March 18 (UPI) -- A dinosaur-era fossil of a bird -- nicknamed "Wonderchicken" -- dates back 66.7 million year and is shedding light on early bird evolution, a study published Wednesday said.
The fossil of Asteriornis maastrichtensis, from the Masozoic era, was discovered in a limestone rock formation near the French-Belgian border by a team led by University of Cambridge researchers. It can lead to a better understanding of why birds of that period survived mass extinction while dinosaurs did not, a study in the journal Nature said.