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Miller CV, Bright JA, Wang X, Zheng X, Pittman M. Synthetic analysis of trophic diversity and evolution in Enantiornithes with new insights from Bohaiornithidae. eLife 2024; 12:RP89871. [PMID: 38687200 PMCID: PMC11060716 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Enantiornithines were the dominant birds of the Mesozoic, but understanding of their diet is still tenuous. We introduce new data on the enantiornithine family Bohaiornithidae, famous for their large size and powerfully built teeth and claws. In tandem with previously published data, we comment on the breadth of enantiornithine ecology and potential patterns in which it evolved. Body mass, jaw mechanical advantage, finite element analysis of the jaw, and traditional morphometrics of the claws and skull are compared between bohaiornithids and living birds. We find bohaiornithids to be more ecologically diverse than any other enantiornithine family: Bohaiornis and Parabohaiornis are similar to living plant-eating birds; Longusunguis resembles raptorial carnivores; Zhouornis is similar to both fruit-eating birds and generalist feeders; and Shenqiornis and Sulcavis plausibly ate fish, plants, or a mix of both. We predict the ancestral enantiornithine bird to have been a generalist which ate a wide variety of foods. However, more quantitative data from across the enantiornithine tree is needed to refine this prediction. By the Early Cretaceous, enantiornithine birds had diversified into a variety of ecological niches like crown birds after the K-Pg extinction, adding to the evidence that traits unique to crown birds cannot completely explain their ecological success.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jen A Bright
- School of Natural Sciences, University of HullHullUnited Kingdom
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi UniversityLinyiChina
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of NatureShandongChina
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi UniversityLinyiChina
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of NatureShandongChina
| | - Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong SARChina
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2
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Zhou Y, Pan Y, Wang M, Wang X, Zheng X, Zhou Z. Fossil evidence sheds light on sexual selection during the early evolution of birds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2309825120. [PMID: 38190528 PMCID: PMC10801838 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309825120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The impact of sexual selection on the evolution of birds has been widely acknowledged. Although sexual selection has been hypothesized as a driving force in the occurrences of numerous morphological features across theropod evolution, this hypothesis has yet to be comprehensively tested due to challenges in identifying the sex of fossils and by the limited sample size. Confuciusornis sanctus is arguably the best-known early avialan and is represented by thousands of well-preserved specimens from the Early Cretaceous Jehol lagerstätte, which provides us with a chance to decipher the strength of sexual selection on extinct vertebrates. Herein, we present a morphometric study of C. sanctus based on the largest sample size of this taxon collected up to now. Our results indicate that the characteristic elongated paired rectrices is a sexually dimorphic trait and statistically robust inferences of the sexual dimorphism in size, shape, and allometry that have been established, providing the earliest known sexual dimorphism in avian evolution. Our findings suggest that sexual selection, in conjunction with natural selection, does act upon body size and limb length ratio in early birds, thereby promoting a deeper understanding of the role of sexual selection in large-scale phylogenetic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibo Zhou
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Centre for Research and Education on Biological Evolution and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Yanhong Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Centre for Research and Education on Biological Evolution and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi276000, Shandong, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi273300, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi276000, Shandong, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi273300, Shandong, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
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3
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Miller CV, Pittman M, Wang X, Zheng X, Bright JA. Quantitative investigation of pengornithid enantiornithine diet reveals macrocarnivorous ecology evolved in birds by Early Cretaceous. iScience 2023; 26:106211. [PMID: 36923002 PMCID: PMC10009206 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The diet of Mesozoic birds is poorly known, limiting evolutionary understanding of birds' roles in modern ecosystems. Pengornithidae is one of the best understood families of Mesozoic birds, hypothesized to eat insects or only small amounts of meat. We investigate these hypotheses with four lines of evidence: estimated body mass, claw traditional morphometrics, jaw mechanical advantage, and jaw finite element analysis. Owing to limited data, the diets of Eopengornis and Chiappeavis remain obscure. Pengornis, Parapengornis, and Yuanchuavis show adaptations for vertebrate carnivory. Pengornis also has talons similar to living raptorial birds like caracaras that capture and kill large prey, which represents the earliest known adaptation for macrocarnivory in a bird. This supports the appearance of this ecology ∼35 million years earlier than previously thought. These findings greatly increase the niche breadth known for Early Cretaceous birds, and shift the prevailing view that Mesozoic birds mainly occupied low trophic levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Case Vincent Miller
- Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong 276005, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong 273300, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong 276005, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong 273300, China
| | - Jen A Bright
- Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
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4
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Wang R, Hu D, Zhang M, Wang S, Zhao Q, Sullivan C, Xu X. A new confuciusornithid bird with a secondary epiphyseal ossification reveals phylogenetic changes in confuciusornithid flight mode. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1398. [PMID: 36543908 PMCID: PMC9772404 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04316-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The confuciusornithids are the earliest known beaked birds, and constitute the only species-rich clade of Early Cretaceous pygostylian birds that existed prior to the cladogenesis of Ornithothoraces. Here, we report a new confuciusornithid species from the Lower Cretaceous of western Liaoning, northeastern China. Compared to other confuciusornithids, this new species and the recently reported Yangavis confucii both show evidence of stronger flight capability, although the wings of the two taxa differ from one another in many respects. Our aerodynamic analyses under phylogeny indicate that varying modes of flight adaptation emerged across the diversity of confuciusornithids, and to a lesser degree over the course of their ontogeny, and specifically suggest that both a trend towards improved flight capability and a change in flight strategy occurred in confuciusornithid evolution. The new confuciusornithid differs most saliently from other Mesozoic birds in having an extra cushion-like bone in the first digit of the wing, a highly unusual feature that may have helped to meet the functional demands of flight at a stage when skeletal growth was still incomplete. The new find strikingly exemplifies the morphological, developmental and functional diversity of the first beaked birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renfei Wang
- grid.64924.3d0000 0004 1760 5735College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China ,grid.263484.f0000 0004 1759 8467Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Liaoning Province, Shenyang, China
| | - Dongyu Hu
- grid.263484.f0000 0004 1759 8467Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Liaoning Province, Shenyang, China
| | - Meisheng Zhang
- grid.64924.3d0000 0004 1760 5735College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Shiying Wang
- grid.263484.f0000 0004 1759 8467Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Liaoning Province, Shenyang, China
| | - Qi Zhao
- grid.458456.e0000 0000 9404 3263Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Corwin Sullivan
- grid.17089.370000 0001 2190 316XDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada ,Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Wembley, AB Canada
| | - Xing Xu
- grid.263484.f0000 0004 1759 8467Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life in Northeast Asia, Liaoning Province, Shenyang, China ,grid.458456.e0000 0000 9404 3263Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China ,grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456Center for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
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5
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Miller CV, Pittman M, Wang X, Zheng X, Bright JA. Diet of Mesozoic toothed birds (Longipterygidae) inferred from quantitative analysis of extant avian diet proxies. BMC Biol 2022; 20:101. [PMID: 35550084 PMCID: PMC9097364 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01294-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Birds are key indicator species in extant ecosystems, and thus we would expect extinct birds to provide insights into the nature of ancient ecosystems. However, many aspects of extinct bird ecology, particularly their diet, remain obscure. One group of particular interest is the bizarre toothed and long-snouted longipterygid birds. Longipterygidae is the most well-understood family of enantiornithine birds, the dominant birds of the Cretaceous period. However, as with most Mesozoic birds, their diet remains entirely speculative. Results To improve our understanding of longipterygids, we investigated four proxies in extant birds to determine diagnostic traits for birds with a given diet: body mass, claw morphometrics, jaw mechanical advantage, and jaw strength via finite element analysis. Body mass of birds tended to correspond to the size of their main food source, with both carnivores and herbivores splitting into two subsets by mass: invertivores or vertivores for carnivores, and granivores + nectarivores or folivores + frugivores for herbivores. Using claw morphometrics, we successfully distinguished ground birds, non-raptorial perching birds, and raptorial birds from one another. We were unable to replicate past results isolating subtypes of raptorial behaviour. Mechanical advantage was able to distinguish herbivorous diets with particularly high values of functional indices, and so is useful for identifying these specific diets in fossil taxa, but overall did a poor job of reflecting diet. Finite element analysis effectively separated birds with hard and/or tough diets from those eating foods which are neither, though could not distinguish hard and tough diets from one another. We reconstructed each of these proxies in longipterygids as well, and after synthesising the four lines of evidence, we find all members of the family but Shengjingornis (whose diet remains inconclusive) most likely to be invertivores or generalist feeders, with raptorial behaviour likely in Longipteryx and Rapaxavis. Conclusions This study provides a 20% increase in quantitatively supported fossil bird diets, triples the number of diets reconstructed in enantiornithine species, and serves as an important first step in quantitatively investigating the origins of the trophic diversity of living birds. These findings are consistent with past hypotheses that Mesozoic birds occupied low trophic levels. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01294-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Case Vincent Miller
- Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
| | - Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. .,Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, 276005, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong, 273300, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, 276005, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong, 273300, China
| | - Jen A Bright
- Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
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6
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Miller CV, Pittman M. The diet of early birds based on modern and fossil evidence and a new framework for its reconstruction. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2058-2112. [PMID: 34240530 PMCID: PMC8519158 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Birds are some of the most diverse organisms on Earth, with species inhabiting a wide variety of niches across every major biome. As such, birds are vital to our understanding of modern ecosystems. Unfortunately, our understanding of the evolutionary history of modern ecosystems is hampered by knowledge gaps in the origin of modern bird diversity and ecosystem ecology. A crucial part of addressing these shortcomings is improving our understanding of the earliest birds, the non-avian avialans (i.e. non-crown birds), particularly of their diet. The diet of non-avian avialans has been a matter of debate, in large part because of the ambiguous qualitative approaches that have been used to reconstruct it. Here we review methods for determining diet in modern and fossil avians (i.e. crown birds) as well as non-avian theropods, and comment on their usefulness when applied to non-avian avialans. We use this to propose a set of comparable, quantitative approaches to ascertain fossil bird diet and on this basis provide a consensus of what we currently know about fossil bird diet. While no single approach can precisely predict diet in birds, each can exclude some diets and narrow the dietary possibilities. We recommend combining (i) dental microwear, (ii) landmark-based muscular reconstruction, (iii) stable isotope geochemistry, (iv) body mass estimations, (v) traditional and/or geometric morphometric analysis, (vi) lever modelling, and (vii) finite element analysis to reconstruct fossil bird diet accurately. Our review provides specific methodologies to implement each approach and discusses complications future researchers should keep in mind. We note that current forms of assessment of dental mesowear, skull traditional morphometrics, geometric morphometrics, and certain stable isotope systems have yet to be proven effective at discerning fossil bird diet. On this basis we report the current state of knowledge of non-avian avialan diet which remains very incomplete. The ancestral dietary condition in non-avian avialans remains unclear due to scarce data and contradictory evidence in Archaeopteryx. Among early non-avian pygostylians, Confuciusornis has finite element analysis and mechanical advantage evidence pointing to herbivory, whilst Sapeornis only has mechanical advantage evidence indicating granivory, agreeing with fossilised ingested material known for this taxon. The enantiornithine ornithothoracine Shenqiornis has mechanical advantage and pedal morphometric evidence pointing to carnivory. In the hongshanornithid ornithuromorph Hongshanornis only mechanical advantage evidence indicates granivory, but this agrees with evidence of gastrolith ingestion in this taxon. Mechanical advantage and ingested fish support carnivory in the songlingornithid ornithuromorph Yanornis. Due to the sparsity of robust dietary assignments, no clear trends in non-avian avialan dietary evolution have yet emerged. Dietary diversity seems to increase through time, but this is a preservational bias associated with a predominance of data from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Lagerstätte. With this new framework and our synthesis of the current knowledge of non-avian avialan diet, we expect dietary knowledge and evolutionary trends to become much clearer in the coming years, especially as fossils from other locations and climates are found. This will allow for a deeper and more robust understanding of the role birds played in Mesozoic ecosystems and how this developed into their pivotal role in modern ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Case Vincent Miller
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Research Division for Earth and Planetary ScienceThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong SARChina
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Research Division for Earth and Planetary ScienceThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong SARChina
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7
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Potential for Powered Flight Neared by Most Close Avialan Relatives, but Few Crossed Its Thresholds. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4033-4046.e8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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8
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Campione NE, Evans DC. The accuracy and precision of body mass estimation in non-avian dinosaurs. