DOCSLIB.ORG

Palacký University Olomouc

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Science Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology Developmental modularity of cerebral tissues in the evolution of avian locomotion using high resolution imaging and geometric morphometric Ph.D. Thesis Vincent Beyrand Supervisors: Prof. Stanislav Bureš Dr. Paul Tafforeau Olomouc 2018 Promoter Prof. Stanislav Bureš Palacký University in Olomouc Faculty of Science Department of Zoology and Laboratory and Laboratory of Ornithology 17. listopadu 50 Olomouc 771 46 Czech Republic Dr. Paul Tafforeau European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Beamline ID19 38 avenue des Martyrs 38000 Grenoble Opponents Dr. Stig Walsh Department of Natural Sciences National Museums of Scotland Chambers Street Edinburgh EH1 1JF Prof. Eric Buffetaut Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 8538 Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris 24 rue Lhomond 75231 Paris CEDEX 5 « Life always find a way » Michael Crichton I declare that this thesis is my original work and has not been submitted for the purpose of obtaining the same or any other academic degree earlier or at another institution. My contribution to each to each of the chapters comprising this work is expressed through the autorship order of the included chapters and author’s contribution statements complementing the chapters. Chapter 4 and 6 are/is reproduced with kind permission from the publishers Olomouc, 31st January 2018 ………………………………. Vincent Beyrand Bibliographic identification Name and surname of the author: Vincent Beyrand Title: Developmental modularity of cerebral tissues in the evolution of avian locomotion using high resolution imaging and geometric morphometric Type of thesis: PhD thesis Department: Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University Supervisors: Prof. Stanislav Bureš Dr. Paul Tafforeau Study program: P1527 Biology Study field: Zoology Year: 2017 Abstract Archosaurs is one of the vertebrate group with the longest history and the oldest origin. Through their long evolutionary history, they developed a large variability of size, morphological features and locomotion behaviours. Flight is a particular behaviour that has been developed twice independently by archosaurs during their evolution. As a complex locomotory behaviour, flight requires advanced cognitive capabilities in order to deal with all the information necessary for a proper locomotion. As the center of processing of information and selection of appropriate response, brain is an important structure to study in order to understand how cerebral capacities in archosaurs evolved in parallel of flight evolution. Because of its position at the root of birds, Archaeopteryx from the Jurassic of Germany, is a very important taxon as it is considered as the oldest form having developed active flight capabilities in the avian lineage. The study of the features showed the different Archaeopteryx specimens add information on how flight capabilities evolved in birds. Another important point of this evolutionary process is the mechanism leading to the appearance cerebral of features related to flight. In this respect, Haslzkaraptor escuillei, a small dromaeosaur from the Cretaceous of Mongolia, is a key specimen, showing brain characters very similar to Archaeopteryx, despite the fact that it was clearly not a flying animal and probably not having flying ancestors. 1 This thesis focuses on the study on the general shape of the endocast and the evolution of its coiling along the development of flight within archosaurs. A new Mongolian dromaeosaur, with particular features revealing a new ecomorphology and particular cerebral characteristics have also been studied during this thesis, with a particular focus on the neurovascular sytem into the snout, dentition organisation and brain anatomy. Because of the rareness and delicacy of fossil specimens bringing information about the origin of flight, their studies does not allow the use of destructive methods. As those fossils cannot be fully extracted from their rock slab, we need special methods in order to access as much as possible information on their anatomical characters for understanding their living behaviour. For that, we used X-ray imaging methods available at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, which are considered nowadays as the golden standard for non-destructive 3D investigation of fossils. Along archosaurs evolution toward flying forms, endocasts show an increase of coiling as well as of infilling level by the brain itself. Basal archosaurs such as crocodiles show an elongated and low- filled endocast, reflecting the primitive condition observed in lepidosaurian. Non-maniraptoriform dinosaurs and then Maniraptoriforms show two successive events of coiling increase, but only small maniraptoriforms suggest an increase