Old fossils solve mystery of earliest bird extinction (BBC)

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By Leila Battison
Science reporter

Many early bird species suffered from the same catastrophic extinction as the dinosaurs, new research has shown.

The meteorite impact that coincided with the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, also saw a rapid decline in primitive bird species.

Only a few bird groups survived through the mass extinction, from which all modern birds are descended.

Researchers at Yale University have published their findings in PNAS this week.

There has been a long standing debate over the fate of the earliest "archaic" birds, which first evolved around 200 million years ago.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14979905

full publ'n: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15253