Ostromia And Anchiornis Hands on:
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''Ostromia'' (''Thick feet of
The holotype was discovered near
The Haarlem specimen has many features which contrast with those of ''Archaeopteryx''. The length ratio between the third and the first 
In addition, the Haarlem specimen shares several features with ''Anchiornis''. Most notably, they both have longitudinal furrows on the top and bottom sides of their manual
John Ostrom
John Harold Ostrom (February 18, 1928 – July 16, 2005) was an American paleontologist who revolutionized modern understanding of dinosaurs in the 1960s.
As first proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in the 1860s, Ostrom showed that dinosaurs were ...
'') is a genus of anchiornithid theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
from the Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...
Painten Formation
The Painten Formation is a geologic formation in Germany. It preserves fossils dating back to the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic period.Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The genus contains a single species, ''O. crassipes'', named by Christian Foth and Oliver Rauhut in 2017.
Discovery and naming
The holotype was discovered near Riedenburg
Riedenburg () is a town in the district of Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Kelheim and northeast of Ingolstadt. Prunn Castle ( de) is located in Riedenburg.
The town is on the Rhine–Main– ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in 1855 and it was originally misidentified as a species of a pterodactyloid pterosaur
Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...
and named ''Pterodactylus
''Pterodactylus'' (from Greek () meaning 'winged finger') is an extinct genus of pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying rept ...
crassipes'' in 1857. In 1970 it was identified as an ''Archaeopteryx
''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
'' by paleontologist John Ostrom
John Harold Ostrom (February 18, 1928 – July 16, 2005) was an American paleontologist who revolutionized modern understanding of dinosaurs in the 1960s.
As first proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in the 1860s, Ostrom showed that dinosaurs were ...
, who called it the "Haarlem specimen", since it was kept in the Teylers Museum
Teylers Museum () is an art, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the museum is the neoclassical Oval R ...
in Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
.Ostrom JH. Archaeopteryx: notice of a “new” specimen. Science. 1970;170:537–8 In 2017 Christian Foth and Oliver Rauhut concluded it was more closely related to the Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
''Anchiornis
''Anchiornis'' is a genus of small, four-winged Paraves, paravian dinosaurs, with only one known species, the type species ''Anchiornis huxleyi'', named for its similarity to modern birds. The Latin name ''Anchiornis'' derives from a Greek word m ...
'' and introduced the generic name ''Ostromia'', named after Ostrom.
The only known specimen is fairly incomplete compared to most specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'', as it only preserves limb bones, cervical vertebrae and ribs. Most bones are also incomplete, as a result of the poor preservation. A high-quality cast of the holotype (Teylers specimens TM 6928 and 6929) is in the collections of the Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie under the specimen number SNSB-BSPG 1971 I 211.
Description
Differences from ''Archaeopteryx''
The Haarlem specimen has many features which contrast with those of ''Archaeopteryx''. The length ratio between the third and the first metacarpal
In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...
of the hand is larger in ''Ostromia'' than in any ''Archaeopteryx'' specimen. In addition, the ungual
An ungual (from Latin ''unguis'', i.e. ''nail'') is a highly modified distal toe bone which ends in a hoof, claw, or nail. Elephants and ungulates have ungual phalanges, as did the sauropods and horned dinosaurs. A claw is a highly modified ungual ...
(claw) of the first digit of the hand is smaller than the corresponding first metacarpal, while in ''Archaeopteryx'' the claw is larger. The Haarlem specimen's metatarsals
The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the medi ...
are also estimated to be proportionally longer than those of ''Archaeopteryx'' specimens.
In addition, the Haarlem specimen shares several features with ''Anchiornis''. Most notably, they both have longitudinal furrows on the top and bottom sides of their manual phalanges
The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones.
...
(finger bones). While such structures can be a result of collapsed or broken bones (as is the case in several ''Archaeopteryx'' specimens), the straight, smooth edges of the furrows in ''Ostromia'' and ''Anchiornis'' indicate that they are legitimate biological features. The pubic
In vertebrates, the pubic region ( la, pubis) is the most forward-facing (ventral and anterior) of the three main regions making up the coxal bone. The left and right pubic regions are each made up of three sections, a superior ramus, inferior r ...
shaft of the Haarlem specimen is also strongly flexed backwards and has a triangular pubic boot, similar to the pubis of ''Anchiornis'' but unlike that of ''Archaeopteryx''.
See also
*2017 in archosaur paleontology
The year 2017 in archosaur paleontology was eventful. Archosaurs include the only living dinosaur group — birds — and the reptile crocodilians, plus all extinct dinosaurs, extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosaur palaeontology ...
References
{{Portal bar, Birds, Germany Prehistoric paravians Monotypic genera Late Jurassic dinosaurs of Europe Jurassic Germany Fossils of Germany Solnhofen fauna Fossil taxa described in 2017 Taxa named by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer Jurassic birds