A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly Skip to content Subscribe today Every print subscription comes with full digital access Subscribe Now Menu All Topics Health Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology View All Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes View All Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment View All Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics View All Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology View All Magazine Menu All Stories Multimedia Reviews Puzzles Collections Educator Portal Century of Science Unsung characters Coronavirus Outbreak Newsletters Investors Lab About SN Explores Our Store SIGN IN Donate Home INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 SIGN IN Search Open search Close search Home INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 All Topics Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology Tech Computing Artificial Intelligence Chemistry Math Science & Society All Topics Health Humans Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology Recent posts in Humans Chemistry Machine learning streamlines the complexities of making better proteins By Skyler Ware5 hours ago Health & Medicine Home HPV tests won’t replace the ob-gyn By Jamie Ducharme10 hours ago Artificial Intelligence Real-world medical questions stump AI chatbots By Tina Hesman SaeyFebruary 17, 2026 Life Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes Recent posts in Life Paleontology A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly By Jay Bennett8 hours ago Animals Some dog breeds carry a higher risk of breathing problems By Jake BuehlerFebruary 18, 2026 Animals Regeneration of fins and limbs relies on a shared cellular playbook By Elizabeth PennisiFebruary 18, 2026 Earth Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment Recent posts in Earth Climate Snowball Earth might have had a dynamic climate and open seas By Michael Marshall7 hours ago Oceans Evolution didn’t wait long after the dinosaurs died By Elie DolginFebruary 13, 2026 Earth Earth’s core may hide dozens of oceans of hydrogen By Nikk OgasaFebruary 10, 2026 Physics Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics Recent posts in Physics Physics Physicists dream up ‘spacetime quasicrystals’ that could underpin the universe By Emily ConoverFebruary 17, 2026 Physics A precise proton measurement helps put a core theory of physics to the test By Emily ConoverFebruary 11, 2026 Physics The only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may rise By Emily ConoverFebruary 6, 2026 Space Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology Recent posts in Space Astronomy This inside-out planetary system has astronomers scratching their heads By Adam MannFebruary 12, 2026 Space Artemis II is returning humans to the moon with science riding shotgun By Lisa GrossmanFebruary 4, 2026 Physics A Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy, revealed By Adam MannJanuary 30, 2026 News Paleontology A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly The 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx had mouth features similar to those of birds today Fleshy “teeth” on the roof of Archaeopteryx’s mouth, a sensory organ at the end of the beak and a highly mobile tongue (all illustrated) may have helped the ancient bird get the energy it needed to fly. Ville Sinkkonen By Jay Bennett 8 hours ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print About 150 million years ago, in a coastal lagoon in what is now southern Germany, the oldest known bird gobbled up food with a beak built for efficient eating. It’s finely tuned mouth anatomy, revealed in a newly analyzed fossil, may have helped it generate the energy required to fly, researchers report February 2 in The Innovation. Called Archaeopteryx, the animal had a toothed beak, hooked claws for grasping or climbing and feathered wings that it used for gliding and short bursts of flight. It is the earliest dinosaur that scientists also classify as a bird. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. “Archaeopteryx is the oldest dinosaur that we know of to fly using feathered airfoils,” says Jingmai O’Connor, a paleontologist at the Field Museum in Chicago. “Because flying takes more energy than walking or running or swimming, then it should have features associated with more efficient feeding.” To study one of the most complete fossils of Archaeopteryx, O’Connor and her colleagues used X-ray scans and ultraviolet images to see details of the bird’s mouth that had never been seen before. “We saw three new features of the skull,” O’Connor says. The first feature was a series of bumps on the roof of the mouth that glowed under UV light, suggesting soft tissues had left a unique chemical trace in the fossil. These dots appeared similar to mouth structures in modern birds called oral papillae, which are firm, fleshy cones that assist with manipulating and ingesting food. The team also found a tongue bone similar to one in modern birds that makes the appendage more maneuverable. “In the evolution of birds, in response to their increased caloric demands, they evolve a mobile tongue … and they evolve these oral papillae,” O’Connor says. “Like in living birds, these are structures that work together.” The third feature was a series of small tunnels in the tip of Archaeopteryx’s beak revealed in X-ray scans. These channels may have once housed nerves, which were probably part of a sensitive bill-tip organ seen in modern birds that helps them root around for food. In this ultraviolet image of the Chicago Archaeopteryx skull, researchers were able to identify traces of soft tissues that are not visible in normal light.Jochen Stierberger Archaeopteryx was first discovered in 1861, and scientists have now analyzed 14 body fossils. The newly studied fossil was held by different private collectors for decades before being acquired by the Field Museum in 2022. After meticulously preparing the specimen, researchers published a scientific description of the fossil in 2025. It is one of the most complete and well-preserved examples of the animal ever seen, containing secondary feathers on the inner part of the wing needed for flight and other features that can help scientists understand the evolution of birds from earlier land-dwelling dinosaurs. The new study of Archaeopteryx’s feeding capabilities adds key details to this origin story. “I think it
A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly
