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Yungavolucris
''Yungavolucris'' is a genus of enantiornithean birds. It contains the single species ''Yungavolucris brevipedalis'', which lived in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, c.70.6 – 66 mya). The fossil bones were found in the Lecho Formation at ''estancia'' El Brete, Argentina."''Yungavolucris brevipedalis''" means "Short-footed Yungas bird". The generic name, ''Yungavolucris'' is after the Yungas region + the Latin ''volucris'', which translates to "bird" (literally "flyer"). The specific name ''brevipedalis'' is from the Latin ''brevis'', which means "short", + ''pedalis'', from the Latin ''pes'', meaning "foot". Description The only remains of ''Yungavolucris'' discovered so far consist of several tarsometatarsals, of which only the holotype (PVL-4053) is nearly complete. These tarsometatarsals are unusually very stout and flat, and also very wide at the lower end. These specimens are small, just over 4 cm (1.5 inches) long, and if its legs and feet were not excessiv ... [...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] |
Lectavis Bretincola
''Lectavis'' is a genus of enantiornithine birds. Their fossil bones have been recovered from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, c. 70.6 – 66 mya) Lecho Formation at ''estancia'' El Brete, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, ''Lectavis bretincola''. Etymology It's naming means "Lecho Formation bird living at El Brete". ''Lectavis'', after Latin ''lectus'' ("bed") = Spanish ''lecho'' + Latin ''avis'', "bird". ''bretincola'', after the type locality ''estancia'' El Brete + Latin ''incola'', "inhabitant". Description The presently only known fossil bones ( PVL-4021-1) are mostly of the left tibiotarsus (lower leg) and tarsometatarsus (upper foot) of a single individual. ''L. bretincola'' was a sizeable bird, with a tibiotarsus and a tarsometatarsus which if complete must have been nearly long (Chiappe 1993). This remains indicate an animal with a length of , hip height of , and weight of . It possesses a hypotarsus, which it evolved autapomorphically from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lecho Formation
The Lecho Formation is a geological formation in the Salta Basin of the provinces Jujuy and Salta of northwestern Argentina. Its strata date back to the Early Maastrichtian, and is a unit of the Salta Group. The fine-grained bioturbated sandstones of the formation were deposited in a fluvial to lacustrine coastal plain environment. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel et al., 2004, "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, South America)." pp. 600-604 According to Frankfurt and Chiappe (1999), the Lecho Formation is composed of reddish sandstones. The Lecho is part of the Upper/Late Cretaceous Balbuena Subgroup (Salta Group), which is a near-border stratigraphic unit of the Andean sedimentary basin. Fossils from this formation include the titanosaur ''Saltasaurus'' along with a variety of avian and non-avian theropods. Fossil content See also * List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations * Marília Formation Referenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soroavisaurus
''Soroavisaurus'' is a genus of enantiornithean birds related to '' Avisaurus''. It lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. The only known species, ''S. australis'', is known from fossils collected from the Lecho Formation (Maastrichtian age) of Estancia El Brete, in the southern tip of the province of Salta, Argentina. A binominal name of this animal means "Southern sister Avisaur". Description The specimens are in the collection of the Fundación-Instituto Miguel Lillo, Tucumán. They are cataloged as PVL-4690, a -long left tarsometatarsus, and PVL-4048, which includes another left tarsometatarsus, -long and associated with the whole hallux, or digit I, and four intermediate phalanges. PVL-4048 was previously described as ''"Avisaurus sp."'' (see '' Avisaurus'').Chiappe, Luis M. (1993) "Enantiornithine (Aves) Tarsometatarsi from the Cretaceous Lecho Formation of Northwestern Argentina." "American Museum Novitates" December 27, 1993 Number 3083, 27pp. PVL-4048, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lectavis
''Lectavis'' is a genus of enantiornithine birds. Their fossil bones have been recovered from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, c. 70.6 – 66 mya) Lecho Formation at ''estancia'' El Brete, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, ''Lectavis bretincola''. Etymology It's naming means "Lecho Formation bird living at El Brete". ''Lectavis'', after Latin ''lectus'' ("bed") = Spanish ''lecho'' + Latin ''avis'', "bird". ''bretincola'', after the type locality ''estancia'' El Brete + Latin ''incola'', "inhabitant". Description The presently only known fossil bones ( PVL-4021-1) are mostly of the left tibiotarsus (lower leg) and tarsometatarsus (upper foot) of a single individual. ''L. bretincola'' was a sizeable bird, with a tibiotarsus and a tarsometatarsus which if complete must have been nearly long (Chiappe 1993). This remains indicate an animal with a length of , hip height of , and weight of . It possesses a hypotarsus, which it evolved autapomorphically fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from . The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene). The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event) occurred at the end of this age. In this mass extinction, many commonly recognized groups such as non-avian dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, as well as many other lesser-known groups, died out. The cause of the extinction is most commonly linked to an asteroid about wide colliding with Earth, ending the Cretaceous. Stratigraphic definitions Definition The Maastrichtian was introduced into scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1849, after studying rock strata of the Chalk Group c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Blackbird
