Paradigms and Paleoartists: How Our Perception of Dinosaurs Forms Jordan C

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Paradigms and Paleoartists: How Our Perception of Dinosaurs Forms Jordan C Cedarville University DigitalCommons@Cedarville The Research and Scholarship Symposium The 2018 yS mposium Apr 11th, 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Paradigms and Paleoartists: How our Perception of Dinosaurs Forms Jordan C. Oldham Cedarville University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/ research_scholarship_symposium Part of the Paleobiology Commons, Paleontology Commons, and the Philosophy of Science Commons Oldham, Jordan C., "Paradigms and Paleoartists: How our Perception of Dinosaurs Forms" (2018). The Research and Scholarship Symposium. 9. http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/research_scholarship_symposium/2018/podium_presentations/9 This Podium Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Cedarville, a service of the Centennial Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Research and Scholarship Symposium by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Cedarville. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PARADIGMS AND PALEOARTISTS HOW OUR PERCEPTION OF DINOSAURS FORM JORDAN OLDHAM RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP SYMPOSIUM 2018 PARADIGMS • Thomas S. Kuhn in 1962 wrote the Structure of Scientific Revolutions • He proposed that science changes through scientific revolutions and paradigm shifts Crisis Point Scientific Revolution Anomaly Normal Paradigm Science Shift HISTORY OF DINOSAUR PALEONTOLOGY Dawn of Paleontology • George Cuvier • Fossil first discovered were thought belong to living organisms • George Cuvier ended this idea through his theory of extinction • Victorian Era Paleontology • Richard Owen created the group dinosauria • His aim was to end Lamarckism and Darwinian Evolution Sir Richard Owen • He reconstructed them like giant elephantine reptiles • Years later Joseph Leidy and William Foulke discovered a new dinosaur • The new discovery proved dinosaur did not walk quadrupedally Joseph Leidy • They reconstructed Hadrosaurus to look like a giant reptilian kangaroo • Louis Dollo described a fossil trackway • Tracks occur in the same layer as Iguanodon fossil • Based on the tracks he concurred with Leidy and Foulke’s tripodal stance Louis Dollo John Ostrom HISTORY OF DINOSAUR PALEONTOLOGY • John Ostrom Questions the Paradigm • The tripodal stance continued till the 1960’s • The discovery of Deinonychus lead him to believe that dinosaurs were active • The Skeleton of Deinonychus was hollow, the wrist was bird-like, and the foot was unique • The Dinosaur Renaissance • As a result of Ostrom’s discoveries other scientist began to research • From the 1960’s-1980’s a scientific revolution waged with the birth of a new paradigm • Other discoveries like Maiasaura, Ornithomimus back up Ostrom’s ideas Robert Bakker’s Reconstruction of Deinonychus PALEOARTISTS • Early Artists Beche’s • Henry De la Beche Duria antiquior • Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins • Reconstructed the first dinosaurs according to Owen’s reconstructions Flyer for the Crystal Palace Flyer for the Crystal Palace with Hawkins’ with Hawkins’ Reconstruction Reconstruction of of Iguanodon and Megalosaurus Hylaeosaurus Waterhouse Hawkins’ reconstruction of Hadrosaurus PALEOARTISTS • Charles R. Knight Charles R. Knight • The most famous paleoartist • Instead of reconstructing dinosaurs as slow, he gave them energetic poses • Because of this he is known as “the artist who saw through time” Leaping Laelaps Knight’s Brontosaurus Leaping Laelaps Dino-Kingdom Tokyo, Japan MODERN PALEOARTISTS • With the internet artists have access to up to date paleontology • Paleontologist will actively search out artists to reconstruct their discovery • In some cases paleontologists are artists like Gregory S. Paul, or Mark Witton Mark Gregory S. Paul's Witton’s Dollodon Triceratops Lund EK, O’Connor PM, Loewen MA, Jinnah ZA (2016) A New Centrosaurine Ceratopsid, Machairoceratops cronusi gen et sp. nov., from the Upper Sand Member of the Wahweap Formation (Middle Campanian), Southern Utah. Official PR Art for the PLoS ONE 11(5): e0154403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.015440 Utahraptor Project 3 Mark Witton’s Reconstruction of Machairoceratops Julius T. Csotonyi’s Reconstruction of the Utahraptor Bone Slab DINOSAURS IN POP CULTURE • Because of artist dinosaurs have become a part of our culture • Along with movies like the Jurassic Park series or Land Before Time Julius Csotonyi’s Reconstruction of Suchomimus Like to Learn More? • A published paper will be in the Spring 2018 Issue of Channels • Four-Legged Megalosaurus and Swimming Brontosaurs: A Brief History of Paradigm Shifts within Dinosaur Paleontology References • Bakker, R.T. (1986) Dinosaur Heresies. New York: Kensington Publishing Corporation • Cope, E.D. (1868) The Fossil Reptiles of New Jersey. In: Weishampel, D.B. and White, N.A., The Dinosaur Papers 1676-1906. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 326-331 • Cuvier, G. (1796) Note on the skeleton of a very large species of quadruped, hitherto unknown, found in Paraguay and deposited in the Cabinet of Natural History of Madrid. In: Rudwick, M.J.S., Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones and Geological Catastrophes: New Translations and Interpretations of Primary Texts. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 26-32 • Cuvier, G. (1815) Essays on the Theory of the Earth. digital ed. 2009, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press • Desmond, A. (1990) The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs. 2nd ed. London: Hutchinson Radius • Desmond, A. (1984) Archetypes and Ancestors. 2nd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press • Dollo, L. (1883) Third Note on the Dinosaurs of Bernissart. In: Weishampel, D.B. and White, N.A., The Dinosaur Papers 1676-1906. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 394-410 • Foulke, W.P., Leidy, J. (1858) Remarks Concerning Hadrosaurus. In: Weishampel, D.B. and White, N.A., The Dinosaur Papers 1676-1906. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 262-266 • Leidy, J. (1865) An Excerpt from the Cretaceous Reptiles of the United States. In: Weishampel, D.B. and White, N.A., The Dinosaur Papers 1676-1906. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 289-312 • Kuhn, T.S. (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 2nd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press • Ostrom, J. H. (1964). A reconsideration of the paleoecology of hadrosaurian dinosaurs. American Journal of Science, 262(8), 975-997. • Rudwick, M.J.S. (1992) Scenes From Deep Time. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Recommended publications
  • R~;: PHYSIOLOGICAL, MIGRATORIAL
    ....----------- 'r~;: i ! 'r; Pa/eont .. 62(4), 1988, pp. 64~52 Copyright © 1988, The Paleontological Society 0022-3360/88/0062-0640$03.00 PHYSIOLOGICAL, MIGRATORIAL, CLIMATOLOGICAL, GEOPHYSICAL, SURVIVAL, AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS OF CRETACEOUS POLAR DINOSAURS GREGORY S. PAUL 3109 North Calvert Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 ABSTRACTT- he presence of Late Cretaceous social dinosaurs in polar regions confronted them with winter conditions of extended dark, coolness, breezes, and precipitation that could best be coped with via an endothermic homeothermic physiology of at least the tenrec level. This is true whether the dinosaurs stayed year round in the polar regime-which in North America extended from Alaska south to Montana-or if they migrated away from polar winters. More reptilian physiologies fail to meet the demands of such winters -in certain key ways, a· point tentatively confirmed by the apparent failure of giant Late Cretaceous phobosuchid crocodilians to dwell north of Montana. Low metabolisms were also insufficient for extended annual migrations away from and towards the poles. It is shown that even high metabolic rate dinosaurs probably remained in their polar habitats year-round. The possibility that dinosaurs had avian-mammalian metabolic systems, and may have borne insulation at least seasonally, severely limits their use as polar paleoclimatic and Earth axial tilt indicators. Polar dinosaurs may have been a center of dinosaur evolution. The possible ability of polar dinosaurs to cope with conditions of cool and dark challenges theories that a gradual temperature decline, or a sudden, meteoritic or volcanic induced collapse in temperature and sunlight, destroyed the dinosaurs. INTRODUCTION America suggests that dinosaurs were regularly crossing, and NCREASINGNUMBERSof remains show that dinosaurs lived living upon, the Bering Land Bridge within a few degrees of the I near the North and South Poles during the Cretaceous.
