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Pygostyles
Pygostyle describes a skeletal condition in which the final few caudal vertebrae are fused into a single ossification, supporting the tail feathers and musculature. In modern birds, the rectrices attach to these. The pygostyle is the main component of the uropygium, a structure colloquially known as the bishop's nose, parson's nose, pope's nose, or sultan's nose. This is the fleshy protuberance visible at the posterior end of a bird (most commonly a chicken or turkey) that has been dressed for cooking. It has a swollen appearance because it also contains the uropygial gland that produces preen oil. Evolution Pygostyles probably began to evolve very early in the Cretaceous period, perhaps 140 – 130 million years ago. The earliest known species to have evolved a pygostyle were members of the Confuciusornithidae. The structure provided an evolutionary advantage, as a completely mobile tail as found in species such as ''Archaeopteryx'' is detrimental to its use for flight control ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enantiornithes
The Enantiornithes, also known as enantiornithines or enantiornitheans in literature, are a group of extinct avialans ("birds" in the broad sense), the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era. Almost all retained teeth and clawed fingers on each wing, but otherwise looked much like modern birds externally. Over eighty species of Enantiornithes have been named, but some names represent only single bones, so it is likely that not all are valid. The Enantiornithes became extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, along with Hesperornithes and all other non-avian dinosaurs. Discovery and naming The first Enantiornithes to be discovered were incorrectly referred to modern bird groups. For example, the first known species of Enantiornithes, ''Gobipteryx minuta'', was originally considered a paleognath related to ostriches and tinamou. The Enantiornithes were first recognized as a distinct lineage, or "subclass" of birds, by Cyril A. Walker in 1981. Walker mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confuciusornis Sanctus (2)
''Confuciusornis'' is a genus of basal crow-sized avialan from the Early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations of China, dating from 125 to 120 million years ago. Like modern birds, ''Confuciusornis'' had a toothless beak, but closer and later relatives of modern birds such as ''Hesperornis'' and ''Ichthyornis'' were toothed, indicating that the loss of teeth occurred convergently in ''Confuciusornis'' and living birds. It is the oldest known bird to have a beak. It was named after the Chinese moral philosopher Confucius (551–479 BC). ''Confuciusornis'' is one of the most abundant vertebrates found in the Yixian Formation, and several hundred complete specimens have been found. History of discovery In November 1993, the Chinese paleontologists Hou Lianhai and Hu Yoaming of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) at Beijing, visited fossil collector Zhang He at his home in Jinzhou, where he showed them a fossil bird specimen th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, intended for five occupants (later, Beetles were restricted to four people in some countries), that was manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. The need for a ''people's car'' ( in German), its concept and its functional objectives were formulated by the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network (Reichsautobahn). Members of the National Socialist party, with an additional dues surcharge, were promised the first production, but the Spanish Civil War shifted most production resources to military vehicles to support the Nationalists under Francisco Franco. Lead engineer Ferdinand Porsche and his team took until 1938 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confuciusornithidae
Confuciusornithidae is an extinct family of pygostylian avialans known from the Early Cretaceous, found in northern China. They are commonly placed as a sister group to Ornithothoraces, a group that contains all extant birds along with their closest extinct relatives. Confuciusornithidae contains four genera, possessing both shafted and non-shafted (downy) feathers. They are also noted for their distinctive pair of ribbon-like tail feathers of disputed function. The wing anatomy of confuciusornithids suggests an unusual flight behavior, due to anatomy that implies conflicting abilities. They possessed feathers similar to those of fast-flapping birds, which rely on quick flapping of their wings to stay aloft. At the same time, their wing anatomy also suggests a lack of flapping ability. Confuciusornithids are also noted for their beak and lack of teeth, similar to modern birds. Both predators and prey, confuciusornithid fossils have been observed with fish remains in their digestive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Similicaudipteryx
''Similicaudipteryx'', meaning "similar to ''Caudipteryx''" (which itself means "tail feather"), is a genus of theropod dinosaur of the family Caudipteridae. Discovery and naming In 2007 the find of a new caudipterid was reported. In 2008 the new genus ''Similicaudipteryx'', with as type species ''Similicaudipteryx yixianensis'', was named and described by He Tao, Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zonghe. The generic name, derived from Latin ''similis'', "resembling", refers to its similarity to the closely related ''Caudipteryx''. The specific name refers to its provenance from Yixian County. Presently, ''S. yixianensis'' is the only species named in the genus. The holotype specimen, IVPP V 12556, was recovered from the Jiufotang Formation of northeastern China, dating to the early Cretaceous Period middle Aptian stage, about 120 million years ago or perhaps early Albian stage, about 112 million years old. It consists of a nearly complete skeleton of an adult individual compressed on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caenagnathoidea
