Confuciusornis sanctus Compared to Archaeopteryx lithographica

Martin, Larry D.; Zhou, Zhonghe; Hou, Lianping; Feduccia, Alan

doi:10.1007/s001140050501

Cited by 53 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Colour coding on the right-hand side skeleton indicates the five bones measured in this study. Note that the percentage of specimens with a pair of blade-like tail feathers (20%) detected in this study is more than twice the ratio previously reported (Martin et al 1998). sized sympatric species would be indeterminable by means of both qualitative and quantitative (distancebased) morphological characters.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Life history of a basal bird: morphometrics of the Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Confuciusornis sanctus stands out among the remarkable diversity of Mesozoic birds recently unearthed from China. Not only is this primitive beaked pygostylian (birds with abbreviated caudal vertebrae fused into a pygostyle) much more abundant than other avian taxa of this age but differences in plumage between specimens-some having a pair of long stiff tail feathers-have been interpreted as evidence for the earliest example of sexual dimorphism in birds. We report the results of a multivariate morphometric study involving measurements of more than 100 skeletons of C. sanctus. Our analyses do not show any correlation between size distribution and the presence or absence of blade-like rectrices (tail feathers), thus implying, that if these feathers are sexual characters, they are not correlated with sexual size dimorphism. Our results also provide insights into the taxonomy and life history of confuciusornithids, suggesting that these birds may have retained ancestral dinosaurian growth patterns characterized by a midlife exponential growth stage.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Life history of a basal bird: morphometrics of the Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although most researchers considered such variation as expressions of sexual dimorphism [16][17][18][19] , whether it was instead the result of moulting or some other biological manifestations could not be ruled out 1 . In addition, previous large-sample morphometric studies failed to provide definitive support for the presence of rectricial sexual dimorphism 2 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender identification of the Mesozoic bird Confuciusornis sanctus

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Detailed descriptions of Confuciusornis have revealed anatomical features that were previously unknown in Cretaceous birds, e.g., a diapsid skull, suggesting some primitive characters in common with Archaeopteryx (Peters and Ji 1998;Martin et al 1998;Hou et al 1999b). Confuciusornis has a fully opposable foot, as in Archaeopteryx, and its claw and toe proportions indicate perching capabilities (Zhou and Farlow 2001).…”

Section: More Basal Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origin and early evolution of birds: discoveries, disputes, and perspectives from fossil evidence

Zhou

2004

Naturwissenschaften

146

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The study of the origin and early evolution of birds has never produced as much excitement and public attention as in the past decade. Well preserved and abundant new fossils of birds and dinosaurs have provided unprecedented new evidence on the dinosaurian origin of birds, the arboreal origin of avian flight, and the origin of feathers prior to flapping flight. The Mesozoic avian assemblage mainly comprises two major lineages: the prevalent extinct group Enantiornithes, and the Ornithurae, which gave rise to all modern birds, as well as several more basal taxa. Cretaceous birds radiated into various paleoecological niches that included fish- and seed-eating. Significant size and morphological differences and variation in flight capabilities, ranging from gliding to powerful flight among early birds, highlight the diversification of birds in the Early Cretaceous. There is little evidence, however, to support a Mesozoic origin of modern avian groups. Controversy and debate, nevertheless, surround many of these findings, and more details are needed to give a better appreciation of the significance of these new discoveries.

show abstract

Confuciusornis sanctus Compared to Archaeopteryx lithographica

Cited by 53 publications

References 2 publications

Life history of a basal bird: morphometrics of the Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis

Life history of a basal bird: morphometrics of the Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis

Gender identification of the Mesozoic bird Confuciusornis sanctus

The origin and early evolution of birds: discoveries, disputes, and perspectives from fossil evidence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About