    [Show full text]
  • State of the Palaeoart
    Palaeontologia Electronica http://palaeo-electronica.org State of the Palaeoart Mark P. Witton, Darren Naish, and John Conway The discipline of palaeoart, a branch of natural history art dedicated to the recon- struction of extinct life, is an established and important component of palaeontological science and outreach. For more than 200 years, palaeoartistry has worked closely with palaeontological science and has always been integral to the enduring popularity of prehistoric animals with the public. Indeed, the perceived value or success of such products as popular books, movies, documentaries, and museum installations can often be linked to the quality and panache of its palaeoart more than anything else. For all its significance, the palaeoart industry ment part of this dialogue in the published is often poorly treated by the academic, media and literature, in turn bringing the issues concerned to educational industries associated with it. Many wider attention. We argue that palaeoartistry is standard practises associated with palaeoart pro- both scientifically and culturally significant, and that duction are ethically and legally problematic, stifle improved working practises are required by those its scientific and cultural growth, and have a nega- involved in its production. We hope that our views tive impact on the financial viability of its creators. inspire discussion and changes sorely needed to These issues create a climate that obscures the improve the economy, quality and reputation of the many positive contributions made by palaeoartists palaeoart industry and its contributors. to science and education, while promoting and The historic, scientific and economic funding derivative, inaccurate, and sometimes exe- significance of palaeoart crable artwork.
    [Show full text]
  • A Bird's Eye View of the Evolution of Avialan Flight
    Chapter 12 Navigating Functional Landscapes: A Bird’s Eye View of the Evolution of Avialan Flight HANS C.E. LARSSON,1 T. ALEXANDER DECECCHI,2 MICHAEL B. HABIB3 ABSTRACT One of the major challenges in attempting to parse the ecological setting for the origin of flight in Pennaraptora is determining the minimal fluid and solid biomechanical limits of gliding and powered flight present in extant forms and how these minima can be inferred from the fossil record. This is most evident when we consider the fact that the flight apparatus in extant birds is a highly integrated system with redundancies and safety factors to permit robust performance even if one or more components of their flight system are outside their optimal range. These subsystem outliers may be due to other adaptive roles, ontogenetic trajectories, or injuries that are accommodated by a robust flight system. This means that many metrics commonly used to evaluate flight ability in extant birds are likely not going to be precise in delineating flight style, ability, and usage when applied to transitional taxa. Here we build upon existing work to create a functional landscape for flight behavior based on extant observations. The functional landscape is like an evolutionary adap- tive landscape in predicting where estimated biomechanically relevant values produce functional repertoires on the landscape. The landscape provides a quantitative evaluation of biomechanical optima, thus facilitating the testing of hypotheses for the origins of complex biomechanical func- tions. Here we develop this model to explore the functional capabilities of the earliest known avialans and their sister taxa.
    [Show full text]
  • Visions of the Prehistoric Past Reviewed by Mark P. Witton
    Palaeontologia Electronica http://palaeo-electronica.org Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric Past Reviewed by Mark P. Witton Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric Past. 2017. Written by Zoë Lescaze and Walton Ford. Taschen. 292 pages, ISBN 978-3-8365-5511-1 (English edition). € 75, £75, $100 (hardcover) Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric Past is a collection of palaeoartworks spanning 150 years of palaeoart history, from 1830 to the second half of the 20th century. This huge, supremely well-pre- sented book was primarily written by journalist, archaeological illustrator and art scholar Zoë Les- caze, with an introduction by artist Walton Ford (both are American, and use ‘paleoart’ over the European spelling ‘palaeoart’). Ford states that the genesis of the book reflects “the need for a paleo- art book that was more about the art and less about the paleo” (p. 12), and thus Paleoart skews towards artistic aspects of palaeoartistry rather than palaeontological theory or technical aspects of reconstructing extinct animal appearance. Ford and Lescaze are correct that this angle of palaeo- artistry remains neglected, and this puts Paleoart in prime position to make a big impact on this pop- ular, though undeniably niche subject. Paleoart is extremely well-produced and stun- ning to look at, a visual feast for anyone with an interest in classic palaeoart. 292 pages of thick, sturdy paper (9 chapters, hundreds of images, and four fold outs) and almost impractical dimensions (28 x 37.4 cm) make it a physically imposing, stately tome that reminds us why books belong on shelves and not digital devices. Focusing exclu- sively on 2D art, the layout is minimalist and clean, detail, unobscured by text and labelling.