of infilling. In crocodiles and non-maniraptoriforms dinosaurs, coiling and low infilling are independent from body size, contrary to maniraptoriforms for which small specimens do present a higher filling level than large sized specimen, for similar coiling values. Finally, birds show a total decoupling of those two characters and size. This general pattern is observed during crocodilian embryonic development, for which coiling and infilling decrease along ontogeny. This suggest a serie of progenetic events, associated with a general size reduction, along archosaurs lineages toward flying forms which was leading to cerebral shape unlocking the cerebral capabilities for flight. Further studies would require more research on shape modification of the different brain structure, by defining which character of brain anatomy influence flight specialisation, fossil reconstruction of crushed fossil in order to have a more accurate view of the process originating flight. Keywords : archosaur, endocast, coiling, infilling, developmental heterochrony, paedomorphosis, flight origin 2 Number of pages : 235 Language : English © Vincent Beyrand 2018 3 4 Content Abstract (in English)…………………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter I General introduction……………………………………………………………………….7 I-Evolution of archosaurs……………………………………………………………………….9 I-A-Evolutionary history of archosaurs and origin of birds……………………….……9 I-B-Development of flight within Archosauria……………………………………….13 I-C-Influence of developmental heterochrony within Dinosauria…………………….14 II-Paleoneuroanatomy…………………………………………………………………………16 II-A-Brain organisation……………………………………………………………….16 II-B-History of paleoneuroanatomy…………………………………………………..24 II-C-Review of brain anatomy in bird-line through the evolution of flight……………27 Chapter II Bi-energy imaging for neuroanatomical features………………………………………31 I-Generalities and history of imaging methods………………………………………………...33 II-Use of contrast agent and bi-energy scans…………………………………………………..34 III-Propagation phase contrast………………………………………………………………...39 IV-Combined use of K-edge/bi-energy and propagation phase contrast imaging techniques….39 V-Application to neuroanatomy……………………………………………………………….42 Chapter III Fossils…………………………………………………………………………………….49 I-Compsognathus longipes…………………………………………………………………….51 II-Halszkaraptor escuillei……………………………………………………………………..56 III-Archaeopteryx……………………………………………………………………………...64 Chapter IV Synchrotron scanning reveals amphibious ecomorphology in a new clade of bird-like dinosaurs…………………………………………….....73 Chapter V Geometric morphometrics analysis and cerebral information reflecting evolutionary history of archosaurs and the development of flight………………………91 I-Geometric morphometrics and application in paleontology………………………...93 II-Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis……………………………..93 III-Qualitative accuracy of endocranial representativity of brain anatomy…………113 Chapter VI Developmental evolution of the brain enabled archosaurian flight………………………………………………………………….119 5 Chapter VII Progenetic scenario within Archosauria……………………………………………..195 Co-author affiliation…………………………………………………………………………………..201 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………….203 Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………………236 Abbreviations: ESRF: European radiation Synchrotron Facility; ESRF collection: Specimen preserved at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility; LFAC: La Ferme aux Crocodiles, Pierrelattes, France; TL: Thierry Loeb, Echirolles, France; ENS: Ecole Normale Supérieure, Lyon, France; MHN Grenoble: Museum d’Histoire Naturelle, Grenoble, France; MNHN: Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; CCEC: Centre de Conservation et d’Etude des Collections, Lyon, France; Peaugres: Safari de Peaugres, Peaugres, France. 6 Chapter I General introduction 7 8 I-Evolution of archosaurs I-A-Evolutionary history of archosaurs and origin of birds Archosaurs find their origin during the early Triassic, after the split with Lepidosauria, their sister taxa within Diapsida (Romer 1966, Reig 1970, Benton and Clark 1988). Along their evolutionary history, they developed particular posture from sprawling to erect and semi-erect (Edwards 1977, Parish 1987, Reilly and Elias 1998). This variation of limb position influenced the large amount of locomotory behaviour that have been developed within this lineage (quadrupedal/bipedal, terrestrial/aquatic/flying,…) leading to a large range of body shape (Hutchinson and Gatesy 2000, Hutchinson 2006, Bates and Schachner 2012, Allen et al. 2013). Archosaurs are only represented by living crocodilians and birds nowadays, but they were also represented by dinosaurs, pterosaurs and fossil forms of crocodylomorphs (Figure I-1). Crocodilians are the most primitive
Recommended publications
  • The Phylogenetic Position of Ambiortus: Comparison with Other Mesozoic Birds from Asia1 J

