Ostriches, emus and other flightless birds weren’t always grounded. 56 million years ago, their ancestors were globe-trotting fliers capable of crossing oceans – and one fossil bone helps explain how this (mostly) flightless family spread across the world.

The Conversation

The ancestors of ostriches and emus were long-distance fliers – here’s how we worked this out

A 56 million-year-old fossil bone helps explain how this (mostly) flightless family of birds spread to so many different continents.