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1759-1797. [PMID: 32869488 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Revised: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Inferring the body mass of fossil taxa, such as non-avian dinosaurs, provides a powerful tool for interpreting physiological and ecological properties, as well as the ability to study these traits through deep time and within a macroevolutionary context. As a result, over the past 100 years a number of studies advanced methods for estimating mass in dinosaurs and other extinct taxa. These methods can be categorized into two major approaches: volumetric-density (VD) and extant-scaling (ES). The former receives the most attention in non-avian dinosaurs and advanced appreciably over the last century: from initial physical scale models to three-dimensional (3D) virtual techniques that utilize scanned data obtained from entire skeletons. The ES approach is most commonly applied to extinct members of crown clades but some equations are proposed and utilized in non-avian dinosaurs. Because both approaches share a common goal, they are often viewed in opposition to one another. However, current palaeobiological research problems are often approach specific and, therefore, the decision to utilize a VD or ES approach is largely question dependent. In general, biomechanical and physiological studies benefit from the full-body reconstruction provided through a VD approach, whereas large-scale evolutionary and ecological studies require the extensive data sets afforded by an ES approach. This study summarizes both approaches to body mass estimation in stem-group taxa, specifically non-avian dinosaurs, and provides a comparative quantitative framework to reciprocally illuminate and corroborate VD and ES approaches. The results indicate that mass estimates are largely consistent between approaches: 73% of VD reconstructions occur within the expected 95% prediction intervals of the ES relationship. However, almost three quarters of outliers occur below the lower 95% prediction interval, indicating that VD mass estimates are, on average, lower than would be expected given their stylopodial circumferences. Inconsistencies (high residual and per cent prediction deviation values) are recovered to a varying degree among all major dinosaurian clades along with an overall tendency for larger deviations between approaches among small-bodied taxa. Nonetheless, our results indicate a strong corroboration between recent iterations of the VD approach based on 3D specimen scans suggesting that our current understanding of size in dinosaurs, and hence its biological correlates, has improved over time. We advance that VD and ES approaches have fundamentally (metrically) different advantages and, hence, the comparative framework used and advocated here combines the accuracy afforded by ES with the precision provided by VD and permits the rapid identification of discrepancies with the potential to open new areas of discussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolás E Campione
- Palaeoscience Research Centre, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia
| | - David C Evans
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada.,Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C6, Canada
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9
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Knoll F, Kawabe S. Avian palaeoneurology: Reflections on the eve of its 200th anniversary. J Anat 2020; 236:965-979. [PMID: 31999834 PMCID: PMC7219626 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Revised: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In birds, the brain (especially the telencephalon) is remarkably developed, both in relative volume and complexity. Unlike in most early-branching sauropsids, the adults of birds and other archosaurs have a well-ossified neurocranium. In contrast to the situation in most of their reptilian relatives but similar to what can be seen in mammals, the brains of birds fit closely to the endocranial cavity so that their major external features are reflected in the endocasts. This makes birds a highly suitable group for palaeoneurological investigations. The first observation about the brain in a long-extinct bird was made in the first quarter of the 19th century. However, it was not until the 2000s and the application of modern imaging technologies that avian palaeoneurology really took off. Understanding how the mode of life is reflected in the external morphology of the brains of birds is but one of several future directions in which avian palaeoneurological research may extend. Although the number of fossil specimens suitable for palaeoneurological explorations is considerably smaller in birds than in mammals and will very likely remain so, the coming years will certainly witness a momentous strengthening of this rapidly growing field of research at the overlap between ornithology, palaeontology, evolutionary biology and neurosciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Knoll
- ARAID‐Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel‐DinópolisTeruelSpain
- Departamento de PaleobiologíaMuseo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales‐CSICMadridSpain
| | - Soichiro Kawabe
- Institute of Dinosaur ResearchFukui Prefectural UniversityFukuiJapan
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur MuseumFukuiJapan
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10
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Abstract
From a functional standpoint, the humerus is a key element in the skeleton of vertebrates as it is the forelimb’s bone that connects with the pectoral girdle. In most birds, the humerus receives both the forces exerted by the main flight muscles and the aerodynamical stresses exerted upon the wing during locomotion. Despite this functional preeminence, broad scale studies of the morphological disparity of the humerus in the crown group of birds (Neornithes) are lacking. Here, we explore the variation in shape of the humeral outline in modern birds and its evolutionary relationship with size and the evolution of different functional regimes, including several flight strategies, wing propelled diving and complete loss of wing locomotory function. Our findings suggest that most neornithines evolved repeatedly towards a general humeral morphology linked with functional advantages related with more efficient flapping. Lineages evolving high-stress locomotion such as hyperaeriality (e.g., swifts), hovering (e.g., hummingbirds) and wing-propelled diving (e.g., penguins) greatly deviate from this general trend, each exploring different morphologies. Secondarily flightless birds deviate to a lesser degree from their parent clades in humeral morphology likely as a result of the release from constraints related with wing-based locomotion. Furthermore, these taxa show a different allometric trend that flighted birds. Our results reveal that the constraints of aerial and aquatic locomotion are main factors shaping the macroevolution of humeral morphology in modern birds.