    The Phylogenetic Position of Ambiortus: Comparison with Other Mesozoic Birds from Asia1 J

    ISSN 00310301, Paleontological Journal, 2013, Vol. 47, No. 11, pp. 1270–1281. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2013. The Phylogenetic Position of Ambiortus: Comparison with Other Mesozoic Birds from Asia1 J. K. O’Connora and N. V. Zelenkovb aKey Laboratory of Evolution and Systematics, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, 142 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Beijing China 10044 bBorissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 123, Moscow, 117997 Russia email: [email protected], [email protected] Received August 6, 2012 Abstract—Since the last description of the ornithurine bird Ambiortus dementjevi from Mongolia, a wealth of Early Cretaceous birds have been discovered in China. Here we provide a detailed comparison of the anatomy of Ambiortus relative to other known Early Cretaceous ornithuromorphs from the Chinese Jehol Group and Xiagou Formation. We include new information on Ambiortus from a previously undescribed slab preserving part of the sternum. Ambiortus is superficially similar to Gansus yumenensis from the Aptian Xiagou Forma tion but shares more morphological features with Yixianornis grabaui (Ornithuromorpha: Songlingorni thidae) from the Jiufotang Formation of the Jehol Group. In general, the mosaic pattern of character distri bution among early ornithuromorph taxa does not reveal obvious relationships between taxa. Ambiortus was placed in a large phylogenetic analysis of Mesozoic birds, which confirms morphological observations and places Ambiortus in a polytomy with Yixianornis and Gansus. Keywords: Ornithuromorpha, Ambiortus, osteology, phylogeny, Early Cretaceous, Mongolia DOI: 10.1134/S0031030113110063 1 INTRODUCTION and articulated partial skeleton, preserving several cervi cal and thoracic vertebrae, and parts of the left thoracic Ambiortus dementjevi Kurochkin, 1982 was one of girdle and wing (specimen PIN, nos.
  • Anchiornis and Scansoriopterygidae

    Anchiornis and Scansoriopterygidae

    SpringerBriefs in Earth System Sciences SpringerBriefs South America and the Southern Hemisphere Series Editors Gerrit Lohmann Lawrence A. Mysak Justus Notholt Jorge Rabassa Vikram Unnithan For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/10032 Federico L. Agnolín · Fernando E. Novas Avian Ancestors A Review of the Phylogenetic Relationships of the Theropods Unenlagiidae, Microraptoria, Anchiornis and Scansoriopterygidae 1 3 Federico L. Agnolín “Félix de Azara”, Departamento de Ciencias Naturales Fundación de Historia Natural, CEBBAD, Universidad Maimónides Buenos Aires Argentina Fernando E. Novas CONICET, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” Buenos Aires Argentina ISSN 2191-589X ISSN 2191-5903 (electronic) ISBN 978-94-007-5636-6 ISBN 978-94-007-5637-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-5637-3 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012953463 © The Author(s) 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.
  • Beyond Endocasts: Using Predicted Brain-Structure Volumes of Extinct Birds to Assess Neuroanatomical and Behavioral Inferences

    Beyond Endocasts: Using Predicted Brain-Structure Volumes of Extinct Birds to Assess Neuroanatomical and Behavioral Inferences

    diversity Article Beyond Endocasts: Using Predicted Brain-Structure Volumes of Extinct Birds to Assess Neuroanatomical and Behavioral Inferences 1, , 2 2 Catherine M. Early * y , Ryan C. Ridgely and Lawrence M. Witmer 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA 2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA; [email protected] (R.C.R.); [email protected] (L.M.W.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Current Address: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. y Received: 1 November 2019; Accepted: 30 December 2019; Published: 17 January 2020 Abstract: The shape of the brain influences skull morphology in birds, and both traits are driven by phylogenetic and functional constraints. Studies on avian cranial and neuroanatomical evolution are strengthened by data on extinct birds, but complete, 3D-preserved vertebrate brains are not known from the fossil record, so brain endocasts often serve as proxies. Recent work on extant birds shows that the Wulst and optic lobe faithfully represent the size of their underlying brain structures, both of which are involved in avian visual pathways. The endocasts of seven extinct birds were generated from microCT scans of their skulls to add to an existing sample of endocasts of extant birds, and the surface areas of their Wulsts and optic lobes were measured. A phylogenetic prediction method based on Bayesian inference was used to calculate the volumes of the brain structures of these extinct birds based on the surface areas of their overlying endocast structures. This analysis resulted in hyperpallium volumes of five of these extinct birds and optic tectum volumes of all seven extinct birds.
  • A Chinese Archaeopterygian, Protarchaeopteryx Gen. Nov

