Archaeornithes

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Painting of Archaeopteryx by Heinrich Harder, from around 1916

The Archaeornithes, classically Archæornithes, is an extinct group of the first primitive, reptile-like

transitional fossils, the primitive birds halfway between non avian dinosaur
ancestors and the derived modern birds (avian dinosaur).

Solnhofen Plattenkalk of late Jurassic
age. As the physiological and anatomical difference between the two was so great, the subclass Archaeornithes was erected for the latter.

With the unearthing of several well preserved early bird fossils in the last decades of the 20th century and early 21st century, our knowledge of the evolution of birds has increased dramatically.[1] The evolution of the modern avian traits such as the compact body, clawless wing and the alula are now known to appear over successive stages. Today the Archaeornithes are classified into a series of nested monophyletic groups, and the name is rarely used in modern literature.

Classification

Aves
†Archaeornithes

Archaeopteryx

Archaeornis

Neornithes

other infraclasses

Odontognathae

order

order

Cladogram of 19th century Class Aves (~Avialae)

In traditional classification, it is one of two

Neornithes, the birds with a short, modern tail. This classification was erected by Hans Friedrich Gadow in 1893 and followed by Alfred Romer (1933) and subsequent authors through most of the 20th century.[2] Other mesozoic birds like the toothed, but otherwise modern, birds like Hesperornis were included under the latter in their own superorder, the Odontognathae.[3]

According to

ploughshare-shaped one in modern birds) and the presence of a small carina.[3]

While rarely used by palaenthologists today, the term was revived by the ornithologists Livezey and Zusi in 2007, for a group comprising Archaeopterygidae and the Confuciusornithidae.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Monastersky, R. (1996): Evolution's fast track toward slow flight. Science News 150(5): 71. PDF fulltext
  2. Vertebrate Paleontology
    . University of Chicago Press., 3rd ed., 1966.
  3. ^ a b Gauthier, Jacques, de Queiroz, Kevin (2001). "Feathered dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs, and the name 'Aves'". in New Perspective on the Origin and Evolution of Birds: Proceedings of the International Symposium in Honor of John H. Ostrom. Yale Peabody Museum. Yale University. New Haven, Conn. USA
  4. ^ Romer, A. S. & Parsons, T. S. (1985): The Vertebrate Body. (6th ed.) Saunders, Philadelphia.
  5. ^ "Archaeornithes". Merriam-Webster online dictionary. www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  6. ^ Archaeopteryx turns out to be singular bird of a feather. New Scientist 2443:17. 17 April 2004. See commentary on article.
  7. ^ Livezey, B.C. & Zusi, R.L. (2007): Higher-order phylogeny of modern birds (Theropoda, Aves: Neornithes) based on comparative anatomy. II. Analysis and discussion. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society no 149(1), pp 1-95

External links

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