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11
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Chiappe LM, Di L, Serrano FJ, Yuguang Z, Meng Q. Anatomy and Flight Performance of the Early Enantiornithine Bird
Protopteryx fengningensis
: Information from New Specimens of the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2019; 303:716-731. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.24322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Revised: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luis M. Chiappe
- Dinosaur InstituteNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles California
| | - Liu Di
- Beijing Museum of Natural History Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Francisco J. Serrano
- Dinosaur InstituteNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles California
- Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences Madrid Spain
| | - Zhang Yuguang
- Beijing Museum of Natural History Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Qingjin Meng
- Beijing Museum of Natural History Beijing People's Republic of China
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12
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Chinsamy A, Marugán-Lobón J, Serrano FJ, Chiappe L. Osteohistology and Life History of the Basal Pygostylian, Confuciusornis sanctus. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2019; 303:949-962. [PMID: 31751500 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2018] [Revised: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
More than a thousand specimens of Confuciusornis sanctus have been recovered from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Group of Northeastern China. Here, we investigate the bone microstructure of 33 long bones sampled from 14 C. sanctus specimens in an attempt to assess the life history patterns of this basal pygostylian bird. Analysis of the histology of various skeletal elements (femur, humerus, tibia, radius, and ulna) revealed differences in the histology of their bone walls. Based on the osteohistology, we coded the examined specimens into five histology age classes. We found that histological age was not strictly correlated with body size. The variability in the histology of multiple bones from single skeletons suggests differences in the growth rate of the skeleton in response to allometry, functional demands, and pathology. We show that although fibrolamellar bone is widespread across birds, the extent and duration of this rapid phase of bone deposition is highly variable. Comparisons among Mesozoic birds confirm that early ontogenetic growth was rapid, but that later post-hatching growth was strongly influenced by the ontogenetic age of the individual, body size, and local environment, as well as taxonomy. Our findings indicate that C. sanctus experienced rapid growth from early ontogeny until almost fully grown, and thereafter transitioned to slow, episodic growth (for at least 3-4 years) to reach skeletal maturity. Anat Rec, 303:949-962, 2020. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anusuya Chinsamy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jesús Marugán-Lobón
- Unidad de Paleontología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
| | - Francisco J Serrano
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California.,Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Chiappe
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
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13
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Chiappe LM, Qingjin M, Serrano F, Sigurdsen T, Min W, Bell A, Di L. New Bohaiornis-like bird from the Early Cretaceous of China: enantiornithine interrelationships and flight performance. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7846. [PMID: 31667014 PMCID: PMC6816414 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
During the last decade, several Bohaiornis-like enantiornithine species-and numerous specimens-have been recognized from the celebrated Jehol Biota of northwestern China. In this paper, we describe the anatomy of another "bohaiornithid" species from the 125 million-year-old Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China. The new taxon differs from previously recognized "bohaiornithids" on a number of characters from the forelimb and shoulder girdle. We also provide a new phylogenetic framework for enantiornithine birds, which questions the monophyly of the previously recognized bohaiornithid clade and highlights ongoing challenges for resolving enantiornithine interrelationships. Additionally, we offer the first assessment of the flight properties of Bohaiornis-like enantiornithines. Our results indicate that while "bohaiornithids" were morphologically suited for flying through continuous flapping, they would have been unable to sustain prolonged flights. Such findings expand the flight strategies previously known for enantiornithines and other early birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis M Chiappe
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Meng Qingjin
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China
| | - Francisco Serrano
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Madrid, Spain
| | - Trond Sigurdsen
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Wang Min
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
| | - Alyssa Bell
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Liu Di
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China
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14
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A new Jurassic scansoriopterygid and the loss of membranous wings in theropod dinosaurs. Nature 2019; 569:256-259. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1137-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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15
