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Ossa-Fuentes L, Soto-Acuña S, Bona P, Sallaberry M, Vargas AO. Developmental evolution of the distal ankle in the dinosaur-bird transition. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2022; 338:119-128. [PMID: 33382212 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 12/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The adult ankle of early reptiles had five distal tarsal (dt) bones, but in Dinosauria, these were reduced to only two: dt3 and dt4, articulated to metatarsals (mt) mt3 and mt4. Birds have a single distal tarsal ossification center that fuses to the proximal metatarsals to form a new adult skeletal structure: the composite tarsometatarsus. This ossification center develops within a single large embryonic cartilage, but it is unclear if this cartilage results from fusion of earlier cartilages. We studied embryos in species from four different bird orders, an alligatorid, and an iguanid. In all embryos, cartilages dt2, dt3, and dt4 are formed. In the alligatorid and the iguanid, dt2 failed to ossify: only dt3 and dt4 develop into adult bones. In birds, dt2, dt3, and dt4 fuse to form the large distal tarsal cartilage; the ossification center then develops above mt3, in cartilage presumably derived from dt3. During the entire dinosaur-bird transition, a dt2 embryonic cartilage was always formed, as inferred from the embryology of extant birds and crocodilians. We propose that in the evolution of the avian ankle, fusion of cartilages dt3 and dt2 allowed ossification from dt3 to progress into dt2, which began to contribute bone medially, while fusion of dt3 to dt4 enabled the evolutionary loss of the dt4 ossification center. As a result, a single ossification center expands into a plate-like unit covering the proximal ends of the metatarsals, that is key to the development of an integrated tarsometatarsus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Ossa-Fuentes
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Laboratorio de Ontogenia y Filogenia, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sergio Soto-Acuña
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Laboratorio de Ontogenia y Filogenia, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paula Bona
- CONICET, División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Michel Sallaberry
- Laboratorio de Zoología de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alexander O Vargas
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Laboratorio de Ontogenia y Filogenia, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras, Santiago, Chile
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Skawiński T, Borczyk B, Hałupka L. Postnatal ossification sequences in Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Aves: Neognathae): The precocial-altricial spectrum and evolution of compound bones in birds. J Anat 2021; 238:349-364. [PMID: 32875600 PMCID: PMC7812134 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the development of the avian skeleton has attracted considerable attention, most of the studies have been concentrated on the embryonic period, while studies on the postnatal period are rare. We studied the postnatal development of the skeleton in two phylogenetically distant birds, an altricial passerine Acrocephalus scirpaceus and a semiprecocial charadriiform Chroicocephalus ridibundus. The neonates of the former, despite being altricial, have well-ossified skeleton-the degree of development approaches that of the semiprecocial gull. However, after hatching the limb bones (particularly those of the hind limb) ossify earlier in the gull which is probably related to faster acquisition of locomotor abilities. We have observed that, in contrast to previous reports from neognathous birds, in the ankle of the gull, the ascending process fuses with the astragalus rather than with the calcaneum. This type of development is present in palaeognaths and nonavian dinosaurs but has not yet been reported in neognaths. This indicates a greater diversity within Neognathae and suggests a more complex scenario for the evolution of the avian ankle. However, data from a greater number of species are needed to establish the developmental sequence ancestral for neognathous birds. Furthermore, the sequence of bone fusions in the wrist of Acrocephalus is similar to the fossil-documented evolutionary sequence observed in the phylogeny of early birds, with the semilunate carpal and major metacarpal fusing first, followed by the alular metacarpal fusing with the major metacarpal and then the major and minor metacarpal fusing proximally. These data underscore the importance of developmental studies for reconstructing the evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Skawiński
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of VertebratesFaculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of WrocławWrocławPoland
| | - Bartosz Borczyk
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of VertebratesFaculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of WrocławWrocławPoland
| | - Lucyna Hałupka
- Ornithological StationFaculty of Biological SciencesUniversity of WrocławWrocławPoland
