The Inner Bird: Anatomy and Evolution Darren Naisha a School of Earth & Environmental Sciences University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

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The Inner Bird: Anatomy and Evolution Darren Naisha a School of Earth & Environmental Sciences University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK This article was downloaded by: [Naish, Darren W] On: 23 November 2010 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 916560427] Publisher Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37- 41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Historical Biology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713717695 The inner bird: anatomy and evolution Darren Naisha a School of Earth & Environmental Sciences University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK First published on: 23 November 2010 To cite this Article Naish, Darren(2010) 'The inner bird: anatomy and evolution', Historical Biology,, First published on: 23 November 2010 (iFirst) To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2010.506741 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2010.506741 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Historical Biology iFirst article, 2010, 1–4 BOOK REVIEW The inner bird: anatomy and evolution, by Gary W. The anatomy and function of feathers, their evolution- Kaiser, University of British Columbia, 2007, 386 pp., ary origins and their distribution in dinosaurs form the ISBN 978-0-7748-1344-0 subject of the third and final section. Kaiser uses his knowledge of modern bird aerodynamics and flight Good, non-technical books on anatomy are rare; good, behaviour to look anew at Archaeopteryx, confuciusor- non-technical books on avian anatomy are just about non- nithids, enantiornithines (‘ball-shouldered birds’ of his existent. Gary Kaiser’s The Inner Bird: Anatomy and usage) and other fossil birds, and the final chapter in this Evolution stands out as one of a kind – it is not brand new section – that on the structure and function of marine (having been published in 2007), but still has yet to be birds – is one of the best in the book. A glossary and widely recognised as the valuable piece of scholarship that numerous graphs, tables and diagrams are included, and it is. I will state here at the outset that I cannot recommend the text is fully referenced. it highly enough. The volume takes its title from one of Kaiser’s most Containing a wealth of information that ranges from profound intellectual proposals: the notion that neor- the Mesozoic ancestry of birds to neornithine phylogeny, nithine birds are ‘puppeteers that hide behind a screen of flight dynamics, functional morphology and ecology, it feathers’; creatures that have evolved a highly novel body should be sought out and consulted avidly by anyone plan for vertebrates. Neornithines are, generally speaking, seriously interested in avian anatomy and evolution. small, fragile, thin-limbed animals, protected and covered Kaiser’s volume not only serves as both a wide-ranging by an extensive ‘environmental suit’ formed from their introduction and review but also includes new data and integument and with only a few of their extremities truly several interesting new hypotheses. The author also exposed to the elements. This is the ‘inner bird’ body challenges widely held ideas where appropriate and brings plan, and it has enabled some birds to make a living from attention to the fact that erroneous, highly dated views on freezing cold oceans, to live for months on end on the avian anatomy and function are still being promoted. The wing and to become one of the most successful vertebrate Inner Bird is also eminently readable: it is not a textbook. clades in a multitude of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The book begins with an introduction to avian anatomy As Kaiser puts it, neornithines have come a long way (covering both bone structure in general, and the many from their ancestors. Extensive hands-on experience of north Pacific skeletal and soft tissue peculiarities of the different bird seabirds, waders and others provide Kaiser with a groups) and then compares and contrasts modern practical, grounded perspective. Among the best bits of (neornithine) birds with their dinosaurian ancestors. the book are those on the ecomorphology, behaviour and There is a huge amount of information here that has not breeding biology of the birds that frequent the Pacific been distilled before. Kaiser’s discussions of such areas as Downloaded By: [Naish, Darren W] At: 20:56 23 November 2010 northwest, among them sea eagles and auks. Unless you sesamoid distribution and function, neck mobility, the are a specialist on these birds, much of what Kaiser says form of the lumbar–synsacrum junction, chewing will be novel. He writes of bald eagles Haliaeetus behaviour and bill morphology in cuckoos and turacos, leucocephalus that have learnt to prowl about on the forest the possible role of the glycogen body and the massive floor at night in quest of auks returning to their nests and variation seen in furcular anatomy among neornithines are alludes briefly to humanity’s many disgusting abuses of extremely welcome. seabirds for artillery practise, pet food and leather. An A second section begins with a review of the history of explosion of research on the biology of the marbled avian classification and is then devoted to a discussion of murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus during the 1990s avian phylogeny. Kaiser spends a lot of time on demonstrated – contrarily to received wisdom – that convergent evolution and focuses on ambiguity and murrelets and other small auks were far from weak-flying disagreement more than their opposites. He also uses this ‘proto-penguins’, but extremely fast, powerful, highly as an opportunity to examine the wonderful but always mobile exploiters of the marine prey that they rely on. annoying hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin. The amazing Kaiser makes the argument that they are in fact among the anatomy and controversial phylogenetic position of this most specialised of birds and that we should marvel at their South American bird evidently fascinate the author and he ‘exploitation of power and seemingly extravagant returns to it many times over, also featuring it and its expenditures of energy’ (p. 324). In similar vein, he skeleton on the cover. argues that grebes and divers should not be dismissed as ISSN 0891-2963 print/ISSN 1029-2381 online DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2010.506741 http://www.informaworld.com 2 Book Review poor fliers (as textbooks and tradition would have it), but Greg Paul, now argue that bird-like maniraptorans are that they might be considered the avian equivalents of flightless birds. They continue to argue, however, that this Boeing 747s and other avionic workhorses: able to carry ‘expanded Avialae/Aves’ is nothing to do with Dino- large payloads for great distances at high speeds, despite sauria!). Accordingly, a reasonable interpretation of the an energetically costly take-off. fossil record is that birds were, originally, only one Kaiser is convinced by the evidence for the maniraptoran lineage among many: nothing special and not dinosaurian origin of birds, and long sections of the obviously destined for phenomenal success. book are devoted to discussing the similarities and Worth noting is that Kaiser is a bit out of date in saying differences seen between birds and their non-avian that Archaeopteryx is older than all of its closest non-avian relatives. The notion that birds cannot be dinosaurs is relatives. Even prior to 2007, numerous (admittedly heavily promoted in the ornithological literature – most scrappy) remains demonstrated the presence of non-avian notably in Alan Feduccia’s The Origin and Evolution of maniraptorans older than Archaeopteryx. Pedopenna –a Birds (Feduccia 1996). Because Feduccia’s book is one of Middle Jurassic bird-like maniraptoran with long hindlimb the most visible of volumes on bird evolution, audiences feathers – was described in 2005 (Xu and Zhang 2005). can be forgiven for thinking that ornithologists as a whole Several additional, recently described feathered manir- reject the hypothesis of a dinosaurian ancestry for birds. aptorans can now be said to pre-date Archaeopteryx, This is absolutely not true, and those interested should take including Anchiornis, Epidendrosaurus and Epidexipteryx. every opportunity to note that all of Feduccia (et al.’s) While I am extremely happy that Kaiser tackled criticisms are invalid or erroneous (e.g. that non-avian Mesozoic birds and other dinosaurs so extensively (and theropods are too big to be ancestral to birds, that they while his insights and hypotheses are excellent, insightful occur too late in the fossil record, that their anatomy bars and thought provoking), his work would definitely have them from avian ancestry and that other Mesozoic reptiles benefited from a check by a worker who specialises on make better potential bird ancestors). It is
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