An early Eocene fossil from the British London Clay elucidates the evolutionary history of the enigmatic Archaeotrogonidae (Aves, Strisores)

Mayr, Gérald

doi:10.1002/spp2.1392

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

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“…As a matter of fact, we encourage future comparative analyses to take into account fossils if they are to fully uncover the evolutionary history of spurs. For example, fossils of Archaeotrogon exhibit pointy spurs on the carpometacarpus (Mayr, 2009), something that could not have been inferred from their extant, unspurred relatives, nightjars (Mayr, 2021). Moreover, fossils suggest that extinct spurred birds tended to be flightless and giant‐sized (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight hampers the evolution of weapons in birds

Menezes

Palaoro

2022

Ecology Letters

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Birds are a remarkable example of how sexual selection can produce diverse ornaments and behaviours. Specialised fighting structures like deer's antlers, in contrast, are mostly absent among birds. Here, we investigated if the birds' costly mode of locomotion-powered flight-helps explain the scarcity of weapons among members of this clade. Our simulations of flight energetics predicted that the cost of bony spurs-a specialised avian weapon-should increase with time spent flying. Bayesian phylogenetic comparative analyses using a global spur dataset corroborated this prediction. First, extant species with flight-efficient wings (which presumably fly more frequently) tend to have fewer or no bony spurs. Second, this association likely arose because flying more leads to more frequent evolutionary loss of spurs. Together, these findings suggest that, much like pneumatic bones, absence of weaponry may be another feature of the avian body plan that allows birds to efficiently explore the aerial habitat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight hampers the evolution of weapons in birds

Menezes

Palaoro

2022

Ecology Letters

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Opisthocomiformes (Hoatzins), “Columbaves” (Doves, Cuckoos, Bustards, and Allies), and Strisores (Nightjars, Swifts, Hummingbirds, and Allies)

Mayr

2022

Paleogene Fossil Birds

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The non-apodiform Strisores (potoos, nightjars and allied birds) from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze

Mayr,

Kitchener

2024

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

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AbstractFossils of the avian clade Strisores (nightjars, swifts and allies) are well represented in some early Eocene localities. These birds were also taxonomically diverse in the British London Clay, but most of the previously described fossils belong to the Apodiformes (swifts and allies), or are represented by very fragmentary specimens. Here we report substantial new material of non-apodiform taxa of the Strisores from Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK) that bears on the diversity and affinities of aerial insectivores from the London Clay. In addition to specimens of the recently described archaeotrogonid Archaeodromus, we report partial skeletons of the enigmatic taxon Palaeopsittacus, as well as two new species of the Fluvioviridavidae. The new Archaeodromus fossils reveal previously unknown osteological details, including features of the skull. The Palaeopsittacus specimens suggest that this poorly known taxon may be the earliest stem group representative of the Nyctibiiformes. The specimens of the Fluvioviridavidae elucidate some aspects of the osteology of these birds and the quadrate shows a morphology that is distinct from all extant Strisores. The non-apodiform Strisores from Walton-on-the-Naze exhibit disparate morphologies, which indicate that there was already significant ecological diversification of these birds by the early Eocene, and the diversity of these aerial insectivores in Walton-on-the-Naze contrasts with the absence of bats in this locality and other sites of the London Clay.

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An early Eocene fossil from the British London Clay elucidates the evolutionary history of the enigmatic Archaeotrogonidae (Aves, Strisores)

Cited by 5 publications

References 25 publications

Flight hampers the evolution of weapons in birds

Flight hampers the evolution of weapons in birds

Opisthocomiformes (Hoatzins), “Columbaves” (Doves, Cuckoos, Bustards, and Allies), and Strisores (Nightjars, Swifts, Hummingbirds, and Allies)

The non-apodiform Strisores (potoos, nightjars and allied birds) from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze

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