Department of Biology Professors Rebecca Kimball and Edward Braun were part of a study led by University of Michigan researchers that has identified important changes in birds’ genomes sparked by the mass extinction, called the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, that led to the extinction of dinosaurs, ultimately contributing to the incredible diversity of living birds.
Study link: Genome and life-history evolution link bird diversification to the end-Cretaceous extinction (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp0114)
Image Credit: Prof. Daniel J. Field, University of Cambridge
The Eurasian Hoopoe, Upupa epops, is a member of the bird group Coraciimorphae. Authors identify this group of birds and others as having close ties to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that occurred in the wake of the Chicxulub asteroid impact approximately 66 million years ago.