55 million year old owl discovered had "murderous talons"

     

A team of paleontologists discovered a new species of owl that appeared on Earth 55 million years ago. Its skeleton is one of the oldest structures ever discovered.

About 55 million years ago, in present-day Wyoming, a huge Raptor flew. Its fossil remains, discovered in the 1990s, have been the subject of further analysis. According to the researchers, who published their work in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, this animal represents a new genus and new species of owl. It's just called Primoptynx poliotauros.

This new study is interesting. As it sheds light on the oldest owls that were ever discovered. The oldest fossils date back about 60 million years. However, the specimen in question can only be identified from a few bone fragments and one leg bone. This new bird offers an almost complete fossil. In fact, only the head is missing.

"This owl retained primitive skeletal characters despite its age, which helps us understand the evolutionary history of these birds."

Based on its preserved bones, this bird was nearly two feet long. According to the researchers, it should be larger than the modern snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca).

It has another amazing feature. Primoptynx's first and second toes were larger than other toes, while owls are almost all the same size today. This indicates that their feet looked more like those of other birds of prey, such as hawks and eagles. Therefore, we can imagine that these ancient owls killed their prey in the same way: by piercing them with their claws, in contrast to modern owls who use their beaks.

In this way, this prey might have been able to prey on large prey such as rabbits. In his days, rabbits were not yet found in North America. On the other hand, the area was inhabited by rodents that could be caught on the ground.