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Griffin CT, Stocker MR, Colleary C, Stefanic CM, Lessner EJ, Riegler M, Formoso K, Koeller K, Nesbitt SJ. Assessing ontogenetic maturity in extinct saurian reptiles. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:470-525. [PMID: 33289322 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Morphology forms the most fundamental level of data in vertebrate palaeontology because it is through interpretations of morphology that taxa are identified, creating the basis for broad evolutionary and palaeobiological hypotheses. Assessing maturity is one of the most basic aspects of morphological interpretation and provides the means to study the evolution of ontogenetic changes, population structure and palaeoecology, life-history strategies, and heterochrony along evolutionary lineages that would otherwise be lost to time. Saurian reptiles (the least-inclusive clade containing Lepidosauria and Archosauria) have remained an incredibly diverse, numerous, and disparate clade through their ~260-million-year history. Because of the great disparity in this group, assessing maturity of saurian reptiles is difficult, fraught with methodological and terminological ambiguity. We compiled a novel database of literature, assembling >900 individual instances of saurian maturity assessment, to examine critically how saurian maturity has been diagnosed. We review the often inexact and inconsistent terminology used in saurian maturity assessment (e.g. 'juvenile', 'mature') and provide routes for better clarity and cross-study coherence. We describe the various methods that have been used to assess maturity in every major saurian group, integrating data from both extant and extinct taxa to give a full account of the current state of the field and providing method-specific pitfalls, best practices, and fruitful directions for future research. We recommend that a new standard subsection, 'Ontogenetic Assessment', be added to the Systematic Palaeontology portions of descriptive studies to provide explicit ontogenetic diagnoses with clear criteria. Because the utility of different ontogenetic criteria is highly subclade dependent among saurians, even for widely used methods (e.g. neurocentral suture fusion), we recommend that phylogenetic context, preferably in the form of a phylogenetic bracket, be used to justify the use of a maturity assessment method. Different methods should be used in conjunction as independent lines of evidence when assessing maturity, instead of an ontogenetic diagnosis resting entirely on a single criterion, which is common in the literature. Critically, there is a need for data from extant taxa with well-represented growth series to be integrated with the fossil record to ground maturity assessments of extinct taxa in well-constrained, empirically tested methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Griffin
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Michelle R Stocker
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Caitlin Colleary
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH, 44106, U.S.A
| | - Candice M Stefanic
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, U.S.A
| | - Emily J Lessner
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO, 65212, U.S.A
| | - Mitchell Riegler
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, 241 Williamson Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, U.S.A
| | - Kiersten Formoso
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, 3651 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, U.S.A
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 W Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, U.S.A
| | - Krista Koeller
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, U.S.A
| | - Sterling J Nesbitt
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
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Carril J, Barbeito CG, Tambussi CP. Making a parrot zygodactyl foot: Osteology and morphogenesis of the tarsometatarsus in the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus). ZOOLOGY 2020; 144:125877. [PMID: 33302178 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2020.125877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The tarsometatarsus conformation and foot types in birds are unique traits within vertebrates. We investigate how the tarsometatarsus and the zygodactyl foot are formed during development in the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus). Using bones, whole mount specimens stained for cartilage and bone, and histological sections, we focus on the osteology and morphogenesis of the tarsometatarsus. We also compare the tarsometatarsus development between the altricial monk parakeet with the precocial chicken. The results and conclusions we reached are: (1) the hypotarsus, a character of phylogenetic significance, is monocanaliculate in the adult; (2) digit I retroversion is consequence of the displacement of the articulation site of the metatarsal 1 and its torsion; (3) digit IV retroversion is linked to the development of the trochlea accesoria; (4) in ovo, the ossification and fusion of the metatarsals 2-4 begin in their mid-diaphysis and extends cylindrically to both proximal and distal directions; and (5) the differences in the development of the tarsometatarsus between the monk parakeet and the chicken evidence heterochronies, probably related with their different types of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta Carril
- Laboratorio de Histología y Embriología Descriptiva, Experimental y Comparada (LHYEDEC), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias (FCV), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Claudio G Barbeito
- Laboratorio de Histología y Embriología Descriptiva, Experimental y Comparada (LHYEDEC), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias (FCV), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Claudia P Tambussi
- Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra (CICTERRA), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Córdoba, Argentina.
