Jurassic flightless bird reveals early ecological diversity of avialans

Nature正文已收录本站

References

  1. Lloyd, G. T., Bapst, D. W., Friedman, M. & Davis, K. E. Probabilistic divergence time estimation without branch lengths: dating the origins of dinosaurs, avian flight and crown birds. Biol. Lett. 12, 20160609 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Benson, R. B. J. et al. Rates of dinosaur body mass evolution indicate 170 million years of sustained ecological innovation on the avian stem lineage. PLOS Biol. 12, e1001853 (2014).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Brusatte, S. L., O’Connor, J. K. & Jarvis, E. D. The origin and diversification of birds. Curr. Biol. 25, R888–R898 (2015).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Rauhut, O. W. M. & Foth, C. in The Evolution of Feathers: From Their Origin to the Present (eds Foth, C. & Rauhut, O. W. M.) 27–45 (Springer International Publishing, 2020).

  5. Chen, R. et al. Earliest short-tailed bird from the Late Jurassic of China. Nature 638, 441–448 (2025).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Xu, X. et al. An integrative approach to understanding bird origins. Science 346, 1253293 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Pei, R. et al. Potential for powered flight neared by most close avialan relatives, but few crossed its thresholds. Curr. Biol. 30, 4033–4046 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Sullivan, C., Xu, X. & O’Connor, J. K. Complexities and novelties in the early evolution of avian flight, as seen in the Mesozoic Yanliao and Jehol Biotas of Northeast China. Palaeoworld 26, 212–229 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Xu, L. et al. A new avialan theropod from an emerging Jurassic terrestrial fauna. Nature 621, 336–343 (2023).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Wang, M. et al. Jurassic avialan reveals stepwise evolution of bony tail in birds. Sci. Adv. 12, eaeb5202 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Makovicky, P. J. & Norell, M. A. in The Dinosauria (eds Weishampel, D. et al.) 184–195 (Univ. California Press, 2004).

  12. Wang, M., Wang, X., Zheng, X. & Zhou, Z. Cranial anatomy of Anchiornis huxleyi (Theropoda: Paraves) sheds new light on bird skull evolution. Vertebr. Palasiat. 63, 20–42 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Rauhut, O. W., Foth, C. & Tischlinger, H. The oldest Archaeopteryx (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria. PeerJ 6, e4191 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Wang, M., Stidham, T. A., Li, Z., Xu, X. & Zhou, Z. Cretaceous bird with dinosaur skull sheds light on avian cranial evolution. Nat. Commun. 12, 3890 (2021).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. O’Connor, J. K. & Chiappe, L. M. A revision of enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) skull morphology. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 9, 135–157 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Turner, A. H., Makovicky, P. J. & Norell, M. A. A review of dromaeosaurid systematics and paravian phylogeny. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 371, 1–206 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Xu, X. & Wu, X. Cranial morphology of Sinornithosaurus millenii Xu et al. 1999 (Dinosauria: Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae) from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. Can. J. Earth Sci. 38, 1739–1752 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Xu, X. et al. The taxonomic status of the Late Cretaceous dromaeosaurid Linheraptor exquisitus and its implications for dromaeosaurid systematics. Vertebr. Palasiat. 53, 29–62 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hu, D. et al. A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution. Nat. Commun. 9, 217 (2018).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. O’Connor, J. K. et al. Chicago Archaeopteryx informs on the early evolution of the avian bauplan. Nature 641, 1201–1207 (2025).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Currie, P. J. Bird-like characteristics of the jaws and teeth of troodontid theropods (Dinosauria, Saurischia). J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 7, 72–81 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Xu, X., Norell, M. A., Wang, X., Makovicky, P. J. & Wu, X. A basal troodontid from the Early Cretaceous of China. Nature 415, 780–784 (2002).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Pei, R., Li, Q., Meng, Q., Norell, M. A. & Gao, K. New specimens of Anchiornis huxleyi (Theropoda: Paraves) from the Late Jurassic of northeastern China. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 411, 1–67 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Xu, X. et al. Mosaic evolution in an asymmetrically feathered troodontid dinosaur with transitional features. Nat. Commun. 8, 14972 (2017).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Li, Z. et al. Ultramicrostructural reductions in teeth: implications for dietary transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds. BMC Evol. Biol. 20, 46 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Norell, M. A. & Makovicky, P. J. in The Dinosauria (eds Weishampel, D. et al.) 196–209 (Univ. California Press, 2004).