    [Show full text]
  • Screaming Biplane Dromaeosaurs of the Air. June/July
    5c.r~i~ ~l'tp.,ne pr~tl\USp.,urs 1tke.A-ir Written & illustrated by Gregory s. Paul It is questionable whether anyone even speculated that some dinosaurs were feathered until Ostrom detailed the evidence that birds descended from predatory avepod theropods a third of a century ago. The first illustration of a feathered dinosaur was a nice little study of a well ensconced Syntarsus dashing down a dune slope in pursuit of a gliding lizard in Robert Bakker's classic "Dinosaur Renaissance" article in the April 1975 Scientific American by Sarah Landry (can also be seen in the Scientific American Book of the Dinosaur I edited). My first feathered dinosaur was executed shortly after, an inappropriately shaggy Allosaurus attacking a herd of Diplodocus. I was soon doing a host of small theropods in feathers. Despite the logic of feath- / er insulation on the group ancestral birds and showing evidence of a high level energetics, images of feathered avepods were often harshly and unsci- Above: Proposed relationships based on flight adaptations of entifically criticized as unscientific in view of the lack of evidence for their preserved skeletons and feathers of Archaeopteryx, a generalized presence, ignoring the equal fact that no one had found scales on the little Sinornithosaurus, and Confuciusornis, with arrows indicating dinosaurs either. derived adaptations not present in Archaeopteryx as described in In the 1980s I further proposed that the most bird-like, avepectoran text. Not to scale. dinosaurs - dromaeosaurs, troodonts, oviraptorosaurs, and later ther- izinosaurs _were not just close to birds and the origin of flight, but were see- appear to represent the remnants of wings converted to display devices.
    [Show full text]
  • Alan Feduccia's Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: What Reptiles
    Leigh Evolution: Education and Outreach 2014, 7:9 http://www.evolution-outreach.com/content/7/1/9 BOOK REVIEW Open Access Alan Feduccia’s Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: what reptiles gave rise to birds? Egbert Giles Leigh Jr Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: Hidden Birds of China, properly. This is a great pity, for his story is wonderful: by Alan Feduccia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, his birds would have made a far better focus for this 2012. Pp. x + 358. H/b $55.00 book than the dispute. This book’s author is at home in the paleontology, So, what is this dispute that spoiled the book? The anatomy, physiology, and behavior of birds. Who could scientific argument is easily summarized. It started be more qualified to write on their origin and evolution? when a paleontologist from Yale University, John Ostrom, This book is unusually, indeed wonderfully, well and unearthed a 75-kg bipedal theropod dinosaur, Deinonychus, clearly illustrated: its producers cannot be praised too buried 110 million years ago in Montana. Deinonychus highly. It is well worth the while of anyone interested in stood a meter tall, and its tail was 1.5 m long. It was active: bird evolution to read it. Although it offers no answers Ostrom thought that both it and Archaeopteryx,which to ‘where birds came from’, it has God’s plenty of fascin- lived 40 million years earlier, were warm-blooded. Deinony- ating, revealing detail, knit together in powerful criticism chus bore many skeletal resemblances to Archaeopteryx, of prevailing views of bird evolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Raptors in Action 1 Suggested Pre-Visit Activities
    PROGRAM OVERVIEW TOPIC: Small theropods commonly known as “raptors.” THEME: Explore the adaptations that made raptors unique and successful, like claws, intelligence, vision, speed, and hollow bones. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Razor-sharp teeth and sickle-like claws are just a few of the characteristics that have made raptors famous. Working in groups, students will build a working model of a raptor leg and then bring it to life while competing in a relay race that simulates the hunting techniques of these carnivorous animals. AUDIENCE: Grades 3–6 CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: Grade 3 Science: Building with a Variety of Materials Grade 3–6 Math: Patterns and Relations Grade 4 Science: Building Devices and Vehicles that Move Grade 6 Science: Evidence and Investigation PROGRAM ObJECTIVES: 1. Students will understand the adaptations that contributed to the success of small theropods. 2. Students will explore the function of the muscles used in vertebrate movement and the mechanics of how a raptor leg works. 3. Students will understand the function of the raptorial claw. 4. Students will discover connections between small theropod dinosaurs and birds. SUGGESTED PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES UNDERstANDING CLADIstICS Animals and plants are often referred to as part of a family or group. For example, the dog is part of the canine family (along with wolves, coyotes, foxes, etc.). Scientists group living things together based on relationships to gain insight into where they came from. This helps us identify common ancestors of different organisms. This method of grouping is called “cladistics.” Cladistics is a system that uses branches like a family tree to show how organisms are related to one another.
