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The Royal Saskatchewan Museum says it has identified four new species of prehistoric birds.

The find was announced in a journal paper by three authors who include the museum's head of paleontology, Tim Tokaryk.

They identified a family of loon-like, toothed, aquatic birds from about 65 million years ago based in part on fossils found in Grasslands National Park in southwest Saskatchewan.

Mr. Tokaryk says the discovery is significant because it appears the birds were adapting — moving from a coastal marine habitat to inland freshwater rivers and lakes.

He suggests this pattern may mean that the birds, named Brodavidae (bro-DIV'-uh-die), may have been able to fly — unlike their flightless ancestors.

Officials say research will continue on the fossils already collected as will the search for more.

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