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Picasso MBJ, Barbeito CG. Hindlimb bone maturation during postnatal life in the Greater Rhea (Rhea americana
, Aves, Palaeognathae): Implications for palaeobiological and zooarchaeological interpretations. Anat Histol Embryol 2018; 47:398-404. [DOI: 10.1111/ahe.12367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Revised: 06/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana B. J. Picasso
- División Paleontología Vertebrados; Museo de La Plata-Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Universidad Nacional de La Plata; La Plata Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Claudio Gustavo Barbeito
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Buenos Aires Argentina
- Cátedra de Histología y Embriología e Instituto de Patología; Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Universidad Nacional de La Plata; La Plata Argentina
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Cellular preservation of musculoskeletal specializations in the Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14779. [PMID: 28327586 PMCID: PMC5364438 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The hindlimb of theropod dinosaurs changed appreciably in the lineage leading to extant birds, becoming more ‘crouched' in association with changes to body shape and gait dynamics. This postural evolution included anatomical changes of the foot and ankle, altering the moment arms and control of the muscles that manipulated the tarsometatarsus and digits, but the timing of these changes is unknown. Here, we report cellular-level preservation of tendon- and cartilage-like tissues from the lower hindlimb of Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis. The digital flexor tendons passed through cartilages, cartilaginous cristae and ridges on the plantar side of the distal tibiotarsus and proximal tarsometatarsus, as in extant birds. In particular, fibrocartilaginous and cartilaginous structures on the plantar surface of the ankle joint of Confuciusornis may indicate a more crouched hindlimb posture. Recognition of these specialized soft tissues in Confuciusornis is enabled by our combination of imaging and chemical analyses applied to an exceptionally preserved fossil. Birds have a more crouched posture compared to their theropod dinosaur ancestors. Here, Jiang and colleagues describe a lower hindlimb of the Early Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis with soft tissues apparently preserved even as molecules, indicating a somewhat more modern posture in ancient birds.
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Wang M, Wang X, Wang Y, Zhou Z. A new basal bird from China with implications for morphological diversity in early birds. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19700. [PMID: 26806355 PMCID: PMC4726217 DOI: 10.1038/srep19700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The Chinese Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group is the second oldest fossil bird-bearing deposit, only surpassed by Archaeopteryx from the German Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestones. Here we report a new bird, Chongmingia zhengi gen. et sp. nov., from the Jehol Biota. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that Chongmingia zhengi is basal to the dominant Mesozoic avian clades Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha, and represents a new basal avialan lineage. This new discovery adds to our knowledge regarding the phylogenetic differentiation and morphological diversity in early avian evolution. The furcula of Chongmingia is rigid (reducing its efficiency), consequently requiring more power for flight. However, the elongated forelimb and the large deltopectoral crest on the humerus might indicate that the power was available. The unique combination of features present in this species demonstrates that numerous evolutionary experimentations took place in the early evolution of powered flight. The occurrence of gastroliths further confirms that herbivory was common among basal birds. The Jehol birds faced competition with pterosaurs, and occupied sympatric habitats with non-avian theropods, some of which consumed birds. Thus, avialan herbivory may have reduced ecological competition from carnivorous close relatives and other volant vertebrates early in their evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.,State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong 276000, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong 273300, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong 276000, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong 273300, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
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Bird embryos uncover homology and evolution of the dinosaur ankle. Nat Commun 2015; 6:8902. [PMID: 26563435 PMCID: PMC4660350 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The anklebone (astragalus) of dinosaurs presents a characteristic upward projection, the 'ascending process' (ASC). The ASC is present in modern birds, but develops a separate ossification centre, and projects from the calcaneum in most species. These differences have been argued to make it non-comparable to dinosaurs. We studied ASC development in six different orders of birds using traditional techniques and spin-disc microscopy for whole-mount immunofluorescence. Unexpectedly, we found the ASC derives from the embryonic intermedium, an ancient element of the tetrapod ankle. In some birds it comes in contact with the astragalus, and, in others, with the calcaneum. The fact that the intermedium fails to fuse early with the tibiale and develops an ossification centre is unlike any other amniotes, yet resembles basal, amphibian-grade tetrapods. The ASC originated in early dinosaurs along changes to upright posture and locomotion, revealing an intriguing combination of functional innovation and reversion in its evolution.
