Gansus facts for kids

Gansus was an ancient bird that lived a very long time ago, about 115 to 105 million years ago. This was during a time called the Lower Cretaceous period. It was an aquatic bird, meaning it lived in or near water, much like ducks or loons today. Scientists found its fossils in Gansu province, which is in western China.

Gansus is super important because it's the oldest known bird in a group called Ornithurae. This group includes all modern birds we see today, plus some other extinct birds that were closely related, like Confuciusornis, Ichthyornis, and Hesperornis.

What Was Gansus Like?

The only known species of this bird is called Gansus yumenensis. It was about the size of a pigeon. It looked a bit like modern loons or diving ducks.

Features of Gansus

Gansus had many features that modern birds have today. However, it also kept some older, more basic traits. For example, it had claws on its wings.

How Gansus Was Discovered

The first fossil of Gansus was just a single foot. It was found in 1981. Later, between 2003 and 2004, five more amazing fossils were discovered. These were found in mudstone at the site of an ancient lake in Changma, Gansu. The rocks where they were found are part of the Xiagou Formation.

Preserved Fossils

The bodies of these birds settled in mud that had no oxygen. This kind of mud is called anoxic. Because there was no oxygen, their remains did not decay. These special fossils even preserved parts of their flight feathers. They also showed traces of the webbing between their toes, just like ducks have today.

Images for kids

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  Images showing the presence of melanosomes in Gansus and extant (C, D) feathers

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  Holotype foot, Paleozoological Museum of China

See also

In Spanish: Gansus para niños