    [Show full text]
  • A Four-Legged Megalosaurus and Swimming Brontosaurs
    Channels: Where Disciplines Meet Volume 2 Number 2 Spring 2018 Article 5 April 2018 A Four-Legged Megalosaurus and Swimming Brontosaurs Jordan C. Oldham Cedarville University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/channels Part of the Geology Commons, History of Philosophy Commons, Paleontology Commons, and the Philosophy of Science Commons DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Recommended Citation Oldham, Jordan C. (2018) "A Four-Legged Megalosaurus and Swimming Brontosaurs," Channels: Where Disciplines Meet: Vol. 2 : No. 2 , Article 5. DOI: 10.15385/jch.2018.2.2.5 Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/channels/vol2/iss2/5 A Four-Legged Megalosaurus and Swimming Brontosaurs Abstract Thomas Kuhn in his famous work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions laid out the framework for his theory of how science changes. At the advent of dinosaur paleontology fossil hunters like Gideon Mantell discovered some of the first dinosaurs like Iguanodon and Megalosaurus. Through new disciples like Georges Cuvier’s comparative anatomy lead early dinosaur paleontologist to reconstruct them like giant reptiles of absurd proportions. This lead to the formation of a new paradigm that prehistoric animals like dinosaurs existed and eventually went extinct.
    [Show full text]
  • Jurassic Park Connecticut Valley
    JURASSIC PARK is in the CONNECTICUT VALLEY Meet Dr. Robert T. Bakker Saturday, November 19 who will sign books Talks and Book Signings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and talk at Dinosaur State Park World-renowned paleontologist and author, Dr. Robert Bakker, will be at the park on Saturday, November 19, 2016. He will give two talks: at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. He will also be available to sign books. Bakker was a student at Yale working with Dr. John Ostrom when the tracks were discovered 50 years ago. He will be able to offer a unique perspective on what that was like as well as discuss his own work. The bookstore will have copies of his novel, “Raptor Red,” and several of his children’s books for sale including his newest book, “The Big Golden Book of Dinosaurs,” which is illustrated by the famous paleo artist Luis A. Rey. Bakker is probably most famous for his book, “The Dinosaur Heresies,” published in 1986. He helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded). He earned a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Along with his mentor at Yale, John Ostrom, Bakker was responsible for initiating the ongoing “dinosaur renaissance” in paleontological studies, beginning with Bakker’s article “Dinosaur Renaissance” in the April 1975 issue of Scientific American. His special field is the ecological context and behavior of dinosaurs. Bakker has been a major proponent of the theory that dinosaurs were active, intelligent and adaptable.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origin and Diversification of Birds
    Current Biology Review The Origin and Diversification of Birds Stephen L. Brusatte1,*, Jingmai K. O’Connor2,*, and Erich D. Jarvis3,4,* 1School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, King’s Buildings, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK 2Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 3Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA 4Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA *Correspondence: [email protected] (S.L.B.), [email protected] (J.K.O.), [email protected] (E.D.J.) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.003 Birds are one of the most recognizable and diverse groups of modern vertebrates. Over the past two de- cades, a wealth of new fossil discoveries and phylogenetic and macroevolutionary studies has transformed our understanding of how birds originated and became so successful. Birds evolved from theropod dino- saurs during the Jurassic (around 165–150 million years ago) and their classic small, lightweight, feathered, and winged body plan was pieced together gradually over tens of millions of years of evolution rather than in one burst of innovation. Early birds diversified throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous, becoming capable fliers with supercharged growth rates, but were decimated at the end-Cretaceous extinction alongside their close dinosaurian relatives. After the mass extinction, modern birds (members of the avian crown group) explosively diversified, culminating in more than 10,000 species distributed worldwide today. Introduction dinosaurs Dromaeosaurus albertensis or Troodon formosus.This Birds are one of the most conspicuous groups of animals in the clade includes all living birds and extinct taxa, such as Archaeop- modern world.
