Remains of Small Ornithurine Birds from a Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Microsite in Russell County, North-Central Kansas
Remains of Small Ornithurine Birds from a Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Microsite in Russell County, North-Central Kansas
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DOI：
10.1660/062.114.0111
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发表时间：
2011-04-01
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Everhart, Michael J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bell, Alyssa;Everhart, Michael J.
我们分析了从堪萨斯拉塞尔县绿角组最底部的林肯石灰岩中的森诺曼微遗址收集到的脊椎动物遗骸，确定了鸟类化石。这里展示的标本比北美已知的最古老的鸟类遗骸（来自德克萨斯州的伍德拜恩组）略年轻，与加拿大萨斯喀彻温省阿什维尔组的鸟类年龄相似。因此，这一发现将北美最早鸟类的广泛地理范围从萨斯喀彻温省南部通过堪萨斯中部一直到德克萨斯州联系起来。这里讨论的标本是零碎的，但显示出明确的鸟类特征。其中一个标本是属于khthyornis，而另一个保存了鸟类的牙齿特征。除了鸟类的骨骼，这个微型遗址还发现了大量硬骨鱼的遗骸、鲨鱼的牙齿、锥龙的椎骨和其他蜥蜴的骨骼。
Our analysis of vertebrate remains collected from a Cenomanian microsite in the Lincoln Limestone, the basal-most member of the Greenhorn Formation in Russell County, Kansas, identifies ornithurine (sensu Chiappe, 1996) avian fossils. The specimens presented here are slightly younger than the oldest avian remains known from North America (from the Woodbine Formation, Texas) and of a similar age as the avians from the Asheville Formation in Saskatchewan, Canada. This find thus connects the extensive geographic range of the earliest North American birds from Saskatchewan south through central Kansas and on to Texas. The specimens discussed here are fragmentary, yet show features definitive of ornithurine birds. One specimen is attributable to khthyornis, whereas another preserves teeth characteristic of ornithurine birds. In addition to bird bones, the microsite yielded numerous bony fish remains, shark teeth, coniasaur vertebrae, and other lizard bones.