    A Chinese Archaeopterygian, Protarchaeopteryx Gen. Nov

    A Chinese archaeopterygian, Protarchaeopteryx gen. nov. by Qiang Ji and Shu’an Ji Geological Science and Technology (Di Zhi Ke Ji) Volume 238 1997 pp. 38-41 Translated By Will Downs Bilby Research Center Northern Arizona University January, 2001 Introduction* The discoveries of Confuciusornis (Hou and Zhou, 1995; Hou et al, 1995) and Sinornis (Ji and Ji, 1996) have profoundly stimulated ornithologists’ interest globally in the Beipiao region of western Liaoning Province. They have also regenerated optimism toward solving questions of avian origins. In December 1996, the Chinese Geological Museum collected a primitive bird specimen at Beipiao that is comparable to Archaeopteryx (Wellnhofer, 1992). The specimen was excavated from a marl 5.5 m above the sediments that produce Sinornithosaurus and 8-9 m below the sediments that produce Confuciusornis. This is the first documentation of an archaeopterygian outside Germany. As a result, this discovery not only establishes western Liaoning Province as a center of avian origins and evolution, it provides conclusive evidence for the theory that avian evolution occurred in four phases. Specimen description Class Aves Linnaeus, 1758 Subclass Sauriurae Haeckel, 1866 Order Archaeopterygiformes Furbringer, 1888 Family Archaeopterygidae Huxley, 1872 Genus Protarchaeopteryx gen. nov. Genus etymology: Acknowledges that the specimen possesses characters more primitive than those of Archaeopteryx. Diagnosis: A primitive archaeopterygian with claviform and unserrated dentition. Sternum is thin and flat, tail is long, and forelimb resembles Archaeopteryx in morphology with three talons, the second of which is enlarged. Ilium is large and elongated, pubes are robust and distally fused, hind limb is long and robust with digit I reduced and dorsally migrated to lie in opposition to digit III and forming a grasping apparatus.
  • A New Raptorial Dinosaur with Exceptionally Long Feathering Provides Insights Into Dromaeosaurid flight Performance

    A New Raptorial Dinosaur with Exceptionally Long Feathering Provides Insights Into Dromaeosaurid flight Performance

    ARTICLE Received 11 Apr 2014 | Accepted 11 Jun 2014 | Published 15 Jul 2014 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5382 A new raptorial dinosaur with exceptionally long feathering provides insights into dromaeosaurid flight performance Gang Han1, Luis M. Chiappe2, Shu-An Ji1,3, Michael Habib4, Alan H. Turner5, Anusuya Chinsamy6, Xueling Liu1 & Lizhuo Han1 Microraptorines are a group of predatory dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs with aero- dynamic capacity. These close relatives of birds are essential for testing hypotheses explaining the origin and early evolution of avian flight. Here we describe a new ‘four-winged’ microraptorine, Changyuraptor yangi, from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of China. With tail feathers that are nearly 30 cm long, roughly 30% the length of the skeleton, the new fossil possesses the longest known feathers for any non-avian dinosaur. Furthermore, it is the largest theropod with long, pennaceous feathers attached to the lower hind limbs (that is, ‘hindwings’). The lengthy feathered tail of the new fossil provides insight into the flight performance of microraptorines and how they may have maintained aerial competency at larger body sizes. We demonstrate how the low-aspect-ratio tail of the new fossil would have acted as a pitch control structure reducing descent speed and thus playing a key role in landing. 1 Paleontological Center, Bohai University, 19 Keji Road, New Shongshan District, Jinzhou, Liaoning Province 121013, China. 2 Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA. 3 Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 26 Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing 100037, China. 4 University of Southern California, Health Sciences Campus, BMT 403, Mail Code 9112, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA.
  • Was Dinosaurian Physiology Inherited by Birds? Reconciling Slow Growth in Archaeopteryx

