Trends in the Ecology and Evolution of Birds

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 879-880
Author(s):  
Oscar Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Evolution Of Birds

scholarly journals Current perspectives on the evolution of birds

2008 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per G.P. Ericson
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolution Of Birds ◽  
The Many ◽  
Rapid Radiations

The paper summarizes the current understanding of the evolution and diversification of birds. New insights into this field have mainly come from two fundamentally different, but complementary sources of information: the many newly discovered Mesozoic bird fossils and the wealth of genetic analyses of living birds at various taxonomic levels. The birds have evolved from theropod dinosaurs from which they can be defined by but a few morphological characters. The early evolutionary history of the group is characterized by the extinctions of many major clades by the end of the Cretaceous, and by several periods of rapid radiations and speciation. Recent years have seen a growing consensus about the higher-level relationships among living birds, at least as can be deduced from genetic data.

scholarly journals Comparative analyses identify genomic features potentially involved in the evolution of birds-of-paradise

GigaScience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Prost ◽  
Ellie E Armstrong ◽  
Johan Nylander ◽  
Gregg W C Thomas ◽  
Alexander Suh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genomic Features ◽  
Comparative Analyses ◽  
Birds Of Paradise ◽  
Evolution Of Birds

scholarly journals The Origin and Evolution of Birds, 2nd Edition

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 1084-1085
Author(s):  
Walter J. Bock
Keyword(s):  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Subjective Assessments ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Evolution Of Birds ◽  
The Individual

Abstract The following critiques express the opinions of the individual evaluators regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and value of the books they review. As such, the appraisals are subjective assessments and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or any official policy of the American Ornithologists' Union.

A Study in the Evolution of Birds

1957 ◽  
Vol 196 (5) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. N. Southern
Keyword(s):  
Evolution Of Birds

Early evolution of birds

Nature ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 331 (6155) ◽  
pp. 389-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Cracraft
Keyword(s):  
Early Evolution ◽  
Evolution Of Birds

Anatomy of the primitive bird Sapeornis chaoyangensis from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 731-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhonghe Zhou ◽  
Fucheng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Feeding Habit ◽  
Pectoral Girdle ◽  
Mosaic Pattern ◽  
Avian Evolution ◽  
New Information ◽  
New Material ◽  
Evolution Of Birds ◽  
Phalangeal Formula ◽  
Basal Position

Two new, nearly completely articulated skeletons of Sapeornis chaoyangensis provide much new information about the anatomy of this basal avian, particularly in the skull, pectoral girdle, forelimb, and hind limb. This new material shows that the hand of Sapeornis, with a phalangeal formula of "2–3–2," was more derived than previously reconstructed. The skeleton of Sapeornis has several unique features, such as a distinctively elongated fenestra on the proximal end of the humerus, a robust furcula with a distinctive hypocleidum, and an elongated forelimb. Sapeornis exhibits a combination of derived and primitive features, including a short, robust non-strut-like coracoid and a fibula reaching the distal end of the tarsal joint (as in Archaeopteryx), a pygostyle, reduced manual digits, and a well-fused carpometacarpus (as in more advanced birds). These features further indicate the mosaic pattern in the early evolution of birds and confirm the basal position of Sapeornis near Archaeopteryx and Jeholornic in the phylogeny of early birds. The preservation of gastroliths in one of the new specimens also represents the first Chinese Mesozoic bird with such evidence, indicating a herbivorous feeding habit and providing further evidence for our understanding of the diet diversification in early avian evolution.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document