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Avian tail ontogeny, pygostyle formation, and interpretation of juvenile Mesozoic specimens. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9014. [PMID: 29899503 PMCID: PMC5997987 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27336-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The avian tail played a critical role in the evolutionary transition from long- to short-tailed birds, yet its ontogeny in extant birds has largely been ignored. This deficit has hampered efforts to effectively identify intermediate species during the Mesozoic transition to short tails. Here we show that fusion of distal vertebrae into the pygostyle structure does not occur in extant birds until near skeletal maturity, and mineralization of vertebral processes also occurs long after hatching. Evidence for post-hatching pygostyle formation is also demonstrated in two Cretaceous specimens, a juvenile enantiornithine and a subadult basal ornithuromorph. These findings call for reinterpretations of Zhongornis haoae, a Cretaceous bird hypothesized to be an intermediate in the long- to short-tailed bird transition, and of the recently discovered coelurosaur tail embedded in amber. Zhongornis, as a juvenile, may not yet have formed a pygostyle, and the amber-embedded tail specimen is reinterpreted as possibly avian. Analyses of relative pygostyle lengths in extant and Cretaceous birds suggests the number of vertebrae incorporated into the pygostyle has varied considerably, further complicating the interpretation of potential transitional species. In addition, this analysis of avian tail development reveals the generation and loss of intervertebral discs in the pygostyle, vertebral bodies derived from different kinds of cartilage, and alternative modes of caudal vertebral process morphogenesis in birds. These findings demonstrate that avian tail ontogeny is a crucial parameter specifically for the interpretation of Mesozoic specimens, and generally for insights into vertebrae formation.
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16
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Knoll F, Chiappe LM, Sanchez S, Garwood RJ, Edwards NP, Wogelius RA, Sellers WI, Manning PL, Ortega F, Serrano FJ, Marugán-Lobón J, Cuesta E, Escaso F, Sanz JL. A diminutive perinate European Enantiornithes reveals an asynchronous ossification pattern in early birds. Nat Commun 2018; 9:937. [PMID: 29507288 PMCID: PMC5838198 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03295-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossils of juvenile Mesozoic birds provide insight into the early evolution of avian development, however such fossils are rare. The analysis of the ossification sequence in these early-branching birds has the potential to address important questions about their comparative developmental biology and to help understand their morphological evolution and ecological differentiation. Here we report on an early juvenile enantiornithine specimen from the Early Cretaceous of Europe, which sheds new light on the osteogenesis in this most species-rich clade of Mesozoic birds. Consisting of a nearly complete skeleton, it is amongst the smallest known Mesozoic avian fossils representing post-hatching stages of development. Comparisons between this new specimen and other known early juvenile enantiornithines support a clade-wide asynchronous pattern of osteogenesis in the sternum and the vertebral column, and strongly indicate that the hatchlings of these phylogenetically basal birds varied greatly in size and tempo of skeletal maturation. Fossil juvenile Mesozoic birds are exceedingly rare and can provide important insight into the early evolution of avian development. Here, Knoll et al. describe one of the smallest known Mesozoic avians, which indicates a clade-wide asynchronous pattern of osteogenesis and great variation in basal bird hatchling size and skeletal maturation tempo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Knoll
- ARAID-Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinopolis, 44002, Teruel, Spain. .,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Luis M Chiappe
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA
| | - Sophie Sanchez
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden.,European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Russell J Garwood
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.,Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Nicholas P Edwards
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.,Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Roy A Wogelius
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - William I Sellers
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Phillip L Manning
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.,Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, SC, 29424, Charleston, USA
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco J Serrano
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA.,Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, 29010, Málaga, Spain
| | - Jesús Marugán-Lobón
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA.,Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Cuesta
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Escaso
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose Luis Sanz
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
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17