    Was Dinosaurian Physiology Inherited by Birds? Reconciling Slow Growth in Archaeopteryx

    Was Dinosaurian Physiology Inherited by Birds? Reconciling Slow Growth in Archaeopteryx Gregory M. Erickson1,6*, Oliver W. M. Rauhut2, Zhonghe Zhou3, Alan H. Turner4,6, Brian D. Inouye1, Dongyu Hu5, Mark A. Norell6 1 Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America, 2 Bayerische Staatssammlung fu¨r Pala¨ontologie und Geologie and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, LMU Munich, Mu¨nchen, Germany, 3 Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China, 4 Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, 5 Paleontological Institute, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China, 6 Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America Abstract Background: Archaeopteryx is the oldest and most primitive known bird (Avialae). It is believed that the growth and energetic physiology of basalmost birds such as Archaeopteryx were inherited in their entirety from non-avialan dinosaurs. This hypothesis predicts that the long bones in these birds formed using rapidly growing, well-vascularized woven tissue typical of non-avialan dinosaurs. Methodology/Principal Findings: We report that Archaeopteryx long bones are composed of nearly avascular parallel- fibered bone. This is among the slowest growing osseous tissues and is common in ectothermic reptiles. These findings dispute the hypothesis that non-avialan dinosaur growth and physiology were inherited in totality by the first birds. Examining these findings in a phylogenetic context required intensive sampling of outgroup dinosaurs and basalmost birds. Our results demonstrate the presence of a scale-dependent maniraptoran histological continuum that Archaeopteryx and other basalmost birds follow.
  • Onetouch 4.0 Scanned Documents

    Onetouch 4.0 Scanned Documents

    / Chapter 2 THE FOSSIL RECORD OF BIRDS Storrs L. Olson Department of Vertebrate Zoology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC. I. Introduction 80 II. Archaeopteryx 85 III. Early Cretaceous Birds 87 IV. Hesperornithiformes 89 V. Ichthyornithiformes 91 VI. Other Mesozojc Birds 92 VII. Paleognathous Birds 96 A. The Problem of the Origins of Paleognathous Birds 96 B. The Fossil Record of Paleognathous Birds 104 VIII. The "Basal" Land Bird Assemblage 107 A. Opisthocomidae 109 B. Musophagidae 109 C. Cuculidae HO D. Falconidae HI E. Sagittariidae 112 F. Accipitridae 112 G. Pandionidae 114 H. Galliformes 114 1. Family Incertae Sedis Turnicidae 119 J. Columbiformes 119 K. Psittaciforines 120 L. Family Incertae Sedis Zygodactylidae 121 IX. The "Higher" Land Bird Assemblage 122 A. Coliiformes 124 B. Coraciiformes (Including Trogonidae and Galbulae) 124 C. Strigiformes 129 D. Caprimulgiformes 132 E. Apodiformes 134 F. Family Incertae Sedis Trochilidae 135 G. Order Incertae Sedis Bucerotiformes (Including Upupae) 136 H. Piciformes 138 I. Passeriformes 139 X. The Water Bird Assemblage 141 A. Gruiformes 142 B. Family Incertae Sedis Ardeidae 165 79 Avian Biology, Vol. Vlll ISBN 0-12-249408-3 80 STORES L. OLSON C. Family Incertae Sedis Podicipedidae 168 D. Charadriiformes 169 E. Anseriformes 186 F. Ciconiiformes 188 G. Pelecaniformes 192 H. Procellariiformes 208 I. Gaviiformes 212 J. Sphenisciformes 217 XI. Conclusion 217 References 218 I. Introduction Avian paleontology has long been a poor stepsister to its mammalian counterpart, a fact that may be attributed in some measure to an insufRcien- cy of qualified workers and to the absence in birds of heterodont teeth, on which the greater proportion of the fossil record of mammals is founded.
  • A New Caenagnathid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi

    A New Caenagnathid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi

    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN A new caenagnathid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Shandong, China, with Received: 12 October 2017 Accepted: 7 March 2018 comments on size variation among Published: xx xx xxxx oviraptorosaurs Yilun Yu1, Kebai Wang2, Shuqing Chen2, Corwin Sullivan3,4, Shuo Wang 5,6, Peiye Wang2 & Xing Xu7 The bone-beds of the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group in Zhucheng, Shandong, China are rich in fossil remains of the gigantic hadrosaurid Shantungosaurus. Here we report a new oviraptorosaur, Anomalipes zhaoi gen. et sp. nov., based on a recently collected specimen comprising a partial left hindlimb from the Kugou Locality in Zhucheng. This specimen’s systematic position was assessed by three numerical cladistic analyses based on recently published theropod phylogenetic datasets, with the inclusion of several new characters. Anomalipes zhaoi difers from other known caenagnathids in having a unique combination of features: femoral head anteroposteriorly narrow and with signifcant posterior orientation; accessory trochanter low and confuent with lesser trochanter; lateral ridge present on femoral lateral surface; weak fourth trochanter present; metatarsal III with triangular proximal articular surface, prominent anterior fange near proximal end, highly asymmetrical hemicondyles, and longitudinal groove on distal articular surface; and ungual of pedal digit II with lateral collateral groove deeper and more dorsally located than medial groove. The holotype of Anomalipes zhaoi is smaller than is typical for Caenagnathidae but larger than is typical for the other major oviraptorosaurian subclade, Oviraptoridae. Size comparisons among oviraptorisaurians show that the Caenagnathidae vary much more widely in size than the Oviraptoridae. Oviraptorosauria is a clade of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs characterized by a short, high skull, long neck and short tail.
  • New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of Southwestern Mongolia

    New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of Southwestern Mongolia

    Bull. Natn. Sci. Mus., Tokyo, Ser. C, 30, pp. 95–130, December 22, 2004 New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of Southwestern Mongolia Junchang Lü1, Yukimitsu Tomida2, Yoichi Azuma3, Zhiming Dong4 and Yuong-Nam Lee5 1 Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China 2 National Science Museum, 3–23–1 Hyakunincho, Shinjukuku, Tokyo 169–0073, Japan 3 Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51–11 Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama 911–8601, Japan 4 Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China 5 Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Geology & Geoinformation Division, 30 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305–350, South Korea Abstract Nemegtia barsboldi gen. et sp. nov. here described is a new oviraptorid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (mid-Maastrichtian) Nemegt Formation of southwestern Mongolia. It differs from other oviraptorids in the skull having a well-developed crest, the anterior margin of which is nearly vertical, and the dorsal margin of the skull and the anterior margin of the crest form nearly 90°; the nasal process of the premaxilla being less exposed on the dorsal surface of the skull than those in other known oviraptorids; the length of the frontal being approximately one fourth that of the parietal along the midline of the skull. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Nemegtia barsboldi is more closely related to Citipati osmolskae than to any other oviraptorosaurs. Key words : Nemegt Basin, Mongolia, Nemegt Formation, Late Cretaceous, Oviraptorosauria, Nemegtia. dae, and Caudipterygidae (Barsbold, 1976; Stern- Introduction berg, 1940; Currie, 2000; Clark et al., 2001; Ji et Oviraptorosaurs are generally regarded as non- al., 1998; Zhou and Wang, 2000; Zhou et al., avian theropod dinosaurs (Osborn, 1924; Bars- 2000).
  • A Comparison of Flight Potential Among Small-Bodied Paravians

