Owl Judging from this, the Late Miocene remains from France described as ""Ardea" aureliensis" should also be restudied. The Messelasturidae, some of which were initially believed to be basal Strigiformes, are now generally accepted to be diurnal birds of prey showing some convergent evolution towards owls. The taxa often united under "Strigogyps" were formerly placed in part with the owls, specifically the Sophiornithidae; they appear to be Ameghinornithidae instead. For fossil species and paleosubspecies of extant taxa, see the genus and species articles. Unresolved and basal forms (all fossil) Fossil genera Placement unresolved Extinct Genus Fossil genera Placement unresolved Among the
Origin of birds soft tissue allowed a molecular comparison of cellular anatomy and protein sequencing of collagen tissue published in 2007, both of which indicated that "T. rex" and birds are more closely related to each other than either is to "Alligator". A second molecular study robustly supported the relationship of birds to dinosaurs, though it did not place birds within Theropoda, as expected. This study utilized eight additional collagen sequences extracted from a femur of the "mummified" "Brachylophosaurus canadensis" specimen MOR 2598, a hadrosaur. However, these results have been very controversial. No other peptides of a Mesozoic age have been reported. In