Work

Early Paleocene landbird supports rapid phylogenetic and morphological diversification of crown birds after the K–Pg mass extinction

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: provides evidence for the rapid morphological (and likely ecological) diversification of crown birds. Features of the foot indicate semizygodactyly (the ability to facultatively reverse the fourth pedal digit), and the arcuate arrangement of the pedal trochleae bears a striking resemblance to the conformation in owls (Strigiformes). Inclusion of fossil taxa and branch length estimates impacts ancestral state reconstructions, revealing support for the independent evolution of semizygodactyly in Coliiformes, Leptosomiformes, and Strigiformes, none of which is closely related to extant clades exhibiting full zygodactyly.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1700188114

Authors: Daniel T. Ksepka, Thomas A. Stidham, Thomas E. Williamson

Institutions: Bruce Museum, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

Language: English

Topic: Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

Subfield: Paleontology

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Directorate for Geosciences, Division of Emerging Frontiers, Division of Earth Sciences