The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a local species. It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The adult male of the common blackbird (''Turdus merula merula'', the nominate subspecies), which is found throughout most of Europe, is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. This species breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, cup-shaped nest, bound toge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halimornis
''Halimornis'' was an enantiornithean bird. It lived during the Late Cretaceous about 80 mya and is known from fossils found in the Mooreville Chalk Formation in Greene County, Alabama. It is known from a single fossil individual, including preserved vertebrae, leg bones and part of the humerus (upper arm bone). At the time, the area where the Mooreville Chalk was deposited was situated on the southern coast of the Western Interior Seaway, and may have been the site of a large delta where several major rivers flowed into the shallow sea. The fossil bird was found at a location that would have been about 50 km off shore, indicating that it was an ocean-going species. The name ''Halimornis'' means "bird of the sea". It would have lived alongside the more advanced seabird ''Ichthyornis dispar''. It is one of the few known enantiornithine birds to have lived in a marine environment, along with the Australian '' Nanantius eos'', the slightly younger ''Martinavis ''Martinavis' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enantiophoenix
''Enantiophoenix'' is a genus of enantiornithine birds. Fossil remains were recovered from Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue .... Lumps of amber preserved with one specimen indicate it may have fed on tree sap. References Prehistoric birds of Asia Bird genera Late Cretaceous birds of Asia Avisaurids Fossil taxa described in 2008 Fossils of Lebanon {{paleo-bird-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogenetics
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek language, Greek wikt:φυλή, φυλή/wikt:φῦλον, φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups of organisms. These relationships are determined by Computational phylogenetics, phylogenetic inference methods that focus on observed heritable traits, such as DNA sequences, Protein, protein Amino acid, amino acid sequences, or Morphology (biology), morphology. The result of such an analysis is a phylogenetic tree—a diagram containing a hypothesis of relationships that reflects the evolutionary history of a group of organisms. The tips of a phylogenetic tree can be living taxa or fossils, and represent the "end" or the present time in an evolutionary lineage. A phylogenetic diagram can be rooted or unrooted. A rooted tree diagram indicates the hypothetical common ancestor of the tree. An un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avisauridae
Avisauridae is a family of extinct enantiornithine dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period, distinguished by several features of their ankle bones. Depending on the definition used, Avisauridae is either a broad and widespread group of advanced enantiornithines (following Cau & Arduini, 2008), or a small family within that group, restricted to species from the Late Cretaceous of North and South America (following Chiappe, 1992). Description Avisaurids were among the largest and last enantiornithines to have lived, although they are also among the most poorly preserved. The majority of them are known primarily from fossilized tarsometatarsal bones, the part of a bird's leg formed by fused metatarsals (the bones which comprise the foot in humans). As a result, members of this family are distinguished from other enantiornithines exclusively by features of the tarsometatarsal and pedal phalanges (toe bones). Unlike in some prehistoric birds, avisaurid tarsometatarsals were not comple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autapomorph
In phylogenetics, an autapomorphy is a distinctive feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon. That is, it is found only in one taxon, but not found in any others or outgroup taxa, not even those most closely related to the focal taxon (which may be a species, family or in general any clade). It can therefore be considered an apomorphy in relation to a single taxon. The word ''autapomorphy'', first introduced in 1950 by German entomologist Willi Hennig, is derived from the Greek words αὐτός, ''autos'' "self"; ἀπό, ''apo'' "away from"; and μορφή, ''morphḗ'' = "shape". Discussion Because autapomorphies are only present in a single taxon, they do not convey information about relationship. Therefore, autapomorphies are not useful to infer phylogenetic relationships. However, autapomorphy, like synapomorphy and plesiomorphy is a relative concept depending on the taxon in question. An autapomorphy at a given level may well be a synapomorphy at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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