Discovery of an ornithurine bird and its implication for Early Cretaceous avian radiation.
Discovery of an ornithurine bird and its implication for Early Cretaceous avian radiation.
复制标题
DOI：
10.1073/pnas.0507106102
复制
发表时间：
2005-12
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Zhonghe Zhou;Fu-cheng Zhang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Zhonghe Zhou;Fu-cheng Zhang
本文记述了一种鸟纲鸟类--红山鸟（Hongshanornislongicrestaggen. etsp. nov.）在中国东北内蒙古下白垩统热河群的湖相沉积中，发现了一具几乎完整的、有关节的、羽毛完整的骨骼化石。这只鸟的牙齿完全退化，上下颚都有喙，是已知最早的喙鸟。一个前齿骨的保存证实了这种结构并不是鸟臀目恐龙所独有的，而是在早期的鸟臀目鸟类中很常见。这种小鸟的飞行能力很强，翅膀的展弦比很小。它可能是一只涉禽，在浅水或沼泽中觅食。这一发现证实了水生环境在鸟形目鸟类的起源和早期辐射中起了关键作用，其中一个分支最终在白垩纪/第三纪边界附近产生了现存的鸟类。这一发现不仅为研究鸟形目鸟类的起源和早期演化提供了重要信息，而且为了解早白垩世鸟类在形态、体型和食性方面的分化提供了重要信息。
An ornithurine bird, Hongshanornis longicresta gen. et sp. nov., represented by a nearly complete and articulated skeleton in full plumage, has been recovered from the lacustrine deposits of the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group in Inner Mongolia, northeast China. The bird had completely reduced teeth and possessed a beak in both the upper and lower jaws, representing the earliest known beaked ornithurine. The preservation of a predentary bone confirms that this structure is not unique to ornithischian dinosaurs but was common in early ornithurine birds. This small bird had a strong flying capability with a low aspect ratio wing. It was probably a wader, feeding in shallow water or marshes. This find confirms that the aquatic environment had played a key role in the origin and early radiation of ornithurines, one branch of which eventually gave rise to extant birds near the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. This discovery provides important information not only for studying the origin and early evolution of ornithurines but also for understanding the differentiation in morphology, body size, and diet of the Early Cretaceous birds.