China Has Richest Ancient Bird Fossils in WorldThe fifth World Ancient Birds and Evolution Conference as well as the Rehe Bio-group-Symposium was held in Beijing on June 1. It's reported that China not only has the richest ancient bird fossil groups, but also holds the leading position in the study of ancient birds in the world. China has become one of the major countries engaged in the study of ancient birds' fossils.Sources say that the early-stage bird fossils discovered in China not only numerically exceed the total of same fossils in other regions, but also they are extremely rich in variety and are preserved exceedingly well. The unique dinosaurs with hairs are also found in China. These fossils give support to the hypothesis that birds originated from dinosaurs. Besides enjoying the superiority of excellent materials, China has made remarkable achievement in the study of ancient birds and Rehe Bio-community. In five short years, Chinese paleontologists have published 14 essays on world-renowned magazines "Nature" and "Science", this is something unique in the field of China's natural sciences. It was the first time that the World Ancient Bird and Evolution Conference took place recently in an Asian country. Paleontologists from across the world had discussions on many questions such as the origin of birds and the evolution of ancient birds. The meeting was sponsored by Ancient Vertebrate and Paleoanthropology Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. |
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