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van Heteren AH, van Dierendonck RCH, van Egmond MANE, Ten Hagen SL, Kreuning J. Neither slim nor fat: estimating the mass of the dodo ( Raphus cucullatus, Aves, Columbiformes) based on the largest sample of dodo bones to date. PeerJ 2017; 5:e4110. [PMID: 29230358 PMCID: PMC5721909 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2015] [Accepted: 11/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) might be the most enigmatic bird of all times. It is, therefore, highly remarkable that no consensus has yet been reached on its body mass; previous scientific estimates of its mass vary by more than 100%. Until now, the vast amount of bones stored at the Natural History Museum in Mauritius has not yet been studied morphometrically nor in relation to body mass. Here, a new estimate of the dodo’s mass is presented based on the largest sample of dodo femora ever measured (n = 174). In order to do this, we have used the regression method and chosen our variables based on biological, mathematical and physical arguments. The results indicate that the mean mass of the dodo was circa 12 kg, which is approximately five times as heavy as the largest living Columbidae (pigeons and doves), the clade to which the dodo belongs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke H van Heteren
- Sektion Mammalogie, Zoologische Staatssammlung München (Staatliche Naturkundliche Sammlungen Bayerns), Munich, Germany
| | | | - Maria A N E van Egmond
- Instituut voor Interdisciplinaire Studies, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sjang L Ten Hagen
- Instituut voor Interdisciplinaire Studies, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jippe Kreuning
- Instituut voor Interdisciplinaire Studies, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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18
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Liu D, Chiappe LM, Serrano F, Habib M, Zhang Y, Meng Q. Flight aerodynamics in enantiornithines: Information from a new Chinese Early Cretaceous bird. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0184637. [PMID: 29020077 PMCID: PMC5636078 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe an exquisitely preserved new avian fossil (BMNHC-PH-919) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Although morphologically similar to Cathayornithidae and other small-sized enantiornithines from China's Jehol Biota, many morphological features indicate that it represents a new species, here named Junornis houi. The new fossil displays most of its plumage including a pair of elongated, rachis-dominated tail feathers similarly present in a variety of other enantiornithines. BMNHC-PH-919 represents the first record of a Jehol enantiornithine from Inner Mongolia, thus extending the known distribution of these birds into the eastern portion of this region. Furthermore, its well-preserved skeleton and wing outline provide insight into the aerodynamic performance of enantiornithines, suggesting that these birds had evolved bounding flight-a flight mode common to passeriforms and other small living birds-as early as 125 million years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Liu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (DL); (LC)
| | - Luis M. Chiappe
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (DL); (LC)
| | - Francisco Serrano
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Universidad de Málaga, Campus Universitario de Teatinos s/n., Málaga, Spain
| | - Michael Habib
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | | | - Qinjing Meng
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China
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19
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Martin-Silverstone E, Vincze O, McCann R, Jonsson CHW, Palmer C, Kaiser G, Dyke G. Exploring the Relationship between Skeletal Mass and Total Body Mass in Birds. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141794. [PMID: 26509531 PMCID: PMC4625084 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Total body mass (TBM) is known to be related to a number of different osteological features in vertebrates, including limb element measurements and total skeletal mass. The relationship between skeletal mass and TBM in birds has been suggested as a way of estimating the latter in cases where only the skeleton is known (e.g., fossils). This relationship has thus also been applied to other extinct vertebrates, including the non-avian pterosaurs, while other studies have used additional skeletal correlates found in modern birds to estimate TBM. However, most previous studies have used TBM compiled from the literature rather than from direct measurements, producing values from population averages rather than from individuals. Here, we report a new dataset of 487 extant birds encompassing 79 species that have skeletal mass and TBM recorded at the time of collection or preparation. We combine both historical and new data for analyses with phylogenetic control and find a similar and well-correlated relationship between skeletal mass and TBM. Thus, we confirm that TBM and skeletal mass are accurate proxies for estimating one another. We also look at other factors that may have an effect on avian body mass, including sex, ontogenetic stage, and flight mode. While data are well-correlated in all cases, phylogeny is a major control on TBM in birds strongly suggesting that this relationship is not appropriate for estimating the total mass of taxa outside of crown birds, Neornithes (e.g., non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs). Data also reveal large variability in both bird skeletal and TBM within single species; caution should thus be applied when using published mass to test direct correlations with skeletal mass and bone lengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Martin-Silverstone
- Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Orsolya Vincze
- MTA-DE “Lendület” Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babes Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania
| | - Ria McCann
- Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
| | | | - Colin Palmer
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Gary Kaiser
- Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gareth Dyke
- Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
- MTA-DE “Lendület” Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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