Caenagnathoidea ("recent jaw forms") is a group of advanced oviraptorosaurian dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period (geology), Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot-like skulls, often with bony crests atop the head. They ranged in size from ''Caudipteryx'', which was the size of a turkey, to the 8 meter long, 1.4 ton ''Gigantoraptor''.Xu, X., Tan, Q., Wang, J., Zhao, X., and Tan, L. (2007). "A gigantic bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China." ''Nature'', 447: 844-847. The group (along with all maniraptoran dinosaurs) is close to the ancestry of birds. The most complete specimens have been found in Asia, representing members of the sub-group Oviraptorinae. Notable but fragmentary remains are also known from North America, almost all of which belong to the subgroup Elmisaurinae.Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) dinosaurs from Montana. pp. 42–57 in D. H. Tanke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caudipteryx
''Caudipteryx'' (which means "tail feather") is a genus of peacock-sized theropod dinosaurs that lived in the Barremian age of the early Cretaceous (about 124.6 million years ago). They were feathered and extremely birdlike in their overall appearance, to the point that some paleontologists think it was a bird. Two species have been described: ''C. zoui'' (the type species), in 1998, and ''C. dongi'', in 2000. ''Caudipteryx'' fossils were first discovered in the Yixian Formation of the Sihetun area of Liaoning Province, northeastern China in 1997. Description ''Caudipteryx'', like many other maniraptorans, has a mix of reptile- and bird-like anatomical features.Witmer, L.M. (2005). “The Debate on Avian Ancestry; Phylogeny, Function and Fossils”, ''Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs'' : 3–30. It had a short, boxy skull with a beak-like snout that retained only a few tapered teeth in the front of the upper jaw. It had a stout trunk, long legs and was probably a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terrestrial Animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g. cats, dogs, ants, spiders), as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water (e.g. fish, lobsters, octopuses), and amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats (e.g. frogs and newts). Some groups of insects are terrestrial, such as ants, butterflies, earwigs, cockroaches, grasshoppers and many others, while other groups are partially aquatic, such as mosquitoes and dragonflies, which pass their larval stages in water. Terrestrial animals tend to be more developed and intelligent than aquatic animals. Terrestrial classes The term "terrestrial" is typically applied to species that live primarily on the ground, in contrast to arboreal species, which live primarily in trees. There are other less common terms that apply to specific groups of terrestrial animals: *Saxicolous creatures are rock dwelling. "Saxicolous" is derived from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraprotopteryx
''Paraprotopteryx'' is a genus of enantiornithean birds from the Mesozoic of China.Zheng, X. Zhang, Z. & Hou, L. (2007) A new enantiornithine bird with four long rectrices from the Early Cretaceous of northern Hebei, China. ''Acta Geologica Sinica'' 81(5):703-708. In 2007, the type species ''Paraprotopeteryx gracilis'' was named and described by Zheng Xiaoting, Zhang Zihui and Hou Lianhai. The generic name means "near '' Protopteryx''", in reference to a presumed similarity with that genus. The specific name is intended to mean "pretty". The holotype is specimen STM V001. It consists of a skeleton with skull on a plate and counterplate. The investigation preceding the description of the species proved that fossil traders had added the skull of a different individual to the torso. The description is based on the rump parts. Feathers have been preserved. The rump represents a subadult individual. Though initially reported to be from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation, la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down (feather)
The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding (duvets and featherbeds), pillows and sleeping bags. The discovery of feathers trapped in ancient amber suggests that some species of dinosaur may have possessed down-like feathers. Description and etymology The word ''down'' comes from the Old Norse word ''dúnn'', which had the same meaning as its modern equivalent. The down feather is considered to be the most "straightforward" of all feather types. It has a short or vestigial rachis (shaft), few barbs, and barbules that lack hooks. There are three types of down: natal down, body down and powder down. Natal down is the layer of down feathers that cover most birds at some point in their early development. Precocial nestlings are alread ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use definition of a dagger, which has been used to describe everything from an ice pick to a folding knife with pointed blade as a 'dagger'. The Missouri Supreme Court used the popular definition of 'dagger' found in Webster's New Universal Dictionary ("a short weapon with a sharp point used for stabbing") to rule that an ordinary pointed knife with four-to-five inch blade constitutes a 'dagger' under the Missouri criminal code.California Penal Code 12020(a)(24):"dagger" means a ''knife or other instrument'' with or without a handguard that is ''capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon'' that may inflict great bodily injury or death. The State of California and other jurisdictions have seized upon the popular-use definition of a dagger to clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nomingia
''Nomingia'' is a genus of oviraptorid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Late Cretaceous Bugin Tsav Beds of Mongolia. Discovery and naming The remains, consisting of most of the vertebral column, pelvic girdle and left tibio-tarsus, holotype GIN 100/119, were found in 1994 in layers of the Nemegt Svita, dating to the Maastrichtian. They were named and described as the type species ''Nomingia gobiensis'' by Rinchen Barsbold, Barsbold, Halszka Osmólska, Mahito Watabe, Philip J. Currie, Philip Currie and Khishigjaw Tsogtbaatar in 2000 in paleontology, 2000. The etymology of the Binomial nomenclature, binomial refers to the location where the fossils were found, with the generic name mentioning the Nomingiin Gobi, a nearby part of the Gobi Desert, which is itself mentioned in the specific name (zoology), specific descriptor. A 2021 article by Funston and colleagues suggested ''Nomingia'' is a synonym of ''Elmisaurus''. Description ''Nomingia'' is a medium-sized oviraptoro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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