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The finding, published last month in the journal Scientific Reports, offers clues to better understanding how the feet of birds and their extinct relatives have changed over time, the scientists said. It also contributes to the study of the evolutionary transition that occurred among dinosaurs, prehistoric birds and the birds we see flying around today.

Instead of “Ugly Foot,” the team bestowed upon their fuzzy bird foot a more endearing nickname.

“This specimen we called ‘Hobbit Foot’ because hobbits are known for having really hairy feet,” Dr. O’Connor said.

The “Hobbit Foot” belonged to a member of a now extinct group of birds called enantiornithines, which were prehistoric relatives of living birds. Unlike most modern birds, many enantiornithines — or “opposite birds” — had beaks with teeth and claws protruding from their wings. They also lacked fanned tails.

The reason paleontologists thought prehistoric birds with feathered feet existed, Dr. O’Connor said, was because we had seen traces of their fluffy feet in present-day birds.