{
  "id": 19218698,
  "title": "Not a 'night owl' yet: Extraordinary bird fossil from Messel Pit suggests species still hunted by day",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/not-a-night-owl-yet-extraordinary-bird-fossil-from-messel-pit",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-09T20:40:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-11-night-owl-extraordinary-bird-fossil.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "An exceptionally well-preserved, approximately 47-million-year-old owl fossil from the UNESCO World Heritage Site Messel provides new clues as to when owls became nocturnal. The newly described species Masillastrix blattophaga was likely still diurnal—as indicated by an iridescent cockroach in its stomach, as well as the structure of its feathers and wing bones. In their new study, published in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}