    A Comparison of Flight Potential Among Small-Bodied Paravians

    Chapter 11 High Flyer or High Fashion? A Comparison of Flight Potential among Small-Bodied Paravians T. ALEXANDER DECECCHI,1 HANS C.E. LARSSON,2 MICHAEL PITTMAN,3 AND MICHAEL B. HABIB4 ABSTRACT The origin of flight in birds and its relationship to bird origins itself has achieved something of a renaissance in recent years, driven by the discovery of a suite of small-bodied taxa with large pen- naceous feathers. As some of these specimens date back to the Middle Jurassic and predate the earli- est known birds, understanding how these potential aerofoil surfaces were used is of great importance to answering the question: which came first, the bird or the wing? Here we seek to address this question by directly comparing key members of three of the major clades of paravians: anchiorni- thines, Microraptor and Archaeopteryx across their known size classes to see how they differ in terms of major flight-related parameters (wing loading; disc loading; specific lift; glide speed; takeoff poten- tial). Using specimens with snout to vent length (SVL) ranging from around 150 mm to 400 mm and mass ranging from approximately 130 g to 2 kg, we investigated patterns of inter- and intraspe- cific changes in flight potential. We find that anchiornithines show much higher wing- and disc- loading values and correspondingly high required minimum glide and takeoff speeds, along with lower specific lift and flapping running outputs suggesting little to no flight capability in this clade. In contrast, we see good support for flight potential, either gliding or powered flight, for all size classes of both Microraptor and Archaeopteryx, though there are differing patterns of how this shifts ontogenetically.
  • Cucurbitaceae Enrichment for Our Parrots Study of the Presence Of

    Cucurbitaceae Enrichment for Our Parrots Study of the Presence Of

    Parrots and climate change Cucurbitaceae enrichment for Study of the presence of our parrots pheomelanin in parakeet Page 4 Page 23 feathers VOL 32 Page 24 NO 8-11 CONTENTS 3 VoLume 32 / Number 8-11 Editorial 4 Parrots and climate change 6 MY BREEDING WITH THE AFRICAN DAMARALAND PARROT The Brown parrot, as they are called in Africa, are widely spread in six sub-species over a big part of Africa, from Southern Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia, to the more southern countries like Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. 12 Survey confirms upward trend of the Blue- » p.6 throated Macaw in Bolivia Getting birds to reproduce in controlled spaces is a process that requires dedication, a lot of attention, resources and, above all, knowledge. Only in this way can good results be obtained. In the past, scientists had to resort to museum skins collections to obtain samples or to observe biological parameters in dissected animals. 14 Bleeding Heart Pigeons Gallicolumba is a mid-sized genus of ground-dwelling doves (family Columbidae) which occur in rainforests on the Philippines, Indonesia Islands and in the Pacific region. They are not closely related to the American ground doves (genus Columbina and related genera). Rather, the present genus is closest to the thick-billed ground pigeon. » p.22 22 Calabash for parrots 23 Cucurbitaceae enrichment for our parrots 24 Study of the presence of pheomelanin in par- akeet feathers The colors in a bird’s feathers are formed in two different ways: pigments and light refraction caused by the structure of the feather.
  • EDITORIAL NOTE Collection of Paleontology Papers in Honor of The

    EDITORIAL NOTE Collection of Paleontology Papers in Honor of The

    Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (2019) 91(Suppl. 2): e20191434 (Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences) Printed version ISSN 0001-3765 / Online version ISSN 1678-2690 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201920191434 www.scielo.br/aabc | www.fb.com/aabcjournal EDITORIAL NOTE Collection of Paleontology Papers in honor of the Centenary of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences ALEXANDER W.A. KELLNER* and MARINA B. SOARES Laboratório de Sistemática e Tafonomia de Vertebrados Fósseis, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia do Museu Nacional/UFRJ, Quinta da Boa Vista, s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil How to cite: KELLNER AWA AND SOARES MB. 2019. Collection of Paleontology Papers in honor of the Centenary of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. An Acad Bras Cienc 91: e20191434. DOI 10.1590/0001-3765201920191434. The Brazilian Academy of Sciences is a non-profit organization (ABC 2019) that has completed one century of existence in 2016. A series of special publications was organized by the Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (AABC) in celebration of this important date (e.g., Kellner 2017, Crespilho 2018, Cavaleiro 2018). Here we have the pleasure to introduce the final of these volumes gathering 20 original contributions in paleontology, the science dedicated to the study of all evidences of life that have been preserved in layers of deep time. The topics presented here vary from the description of new species and specimens of flying reptiles, dinosaurs, and crocodylomorphs to studies on biogeography, osteohistology, and specific contributions provided by microfossils. Over 70 authors from different countries were involved in this volume, showing the increasing international integration of Brazilian paleontologists.