Vegavis iaai

Overview

Vegavis iaai was a bird living in Antarctica near the end of the dinosaur age. Its relationship to the group including ducks and geese attracted considerable interest. It is an important fossil for asking whether relatives of living birds coexisted with other dinosaurs.^[1]

Key facts

How can bird bones hidden inside hard rock be found? Researchers used CT scanning and further preparation to uncover previously invisible bones. Looking inside a small fossil added material for comparing bird relationships.^[1]

Time and place

It lived during the Maastrichtian of the Late Cretaceous; the type fossil was introduced as about 68–66 million years old. Its locality is Cape Lamb on present-day Vega Island, Antarctica. Fine sandstone deposited in a nearshore sea preserved parts of the bird’s body.^[1]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

The type specimen preserves wing bones, the pelvis, leg bones, and some neck and thoracic vertebrae. A low ridge on the inner side of the shin bone was also proposed as a distinguishing feature. Legs and ankles, as well as skulls, provide evidence of bird relationships.^[1]

The size of Vegavis iaai can be estimated by comparing fossil bones with living birds. A 2026 study estimated about 1.2 kg from the type specimen’s femoral circumference and obtained a similar result using the humeral articular surface on the same specimen’s coracoid.^[8]

Habitat and reproduction

How did birds obtain food around Antarctic seas? A 2025 study of a new Vegavis skull proposed foot-propelled swimming to pursue fish. In 2026, this skull was also proposed to belong to a different species, making it material for comparing varied ways of life within Vegavis.^[2][3]

Fossil discovery

Type specimen MLP93-I-3-1 was discovered in 1992 and studied in detail in 2005. Bones divided between two halves of a rock were read alongside CT data. Newly discovered Vegavis specimens have continued to broaden the story of Antarctic birds.^[1]

References

1. Clarke et al.2005 — Vegavis as evidence of modern bird lineages in the Cretaceous
2. Torres et al.2025 — A Cretaceous Antarctic bird skull and the ecological diversity of early birds
3. Irazoqui et al.2026 — New species of Vegavis from Antarctica
4. Clarke et al.2005 — Vegavis as evidence of modern bird lineages in the Cretaceous
5. Olson (1994), A Giant Presbyornis (Aves: Anseriformes) and Other Birds from the Paleocene Aquia Formation of Maryland and Virginia. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 107(3):429–435.
6. AMNH — Presbyornis pervetus
7. ICS geologic time chart2024/12
8. Irazoqui et al. (2026) — New Vegavis species and diversity discovered in Antarctica

Research questions

Do all Vegavis fossils belong to the single species iaai? A 2026 study by Irazoqui and colleagues proposed the skull introduced in 2025 as a separate species, Vegavis notopothusa. Which differences count as species-level distinctions is an intriguing issue in early bird research.^[3]

Observation

Examine the different features of the wings, pelvis, and leg bones. Combinations of small bones reveal an ancient story connected to living birds.^[1][2][3]