    [Show full text]
  • GEOL 104 Dinosaurs: a Natural History Video Assignment
    Name: GEOL 104 Dinosaurs: A Natural History Video Assignment DUE: Mon. Oct. 29 Documentaries represent one of the main media by which scientific information reaches the general public. For this assignment, you’ll be looking a series of three different TV documentaries that reflect our changing knowledge of dinosaurs (and changing styles of presentation over the last three decades or more!) These videos are available for watching via Dial Access in the NonPrint Media lab in the basement of Hornbake Library during the week of October 14-20. (Dial Access is a program by which the videos are shown on a continuous basis during open hours: see http://www.lib.umd.edu/NPRINT/dialaccess.html for more details. Should you miss this, you’ll have to go to the NonPrint Media lab and watch them in the week following. (NOTE: these videos are not generally available for rental or purchase nor are they on YouTube: you will actually have to go to the library!) The three documentaries are each about one hour long. They represent changing ideas about dinosaurs over the past thirty-some years. Each has a particular different emphasis. The documentaries in question are: • “The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs” Horizon (BBC) 1976. (Shown in the US on the PBS program Nova in 1977.) • “The Great Dinosaur Hunt” Infinite Voyage (PBS) 1988. • The Mystery Dinosaur. (Brave New Pictures) 2006. (A side note: some researchers appear in two or more of these documentaries. In particular, paleontologist Robert T. Bakker shows up in all three, so you can see his transformation from young Harvard graduate student to University of Colorado faculty member to freelance paleontologist.) For each documentary, watch the video and answer the questions as you go along.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origins of Birds
    Sample Academic Reading Sentence Completion [Note: This is an extract from a Part 2 task about the evolution of birds and their ancestry.] The origins of birds The science of evolutionary relationships has undergone a major change in recent decades. It used to be the case that all the features of organisms were important in working out their family tree. But following the work of German entomologist Willi Hennig, many evolutionary scientists now believe that the only features which carry any useful information are the evolutionary ‘novelties’ shared between organisms. Mice, lizards and fish, for example, all have backbones – so the feature ‘backbone’ tells us nothing about their evolutionary relationship. But the feature ‘four legs’ is useful because it’s an evolutionary novelty – a characteristic shared only between the lizard and the mouse. This would suggest that the lizard and mouse are more closely related to each other than either is to the fish. This revolutionary approach is called cladistics, and it has been central to the idea that birds evolved from dinosaurs. The ‘birds are dinosaurs’ theory was first developed by English palaeontologist Thomas Huxley (1825–1895). According to some accounts, one evening Huxley went to dinner still thinking about a mystery dinosaur bone in his lab. He knew he was dealing with the lower leg bone (tibia) of a meat-eating, two-legged dinosaur belonging to the classification known as theropods, but attached to the tibia was an unidentified extra bone. On the menu that evening was quail, a small bird similar to a pheasant, and Huxley noticed the same strange bone, attached to the quail tibia on his plate.
    [Show full text]