National Museum Scotland received a collection more than 700 fossils of birds dating back to between 54 and 56 million years ago.
The items are believed to include many new species, including a falcon-like bird and a diver or loon.
Experts hail the collection as one of world’s most important. It is from the Eocene Period and represents the early stages of the evolution of modern birds.
The notable feature of this period is the fact that the global climate was several degree warmer than it is now. This means that scientists may be able to use the specimens to provide useful information on climate change.
According to Palaeontologists, there is no comparable collection in the UK.
Michael Daniels, an amateur paleontologist who died last year at the age of 90, collected these rare specimens over many decades.
Dr Andrew Kitchener (Stewart Attwood/National Museums Scotland/PA).
He assembled several hundred skeletons, and part-skeletons he had found in London Clay nodules. These had been eroded from the cliffs of Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex.
Experts say the items are rare in terms of bird fossils because they have been preserved in 3D.
Bird bones are delicate and light so they tend to be flattened before fossilization.
Mr Daniels’ daughter lived in Edinburgh, and it was on a family visit to the National Museum of Scotland more than 25 years ago that he shared news of his collection with the museum’s principal curator of vertebrates, Dr Andrew Kitchener.
Dr. Kitchener spoke about fossils: “I was astonished at the amazing variety of specimens of all shapes and sizes.
“Many of the bones were minuscule, requiring great patience and skill to extract.
“The fact that the collection is now with us here at National Museums Scotland will be of interest to palaeontologists across the world.”
Michael Daniels with a fossil (Stewart Attwood/National Museums Scotland/PA).
The impressive findings are currently being documented.
Experts predict that the collection will yield at least 50 species once all research is done.
Dr Gerald Mayr, an Avian Palaeontologist, visited Mr Daniels numerous times to inspect the fossils that he had gathered throughout his lifetime.
“The importance of Michael Daniels’ collection cannot be overstated,”Dr Mays already has two papers published describing new species.
“There is nothing like it in the UK, certainly, and it is comparable to other bird-rich sites in the US, China and Germany.
“The fact that so many specimens are preserved in three dimensions makes this one of the most important collections of its type in the world.”
The collection is currently being conserved and preserved at the National Museums Collection Centre, Edinburgh. It will then be made available to researchers.