A NEW BASAL LINEAGE OF EARLY CRETACEOUS BIRDS FROM CHINA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE AVIAN TAIL

2008/07/01 by Gao Chunling, Luis M. Chiappe, Qinjing Meng +4 · 8 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00793.x

openalex publication_date 2008/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Abstract: We report on a new Early Cretaceous bird from China that sheds significant light on the evolutionary transition between primitive birds with a long bony tail and those with a short tail ending in a pygostyle. A cladistic analysis of basal birds supports the placement of the new fossil as the sister‐taxon of all pygostylians. Possessing a unique hand morphology with a phalangeal formula of 2‐3‐3‐x‐x and a reduced number of caudal vertebrae lacking a pygostyle, the new specimen reveals anatomical information previously unknown and increases the taxonomic diversity of primitive, non‐pygostylian birds. We infer from the specimen that during the evolution of the avian tail, a decrease in relative caudal length and number of vertebrae preceded the distal fusion of caudals into a pygostyle.

Citations

• Anatomy of the primitive bird Sapeornis chaoyangensis from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China
• Insight into the evolution of avian flight from a new clade of Early Cretaceous ornithurines from China and the morphology of Yixianornis grabaui
• The origin and early evolution of birds: discoveries, disputes, and perspectives from fossil evidence

Cited by

• A redescription ofChaoyangia beishanensis(Aves) and a comprehensive phylogeny of Mesozoic birds
• A new Lower Cretaceous bird from China and tooth reduction in early avian evolution
• Description and ecologic analysis of Hollanda luceria, a Late Cretaceous bird from the Gobi Desert (Mongolia)
• A review of Late Cretaceous fossil birds from Hungary
• Downsized Dinosaurs: The Evolutionary Transition to Modern Birds
• Unenlagiid theropods: are they members of the Dromaeosauridae (Theropoda, Maniraptora)?
• From dinosaurs to birds: a tail of evolution
• Zhongornis [wikipedia]