Results 31 to 40 of about 322 (120)
A new ornithurine from the Early Cretaceous of China sheds light on the evolution of early ecological and cranial diversity in birds [PDF]
PeerJ, 2016 Despite the increasing number of exceptional feathered fossils discovered in the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous of northeastern China, representatives of Ornithurae, a clade that includes comparatively-close relatives of crown clade Aves (extant birds) and
Jiandong Huang +5 more
doaj +2 more sources
BMC Biology, 2022 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
Case Vincent Miller +4 more
doaj +1 more source
A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight [PDF]
PeerJ, 2019 The last two decades have seen a remarkable increase in the known diversity of basal avialans and their paravian relatives. The lack of resolution in the relationships of these groups combined with attributing the behavior of specialized taxa to the base
Scott Hartman +5 more
doaj +2 more sources
Probabilistic divergence time estimation without branch lengths: dating the origins of dinosaurs, avian flight and crown birds. [PDF]
Biol Lett, 2016 Branch lengths—measured in character changes—are an essential requirement of clock-based divergence estimation, regardless of whether the fossil calibrations used represent nodes or tips.
Lloyd GT +3 more
europepmc +2 more sources
Against unifying homology concepts: Redirecting the debate
Journal of Morphology, Volume 284, Issue 7, July 2023., 2023 Against traditional attempts to theoretically unify the various homology definitions on offer, we put forward the alternative strategy of retaining what is distinctive in various homology conceptualizations as context‐specific research tools. While Lankester's evolutionary construal of homology keeps being misinterpreted, we uncover his mechanistic ...
Devin Y. Gouvêa, Ingo Brigandt
wiley +1 more source
Femoral specializations to locomotor habits in early archosauriforms
Journal of Anatomy, Volume 240, Issue 5, Page 867-892, May 2022., 2022 We studied femoral shape variation by applying 3D geometric morphometrics to a large sample of archosauriforms predominantly from the Late Triassic. We identified a set of anatomical features varying with locomotor mode (quadrupedal/bipedal) or body size.
Romain Pintore +3 more
wiley +1 more source
Palaeontology, Volume 65, Issue 3, May/June 2022., 2022 Abstract Little is known about the large‐scale evolutionary patterns of skull size relative to body size, and the possible drivers behind these patterns, in Archosauromorpha. For example, the large skulls of erythrosuchids, a group of non‐archosaurian archosauromorphs from the Early and Middle Triassic, and of theropod dinosaurs are regarded as ...
Jordan Bestwick +8 more
wiley +1 more source
Papers in Palaeontology, Volume 8, Issue 1, January/February 2022., 2022 Abstract A total of 227 theropod teeth have so far been recovered from the upper Campanian Laño site (northern Iberian Peninsula). The teeth were studied for their qualitative and quantitative features. From the theropod sample found at Laño, seven morphotypes attributed to five taxa are identified: a medium to large abelisaurid (Arcovenator sp.) and ...
Erik Isasmendi +5 more
wiley +1 more source
Biological Reviews, Volume 96, Issue 5, Page 2058-2112, October 2021., 2021 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 ...
Case Vincent Miller, Michael Pittman
wiley +1 more source
Unenlagiid theropods: are they members of the Dromaeosauridae (Theropoda, Maniraptora)?
Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 2011 In the present paper we analyze the phylogenetic position of the derived Gondwanan theropod clade Unenlagiidae. Although this group has been frequently considered as deeply nested within Deinonychosauria and Dromaeosauridae, most of the features ...
Federico L. Agnolin, Fernando E. Novas
doaj +1 more source