Overview
- Researchers report the first fossil evidence of oral papillae in the Chicago Archaeopteryx, published in The Innovation by Jingmai K. O’Connor and colleagues.
- CT scans show tiny nerve canals at the beak tip consistent with a sensitive bill‑tip organ used for detecting food.
- A minute hyoid fragment indicates a highly mobile tongue, a function common in many modern birds.
- Field Museum preparators led by Akiko Shinya used careful mechanical work and UV fluorescence from 2022 onward to reveal soft tissues and guide preparation.
- The suite of mouth features suggests feeding adaptations evolved alongside flight and offers new anatomical criteria to distinguish early birds from close dinosaur relatives.