Gobipteryx
Gobipteryx | |
---|---|
Eggs of Gobipteryx minuta | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | Avialae |
Clade: | †Enantiornithes |
Family: | †Gobipterygidae |
Genus: | †Gobipteryx Elżanowski, 1974 |
Species: | †G. minuta
|
Binomial name | |
†Gobipteryx minuta Elżanowski, 1974
| |
Synonyms | |
Gobipteryx (from Gobi [referring to the Gobi Desert where it was first discovered], and Greek pteryx "wing") is a
Description
Based on a skull length of 45 millimeters, Gobipteryx has been estimated to be approximately the size of a partridge.[3] Its bones are fibrolamellar.[4]
The skull's general shape is gradually tapering toward the front.
The
The
The
Paleobiology
Flight
Gobipteryx is believed to have been capable of flight.[4][8] The scapula is long, and therefore, well suited for flight by having more area for muscle attachment.[8] In addition, the forelimb of Gobipteryx is more than twice the length of the thorax, falling within the acceptable range observed in flying birds.[8]
Development
Gobipteryx, along with other enantiornithes, is thought to have
History
The first specimens were two damaged skulls discovered as part of the 1971 Polish-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition to the Gobi Desert by Dr. Teresa Maryańska,[1] however, at the time, it was not immediately recognized that both of these skulls belonged to Gobipteryx.[3][6] It was first found in the sandstones of the Lower Nemegt Beds of the Barun Goyot Formation of the Nemegt Basin.[1] The holotype specimen is housed at the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences[8] in Warsaw, Poland and was first described by Dr. Andrzej Elżanowski using a single damaged skull.[1] Initially, Gobipteryx was classified as a member of the clade Palaeognathae on the basis of its jaw and palate.[1] However, in 1981, Dr. Cyril Walker defined the clade enantiornithes[9] and Gobipteryx was reclassified as an enantiornithes bird.
In 1996,
In 1994, an expedition to the Gobi Desert was conducted by the American Museum of Natural History and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, where a well preserved Gobiptetyx minuta skull was found in the Nemegt Basin.[7] This new specimen provided further evidence for the placement of Gobipteryx into enantiornithes.[7] In addition, it allowed for the reconstruction of the palate, which was poorly understood in Mesozoic birds.[7]
Also during the 1971 Polish-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition to the Gobi Desert, in which the first specimens were found, advanced
See also
- Archaeopteryx
- Evolution of Birds
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Elżanowski, A. (1974): "Preliminary note on the Palaeognthous bird from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" Palaeontologia Polonica 30:103-109, plates 32-33.
- ISBN 978-0-520-25408-4.
- ^ doi:10.1038/264051a0
- ^ PMID 11473304
- ISBN 978-0801856150.
- ^ a b Elżanowski, A. (1977): "Skulls of Gobipteryx (Aves) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" Palaeontologia Polonica 37: 153-166.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chiappe, Luis M.; Norell, Mark and Clark, James (2001): "A New Skull of Gobipteryx minuta (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert". American Museum Novitates 3346: 1–15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Elżanowski, A. (1981): "Embryonic Bird Skeletons from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Palaeontologica Polonica 42: 147-179.
- doi:10.1038/292051a0
- ^ Kurochkin, E. (1996): A new enantiornithid of the Mongolian Late Cretaceous, and the general appraisal of the Infraclass Enantiornithes (Aves). Russian Academy of Sciences, Palaeontological Institute, Special Issue: 1-50.