshwater and marine ecosystems of the Northern Hemisphere at the end of the Cretaceous period. The discovery was made in the feces of a predatory dinosaur.
It was established that some Gesperornis feathers exhibited a complete set of characteristics typical of modern birds from the crown group. These features include a shaft with a rectangular cross-section and the presence of a core. Nevertheless, more archaic, filamentous feathers were also found alongside these feathers.
The researchers published their findings in the journal Current Biology. According to their hypothesis, the more developed plumage of crown group birds provided more efficient heat retention. This, according to the scientists, was the reason for the survival of these birds during the Paleogene extinction event, while other evolutionary branches of birds, including Gesperornis, could not survive this period.