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
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
The wings before the bird: an evaluation of flapping-based locomotory hypotheses in bird antecedents [PDF]
Background: Powered flight is implicated as a major driver for the success of birds. Here we examine the effectiveness of three hypothesized pathways for the evolution of the flight stroke, the forelimb motion that powers aerial locomotion, in a ...
T. Alexander Dececchi +2 more
doaj +2 more sources
A Jurassic ornithischian dinosaur from Siberia with both feathers and scales [PDF]
Feathers, not just for the birds? Theropod dinosaurs, thought to be the direct ancestors of birds, sported birdlike feathers. But were they the only feathery dino group? Godefroit et al.
Benton, Michael J +7 more
core +1 more source
Soft-tissue and dermal arrangement in the wing of an Early Cretaceous bird: Implications for the evolution of avian flight [PDF]
Despite a wealth of fossils of Mesozoic birds revealing evidence of plumage and other soft-tissue structures, the epidermal and dermal anatomy of their wing’s patagia remain largely unknown.
Buscalioni, Ángela D. +4 more
core +6 more sources
Cranial anatomy of Anchiornis huxleyi (Theropoda: Paraves) sheds new light on bird skull evolution [PDF]
The origin of birds from theropod dinosaurs, by any measures, is the most eye-catching evolutionary transition in the history of life, which encompasses numerous extensive morphological and biological changes. Compared to postcranium, little progress has
WANG Min, WANG Xiao-Li, ZHENG Xiao-Ting, ZHOU Zhong-He
doaj +1 more source
Potential for Powered Flight Neared by Most Close Avialan Relatives, but Few Crossed Its Thresholds [PDF]
Uncertainties in the phylogeny of birds (Avialae) and their closest relatives have impeded deeper understanding of early theropod flight. To help address this, we produced an updated evolutionary hypothesis through an automated analysis of the Theropod ...
Brusatte, Stephen L. +9 more
core +4 more sources
Dinosaurs reveal the geographical signature of an evolutionary radiation [PDF]
Dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems across the globe for over 100 million years and provide a classic example of an evolutionary radiation. However, little is known about how these animals radiated geographically to become globally distributed ...
AB Herman +53 more
core +1 more source
A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution [PDF]
The Jurassic Yanliao theropods have offered rare glimpses of the early paravian evolution and particularly of bird origins, but, with the exception of the bizarre scansoriopterygids, they have shown similar skeletal and integumentary morphologies.
Clarke, Julia A +9 more
core +3 more sources
The impact of poor sampling of polymorphism on cladistic analysis
Abstract Despite its ubiquity in the natural world, polymorphism is commonly disregarded or poorly sampled in phylogenetic analyses due to deliberate sampling strategy, inadequate sampling effort and limited specimen availability. Poor sampling of intraspecific variation engenders differential sampling of morphs within polymorphic species, which could ...
Akinobu Watanabe
wiley +1 more source

