Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Scientists Find Missing Link in Bird Evolution

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the quack-quack dept.

BlueCup writes "Dozens of fossils of an ancient loon-like creature that some say is the missing link in bird evolution have been discovered in northwest China. The remains of 40 of the nearly modern amphibious birds, so well-preserved that some even have their feathers, were found in Gansu province, researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science. Previously only a single leg of the creature, known as Gansus yumenensis, had been found."

12 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. FSM Strikes Again! by Jerk+City+Troll · · Score: 5, Funny

    They were planted there by the Flying Spaghetti Monster to test the convictions of the faithful!

    --
    Join Tor today!
    1. Re:FSM Strikes Again! by ozmanjusri · · Score: 3, Funny
      They never can give any actual citations of research other than a few canned talking points.

      Do you have any evidence to support this statement, or is it just something you trot out in every discussion of evolution?

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    2. Re:FSM Strikes Again! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      or, as a neighbor in my childhood tried to tell us, "those dinasaur bones are fakes! ...placed there by satan to undermine the faith of us christians"

    3. Re:FSM Strikes Again! by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 2, Funny

      Best Coast to Coast exchange I've ever heard.

      Guest: And every human racial type is originally from another planet.
      Host: Hey! What about dogs! I bet animals might have all had a different home planet too.
      Guest: Uhhhhh....sure.
      Host: WOW!!!

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
  2. Missing Link, eh? by Eideewt · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wonderful. They may have "found the missing link" but now there are two missing links to take its place!

  3. In related news... by reklusband · · Score: 5, Funny

    KFC's stock soared 100 points with the news that the protoduck would be served boneless and with hot sauce. When asked to comment on the decision to serve 100 million year old extinct bird, a kfc representative was quoted as saying "It has to taste better that the cluck we serve now"

  4. In related news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Chinese culinary historians were also very excited by the discovery, noting that this pushes back the date of the earliest known example of Peking duck 110 million years.

  5. Name? by Comatose51 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Following the naming convention of the "Peking Man", is this one going to be "Peking Duck"?

    --
    EvilCON - Made Famous by /.
  6. They're liars. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    There is no such thing as evolution. Flying Spaghetti Monster is the sole being responsible for making the earth and the universe as it is. It is He who put the fossils there so evolutionists would be fooled and the public's faith would be tested. If you believe, then, upon the day of Reckoning, when fiery meatballs fall from the sky and water tastes like marinara sauce, you will be saved.

    Scientists agree! Join the Church of the http://www.venganza.org/Flying Spaghetti Monster!

  7. couldn't resist, sorry by Aussie · · Score: 2, Funny

    To this the Duck replied, "What kind of bird are you, if you can't swim?"' - Sergei Prokofiev

  8. auntie? by sc0p3 · · Score: 2, Funny

    they found aunt martha! we've been looking for the old bird for years!

  9. It's Obvious by 123abc · · Score: 1, Funny

    "The fossils even reveal impressions of feathers, webbed feet and other rare details, though none of the remains include a skull."

    These were ducks ready to be butchered, but ran and hid after getting their heads chopped off.