Alula in Ancient Birds
The presence of an alula has been confirmed in several now-extinct ancient relatives of modern birds, including Eoalulavis hoyasi (an enantiornithine from the mid-Cretaceous, 115 mya) and the earlier Protopteryx fengningensis. Since these species are not closely related to modern birds, either the alula evolved twice, or it did so more than 130 million years ago.
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