NEW FAMILY OF PREHISTORIC BIRDS FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

Released on April 18, 2012

The Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) has identified a new species of prehistoric birds, based on fossils discovered in Grasslands National Park in southwest Saskatchewan.

"This discovery is yet another example of the great scientific work going on at the RSM," Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Bill Hutchinson said. "The RSM's impact on the international stage, and through research projects like the one using the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, continues to make the RSM the centre for palaeontological research in Saskatchewan."

In a paper just released by the journal Palaeoworld, authors Larry Martin of Kansas University, the late Evgeny Kurochkin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Tim Tokaryk, of the RSM, announce an entire new family of loon-like, toothed, aquatic birds, from the end of the Cretaceous Period. Named Brodavidae, it includes a new genus - Brodavis - and four new species. The species Brodavis americanus was discovered in Grasslands National Park in southwest Saskatchewan, as well as other parts of North America.

"This is an amazing series of discoveries that fills in the gaps in our timeline," Curator of Palaeontology for the Royal Saskatchewan Museum Tim Tokaryk said. "What also makes these discoveries significant is that it appears that the birds were adapting, moving from a coastal marine habitat to inland freshwater rivers and lakes. This gives us the tantalizing possibility that, unlike in earlier times when their ancestors were foot-propelled, flightless, divers, these Brodavid species may have retained the capacity for flight."

It was known that some types of these aquatic birds (Hesperornithiforms) existed at the time of the Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops. However, little was known about the diversity of these birds at the time just prior to the extinction event of 65 million years ago, which wiped out the dinosaurs. Scientists have long wondered how close to the end of the Cretaceous period this group of birds lived and whether they were still as abundant as they were at earlier times.

Research will continue on the fossils already collected as will the search for more. The four species came from Saskatchewan, the United States and Mongolia. Grasslands National Park, along with other areas in southwest Saskatchewan, continues to be a rich source of fossils.

The Royal Saskatchewan Museum scientists continue to do research in a number of areas, including palaeontology, environmental sustainability, First Nations history and archaeology as well as wildlife ecology. Through their research, outreach programs and the galleries, the RSM furthers an understanding of Saskatchewan's natural history and aboriginal cultures, past and present.

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For more information, contact:

Tiffany Stephenson
Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3506
Email: tiffany.stephenson@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-550-5927