髓质缺失羽枝丰富了早期羽毛形态多样性
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Recent advances have deepened our understanding of the evolutionary and developmental origins of feather branching architectures. However, the internal tissue differentiation within these branches has received limited attention. This study examined eight fossilized feathers preserved in early Late Cretaceous Burmese amber, characterized by barb rami composed entirely of cortical tissue with no internal medulla. Based on barb rami morphology, the feathers were categorized into three distinct morphotypes. Comparative analysis with feather development in extant chickens suggested minimal tissue differentiation in these early feathers. Functional simulations further revealed that modern barb rami configurations provide greater aerodynamic stability than medulla-free early feathers under most conditions, highlighting flexural stiffness as a key factor in the evolution of feather branches. The presence of medulla-free barb rami suggests that although the three-level hierarchical branching pattern characteristic of modern feathers had emerged by the Jurassic, tissue differentiation within feather branches remained developmentally unstable during the Late Cretaceous. This instability likely contributed to the structural variability of early feathers, enabling morphologies that no longer persist in modern birds.
Source: 动物学研究
Authors: Zhang Yan-Yun, 华东师范大学生命科学学院, 上海 200241, 中国, Tang Jia-Wei, Wang Ying, Wang Shuo, 上海理工大学能源与动力工程学院, 上海 200093, 中国
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411256678