Scientists have discovered a new bird species in the Canadian Arctic from fossils dating back to about 90 million years - the oldest avian records found in the northernmost latitude.
The findings also offer further evidence of an intense warming event during the late Cretaceous period.
Researchers from the University of Rochester in the US named the bird Tingmiatornis arctica.
The fossils paint a clearer picture of an ecosystem that would have existed in the Canadian Arctic during the Turonian age of the Cretaceous period, which lasted from about 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago.
"The bird would have been a cross between a large seagull and a diving bird like a cormorant, but likely had teeth," said John Tarduno, professor at the University of Rochester.
"These fossils allow us to flesh out the community and add to our understanding of the community's composition and how it differed from other places in the world," said Donald Brinkman from the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Canada.
Building historic climate records further helps scientists determine the effects of climate on various communities, ecosystems, and the distribution of species and could help predict the effects of future climatic events.
"Before our fossil, people were suggesting that it was warm, but you still would have had seasonal ice," said Tarduno.
"We are suggesting that is not even the case, and that it is one of these hyper-warm intervals because the bird's food sources and the whole part of the ecosystem could not have survived in ice," Tarduno added.
From the fossil and sediment records, researchers were able to conjecture that the bird's environment in the Canadian Arctic during the Turonian age would have been characterised by volcanic activity, a calm freshwater bay, temperatures comparable to those in northern Florida today, and creatures such as turtles, large freshwater fish and champsosaurs - extinct, crocodile-like reptiles.
The Tingmiatornis arctica fossils were found above basalt lava fields, created from a series of volcanic eruptions.
Scientists believe volcanoes pumped carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere, causing a greenhouse effect and a period of extraordinary polar heat.
This created an ecosystem allowing large birds, including Tingmiatornis arctica, to thrive.
Researchers unearthed three bird bones: part of the ulna and portions of the humerus, which, in birds, are located in the wings.
From the bone features, as well as its thickness and proportions, they were able to determine the evolutionary relationships of the new birds as well as characteristics that indicate whether it likely was able to fly or dive.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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