October 19, 2017

Fossil bird from the Messel Pit. Markings show the uropygial gland (Photo courtesy Sven Traenkner/ Senckenberg)

An article published in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences” describes the discovery of a fossil bird from 48 million years ago in which the uropygial gland was preserved, a gland that secretes an oil birds use to preen their plumage. The examination showed that it still contained lipids, the oldest ever found in the remains of a vertebrate.