The ancestor of the owl exists and was a dinosaur: Shuvuuia deserti had very strong sight and hearing at night, like the modern owl
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe ancestor of the owl exists and was a dinosaur: a study, conducted by a research group led by the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), shows that the fossil species called Shuvuuia deserti had very strong sight and hearing at night, configuring itself as the prehistoric owl.
The work examined fossilized dinosaur skulls and focused on two extinct species in particular, Haplocheirus sollers and deserted Shuvuuia, both theropods, or three-toed carnivorous dinosaurs, gathering evidence that these had extremely good night vision. But in addition the S. deserti also had a strong nocturnal hearing.
It is the first time that these two traits have been found in the same fossil, experts say, suggesting that this small dinosaur that lived in ancient Mongolia was likely a specialized night hunter of insects and small mammals. Basically the prehistoric owl.
These sensory characteristics, the combination of sharp sight and hearing at night, were previously unknown in dinosaurs of this class. And previous studies had shown that nocturnal predation evolved with extremely poor vision and increased hearing sensitivity.
But in the late Cretaceous S. deserti also had a more pronounced hearing, having at the same time maintained an incredible night vision. The finding is particularly significant, because this combination of sensory adaptations appears to have evolved independently in dinosaurs, and provides considerable example of convergence between dinosaurs and mammals.
Paleontologists currently do not know the entire series of animals that shared the extreme nocturnal lifestyle of S. deserts in the ancient deserts of Mongolia. senses. However, the presence of a specialized night hunter highlights that, just like today, some dinosaurs have avoided the dangers and competition of the daytime hours, wandering under the stars.
The research was published in Science.
Sources of reference: The Conversation
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