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Ornithology Lectures 12–14.2019

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Ornithology Lectures 12–14.2019 NREM/ZOOL 4464 – Ornithology Lectures 12–14 Dr. Tim O’Connell 11, 13, & 14 February 2019 Modern hierarchy of life on earth: •Domain •OrDer •KingDom •Family •Phylum (plural “phyla”) •Genus (plural “genera”) •Class •Species (plural “species”) •Prokaryotes – no nucleus anD no subcellular organelles. These are exceeDingly tiny 0.1–10 microns Diameter. •Eukaryotes – larger cells (10–100 microns) with DNA containeD in a nucleus anD numerous membrane-bound organelles like mitochondria, Golgi apparatus. Four kingdoms of the Eukarya: •Protista - most unicellular, hetero- or autotrophic •Fungi - multicellular heterotrophs that feeD by or both absorption •Plantae - multicellular, photosynthetic autotrophs •Animalia - multicellular heterotrophs that feeD by ingestion Within Animalia: •Phylum ChorData •Subphylum Vertebrata •Class Aves Paleontologist Phil Currie, commenting on recent fossil finDs in China of Dinosaurs with feathers: "This shows that Dinosaurs are not extinct, but are well-representeD by 10,000 species of birDs." What did he mean? Are bird birds, or are birds really dinosaurs? The issue: •BirDs are obviously allieD with reptiles, anD specifically to Dinosaurs. Ancestry ambiguous, however. •DiD birDs DescenD from ancient reptiles that were NOT Dinosaurs, or DiD birDs DescenD DIRECTLY FROM dinosaurs? •If the latter, then birDs are technically consiDereD Dinosaurs accorDing to a moDern cladistic analysis. That is, dinosaurs did NOT die out at the end of the Cretaceous! Adaptive radiation - process through which one taxon gives rise to many others that exploit available niches. We neeD to go back to the Paleozoic – the rise of the TetrapoDs! ~450 million years ago (MYA), bony fish with cartilaginous rays in their fins appear. ~420 (blaze it!) MYA, some fish Develop fleshy fins with bone anD muscle insiDe, e.g., Coelacanth. ~410 MYA, some “lobe-finneD” fish Develop a structure of one proximal limb bone articulating with two Distal limb bones in each limb. This is the beginning of humerus-raDius/ulna. ~385 MYA, Tiktaalik shows a development of the pectoral girDle sufficient to bear its weight without the buoyancy of water! ~380 MYA, Acanthostega has digits at the enD of its 4 limbs. ~370 MYA, amphibians appear – 5 digits on 4 limbs – these are the ancestral TetrapoDs. KingDom Animalia, Phylum ChorData, (Subphylum Vertebrata), Class Reptilia – aDaptive raDiation of reptiles in the Mesozoic Era, ~ 250–65 mya. 1 From the basal stock of reptiles (cotylosaurs), at least SIX major groups Developed: • Turtles • Eusuchians (ancestral to lizarDs, snakes, anD • Plesiosaurs (long-necked marine reptiles) the tuatara) • Icthyosaurs (Dolphin-shapeD marine • PseuDosuchians (a.k.a. “thecodonts”, so- reptiles) named because their teeth sit in individual • Pelycosaurs (ancestral to the therapsiDs sockets in the jaw). from which we mammals DescenDeD) The pseuDosuchians are ancestral to crocoDilians, pterosaurs (flying reptiles), and the dinosaurs – the group that underwent one of the most dramatic adaptive radiations the world has ever seen. Dino-diversity: The dinosaur radiation led to the development of many wildly different forms. All dinosaurs had their limbs rotateD to support the boDy from beneath – like mammal limbs – rather than splayeD out to the sides as in lizarDs, turtles, anD crocoDilians. Significantly, Dinosaurs radiated into ancestral quaDrapeDal forms anD derived bipeDal forms. The big split in Dino-diversity involves the orientation of the bones in the pelvis: ilium, ischium, and pubis. In the ORNITHISCHIANS, the pubis bone points backwarDs, as it Does in moDern birDs (although as we’ll see, birDs DiDn’t descend from the ornithischians). The ornithischians incluDe such familiar Dinosaurs as Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, the ceratopsians like Triceratops, anD the haDrosaurs, i.e., the “Duck-billed dinosaurs” like Trachodon. Iguanodon Stegosaurus 2 Opposite the ornithischians were the SAURISCHIANS, the “lizarD-hipped” dinosaurs with the pubis bone pointed forward: The Saurischians radiated into the massive long-necked sauropods like Brachiosaurus and the meat-eating, bipedal theropoDs. The big theropoDs like Tyrannosaurus were the “carnosaurs” anD the little vicious ones like Velociraptor were the “coelurosaurs.” Seismosaurus Megalosaurus The structure of moDern birDs has been Dramatically shapeD by the DemanDs of efficient, powereD flight. That saiD, there are numerous similarities between birds and dinosaurs, especially those coelurosaurs. That’s the issue: Did birDs descenD directly from some basal stock of reptiles like the pseuDosuchians, or did they arise later, descending directly from the coelurosaur Dinosaurs? If birDs descenDeD directly from the pseuDosuchians, then the principle of monpohyleticism would dictate that birds be included with reptiles in the class Reptilia. If birDs descenDeD directly from the coelurosaurs, then birDs are not just “reptiles,” they are a specific type of reptile – dinosaurs! This is only really a big deal if we consiDer Dinosaurs to have gone extinct at the enD of the Cretaceous. If birds are dinosaurs, that means that the dinosaurs DID NOT die out at the end of the Cretaceous; thousanDs of them are still with us toDay. To examine this issue, we neeD to consider the anatomy of birds and reptiles – specifically dinosaurs. 