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Pourlis AF, Antonopoulos J. The Ossification of the Pelvic Girdle and Leg Skeleton of the Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Anat Histol Embryol 2013; 43:294-300. [DOI: 10.1111/ahe.12076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2012] [Accepted: 06/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. F. Pourlis
- Laboratory of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology; School of Veterinary Medicine; University of Thessaly; P.O. Box 199 Karditsa GR-43100 Greece
| | - J. Antonopoulos
- Laboratory of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology; School of Veterinary Medicine; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Thessaloniki GR-54124 Greece
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Seki R, Kamiyama N, Tadokoro A, Nomura N, Tsuihiji T, Manabe M, Tamura K. Evolutionary and Developmental Aspects of Avian-Specific Traits in Limb Skeletal Pattern. Zoolog Sci 2012; 29:631-44. [DOI: 10.2108/zsj.29.631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Assessing the phylogenetic utility of sequence heterochrony: evolution of avian ossification sequences as a case study. ZOOLOGY 2010; 113:57-66. [PMID: 20116981 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2009.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2009] [Revised: 06/26/2009] [Accepted: 06/28/2009] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of developmental sequences, or sequence heterochrony, is an emerging field of study that addresses the temporal interplay between evolution and development. Some phylogenetic signal has been found in developmental sequence data, but sampling has generally been limited to small numbers of taxa and few developmental events. Here we present the largest ossification sequence dataset to date. The sequences are composed of ossification events throughout the avian skeleton, and are used to address the evolutionary signal of ossification sequence data within this clade. The results indicate that ossification sequences are conserved in birds, and show a stronger phylogenetic signal than previous studies, perhaps due to the volume of data. Phylogenetic signal is not strong enough, however, to consider ossification sequence data to be any better at resolving phylogenetic hypotheses than other morphological data and just as prone to evolutionary convergence. There is no one-to-one correlation between ossification sequence and developmental stage. We discuss some methodological implications of our findings, as well as commonalities in avian ossification sequences such as early ossification of the long bones relative to the dermatocranium, and of the hindlimb over the forelimb.
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MAXWELL ERINE, LARSSON HANSCE. Comparative ossification sequence and skeletal development of the postcranium of palaeognathous birds (Aves: Palaeognathae). Zool J Linn Soc 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00533.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Rotthowe K, Starck JM. Evidence for a phylogenetic position of button quails (Turnicidae: Aves) among the Gruiformes. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0469.1998.tb00776.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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14
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Maxwell EE. Ossification sequence of the avian order anseriformes, with comparison to other precocial birds. J Morphol 2008; 269:1095-113. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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15
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Sheil CA, Portik D. Formation and Ossification of Limb Elements in Trachemys scripta and a Discussion of Autopodial Elements in Turtles. Zoolog Sci 2008; 25:622-41. [DOI: 10.2108/zsj.25.622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2007] [Accepted: 03/19/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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17
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Turvey ST, Holdaway RN. Postnatal ontogeny, population structure, and extinction of the giant moaDinornis. J Morphol 2005; 265:70-86. [PMID: 15880459 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Recent reinterpretation of the giant moa Dinornis as consisting of two sexually dimorphic allospecies permits thorough site-by-site investigation of the ontogeny and population biology of this genus. Analysis of subadult skeletal material from natural swamp sites in the North and South Islands of New Zealand forms the basis for recognition of growth series for each long bone element, characterized by sequential formation of fossulae in the femur and fusion of bones in the tibiotarsus and tarsometatarsus. Femora reached progressive developmental stages more rapidly than the other long bones, but all three elements reached maturity at about the same time. Patterns of bone fusion in Dinornis are more similar to those in Apteryx than in Struthio, and kiwi are recognized as a suitable developmental analog for interpreting moa ontogeny. Samples from Bell Hill Vineyard Swamp (South Island) and Makirikiri swamp (North Island) are interpreted as representing autochthonous moa populations; comparison with stages of kiwi long bone development suggests that Dinornis at these sites had high adult survivorship in strongly K-selected populations, with 72.5-87.3% of individuals having achieved adult body mass, and 55.9-78.2% being sexually mature. The pattern of low fecundity and probable high longevity in both Dinornis species suggests that populations were vulnerable to loss of adults, primarily through hunting, rather than as a result of habitat destruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel T Turvey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, PB 4800 Christchurch, New Zealand.
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