An early Cretaceous bird from Spain and its implications for the evolution of avian flight

Article Abstract:

Specimen study of a bird from the Lower Cretaceous Konservat-Lagerstatte of Las Hoyas, Spain, shows that 115 million years back, the structural system of the birds allowed them to fly at low speeds and manoeuvre easily. The specimen has the earliest known alula (bastard wing). The crustacean remains in its belly reveal the feeding habits of birds. Its skeletal morphology resembles that of the Enantiornithes. However, its unique sternal morphology and other autopomorphies in the furcula and vertebral centra indicate that it is a new enantiornithine taxon, Eoalulavis hoyasi.

Physiological aspects, Spain, Natural history, Animals, Fossil, Fossil animals, Bird flight

---

The first 85 million years of avian evolution

Article Abstract:

Recent research has revealed that birds may have descended from dinosaurs which sported short tails and were feathered. The Mesozoic era saw these reptilian creatures acquire new characteristics as they both specialized and diversified and adopted new lifestyles. This time period constituted the first 85 years of avian evolution. Despite the new evidence, there is still much that needs to be discovered to firmly establish interrelationships and cause-and-effect findings.

Evolution (Biology)

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Life-history trade-offs favour the evolution of animal personalities. Father knows best
• Abstracts: IKKalpha limits macrophage NG-kB activation and contributes to the resolution of inflammation. Short-term memory
• Abstracts: Palaeomagnetism of the Vredefort meteorite crater and implications for craters on Mars. Explosive craters and soil liquefaction
• Abstracts: Energetic constraints on the diet of terrestrial carnivores. An index of intactness
• Abstracts: Breeding bird response to varying amounts of basal area retention in riparian buffers. Red-headed woodpecker nest-habitat thresholds in restored savannas

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.