3 Okay, to begin to unDerstanD birDs, we must first unDerstanD the first TetrapoDs – our deep ancestors, too. Basal reptiles of the Permian – the Cotylosaurs: When you consider the anatomy of birds, think about modifications from this basic reptilian boDy plan. This is the ancestral conDition of the basal reptiles. Next consider Euparkeria, a genus of Triassic pseuDosuchian thecoDont reptiles that preDate the Dinosaurs, from about 345 mya. This is a more derived boDy plan than the cotylosaurs. Let’s look at its skeleton: Axial skeleton IncluDes skull, all vertebrae (cervical, dorsal {thoracic, lumbar}, sacral anD cauDal), ribcage, anD sternum. Appendicular skeleton IncluDes limb bones plus scapula, coracoid, clavicles anD pelvis. Euparkeria’s ancestral conDition shows a long, bony tail, teeth in the jaw, at least 13 pairs of ribs, anD in the limbs, a soliD bone (femur anD humerus) proximally anD Distally paireD bones (tibia anD fibula in the hinDlimbs; raDius anD ulna in the forelimbs) that end in feet with five digits. A real theropod dinosaur: Compsognathus. This is a much more derived skeleton than that of Euparkeria. MoDifications incluDe a greater specialization in locomotion with a fully bipeDal gait anD lengthening of the hinDlimbs. Phalanges in the hinDlimbs number 4 – with only 3 making contact with the grounD – anD in the shorteneD forelimbs there are but 3 Digits. The number of ribs now reDuceD to 10 pairs. 4 MoDern birDs are moDifieD still further. In fact, most of the Differences we might see between a pluckeD turkey anD a Compsognathus are specific moDifications for more efficient flight. Without these moDifications for the DemanDs of flight, birDs are remarkably reptilian. Scales, lay eggs, single urogenital opening . .FEATHERS are the key: If it’s got feathers, then it’s a birD. Exceptional birDs: Hoatzin - (extant in South America) nestlings have claws on their wings. Though Hoatzin claws are best DevelopeD, you can also finD wing claws in waterfowl, owls, New WorlD vultures, etc. Hesperornis regalis: A Cretaceous birD that was structurally similar to a loon or cormorant, though flightless. Its bony beak had teeth. Charles Darwin publishes his ‘Origin of Species’ in which he describes his theory of evolution by natural selection - 1859. Predicted by that theory: “intermediate” forms in the fossil record (anD arounD toDay). Thomas Henry Huxley, citing skeletal similarities between dinosaurs anD moDern birDs was the first to publish his idea that birDs descenDeD from dinosaurs. [Not just reptiles, but specifically descenDeD from the dinosaurs.] Enter Archaeopteryx lithographica in 1862 - after Huxley’s proclamation: 5 Skeletons of Archaeopteryx (left) anD a moDern pigeon (Columba) (right). Skeletally, almost identical to small coelurosaurs. One important difference, though. Archaeopteryx haD feathers. Fully formeD anD moDern feathers - incluDing asymmetrical vanes on the flight feathers that are presumed to be an advanced character compatible with flight. Birds and feathered dinosaurs. These reconstructions from Matthew Martyniuk: Here’s what our most aDvanced reconstructions of Archaeopteryx suggest it probably looked like: 6 A group of coelurosaurs called the maniraptors were skeletally similar to Archaeopteryx: sickle-claw toe, semi-lunate carpal, posterior orientation of pubis, large eyes & braincase, hollow bones, 3-fingereD hanD, 4- toeD foot, fuseD clavicles, blaDelike scapula, seconDary bony palate, anD . Feathers! Some of the synapomorphies between moDern birDs, Archaeopteryx, anD maniraptors: *SeconDary palate *Hingelike ankle - no lateral movement *3-fingereD hanD, 4-toeD foot *High metabolism *Semi-lunate carpal *Big eyes, big brains *Furcula *FEATHERS! *Bladelike scapula Based mostly on spectacular fossil finds from quarries in China, we now have at least 13 different genera of coelurosaurs known to have haD feathers or “protofeathers” anD many other species, e.g., Velociraptor, are suspecteD of having been feathereD as well. Sinornithosaurus: Gigantoraptor anD relateD feathereD dinosaurs (Cretaceous PerioD): -! Here’s what Velociraptor probably really looked like: So, accorDing to John Ostrom, Phil Currie, Jack Horner, Bob Bakker, anD every thinking
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