A New Enantiornithine Bird with Unusual Pedal Proportions Found in Amber (Current Biology)

Xing et al. describe an avian hindlimb preserved in 99 million-year-old Burmese amber. Its unusual pedal proportions support the erection of a new species, Elektorornis chenguangi gen. et sp. nov. The elongated third toe may have been a feeding adaptation, aided by scutellae scale filaments with possible tactile function.