XIEG Holds 48th Salon for Scientific Exchange

The Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held the 48th "Salon for Scientific Exchange" (SSE) on Nov. 17. Prof. XU Xing—Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP)—was invited as the keynote speaker. The event attracted over 50 Chinese and international researchers and students.

Prof. XU delivered a presentation titled The Origin of Birds and Research Prospects on Vertebrate Paleontology in China. Since the 1990s, the hypothesis that birds evolved from dinosaurs has become the dominant view in the academic community, yet many issues remain unresolved.

In his presentation, he outlined global research hotspots in paleontology and highlighted the scientific value of studies on the origin of birds.

Through nearly two decades of field investigations, Prof. Xu's team has uncovered fossil records of multiple Jurassic paravian dinosaur groups in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, western Liaoning, and surrounding regions. He was awarded with the 2025 Future Science Prize for discovering fossil evidence suggesting that birds originated from dinosaurs.

"While the evolutionary shift from dinosaurs to birds clearly shows a trend towards smaller body size, the exact mechanisms by which these size changes shaped subsequent morphological and physiological evolution remain a mystery," said Prof. Xu.

During the discussion, attendees exchanged views on the driving forces of dinosaur evolution, cranial differences between birds and dinosaurs, and the evolution of flight mechanisms in mammals, among other topics. This event provided a chance for interdisciplinary dialogue, broadening participants' academic perspectives.

Prof. XU Xing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a paleontologist, currently serves as the Director at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on Mesozoic reptile fossils and stratigraphy, where he has made significant contributions to dinosaur paleobiology. Numerous publications from him and his team have been published in top journals such as Nature, and Science.

Prof. XU Xing gives a presentation.

Contact

LONG Huaping

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

E-mail: longhp@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Web: http://english.egi.cas.cn