  27. Dumont, M. et al. Synchrotron imaging of dentition provides insights into the biology of Hesperornis and Ichthyornis, the ‘last’ toothed birds. BMC Evol. Biol. 16, 178 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Hu, H. et al. Cranial osteology and palaeobiology of the Early Cretaceous bird Jeholornis prima (Aves: Jeholornithiformes). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 198, 93–112 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Barsbold, R. & Osmólska, H. The skull of Velociraptor (Theropoda) from the late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Acta Palaeontol. Polonica 44, 189–219 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Yin, Y., Pei, R. & Zhou, C. Cranial morphology of Sinovenator changii (Theropoda: Troodontidae) on the new material from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. PeerJ 6, e4977 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Elżanowski, A. & Wellnhofer, P. Cranial morphology of Archaeopteryx: evidence from the seventh skeleton. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 16, 81–94 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Sullivan, C. & Xu, X. Morphological diversity and evolution of the jugal in dinosaurs. Anat. Rec. 300, 30–48 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Xu, X., You, H., Du, K. & Han, F. An Archaeopteryx-like theropod from China and the origin of Avialae. Nature 475, 465–470 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Li, Z., Wang, M., Stidham, T. A. & Zhou, Z. Decoupling the skull and skeleton in a Cretaceous bird with unique appendicular morphologies. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 7, 20–31 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Wang, M. & Hu, H. A comparative morphological study of the jugal and quadratojugal in early birds and their dinosaurian relatives. Anat. Rec. 300, 62–75 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Ostrom, J. H. Osteology of Deinonychus antirrhopus, an unusual theropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Montana. Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. 30, 1–165 (1969).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Chiappe, L. M. & Meng, Q. Birds of Stone: Chinese Avian Fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2016).

  38. Novas, F. E. et al. Comments on the morphology of basal paravian shoulder girdle: new data based on unenlagiid theropods and paleognath birds. Front. Earth Sci. 9, 662167 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Zhang, C. Selecting and averaging relaxed clock models in Bayesian tip dating of Mesozoic birds. Paleobiology 48, 340–352 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Wang, M. & Zhou, Z. Low morphological disparity and decelerated rate of limb size evolution close to the origin of birds. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 2, 1257–1266 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Chiappe, L. M. in Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs (eds Chiappe L. M. & Witmer L. M.) 281–316 (Univ. California Press, 2002).

  42. Mayr, G., Pohl, B., Hartman, S. & Peters, D. S. The tenth skeletal specimen of Archaeopteryx. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 149, 97–116 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Hwang, S. H., Norell, M. A., Qiang, J. I. & Keqin, G. A. O. New Specimens of Microraptor zhaoianus (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae) from Northeastern China. Am. Mus. Novit. 3381, 1–44 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Xu, X. et al. A new feathered maniraptoran dinosaur fossil that fills a morphological gap in avian origin. Chin. Sci. Bull. 54, 430–435 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Agnolin, F. L., Motta, M. J., Brissón Egli, F., Lo Coco, G. & Novas, F. E. Paravian phylogeny and the dinosaur-bird transition: an overview. Front. Earth Sci. 6, 252 (2019).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. Hutchinson, J. R. The evolution of pelvic osteology and soft tissues on the line to extant birds (Neornithes). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 131, 123–168 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Forster, C. A., Sampson, S. D., Chiappe, L. M. & Krause, D. W. The theropod ancestry of birds: new evidence from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Science 279, 1915–1919 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Botelho, J. F. et al. Molecular development of fibular reduction in birds and its evolution from dinosaurs. Evolution 70, 543–554 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Botelho, J. F. et al. Greater growth of proximal metatarsals in bird embryos and the evolution of hallux position in the grasping foot. J. Exp. Zool. 328, 106–118 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Xu, X. & Wang, X. L. Troodontid-like pes in the dromaeosaurid Sinornithosaurus. Paleont. Soc. Korea Spec. Publ. 4, 179–188 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  51. Zanno, L. E., Varricchio, D. J., O’Connor, P. M., Titus, A. L. & Knell, M. J. A new troodontid theropod, Talos sampsoni gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous western interior basin of North America. PLOS ONE 6, e24487 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. O’Connor, J. K. A Systematic Review of Enantiornithes (Aves: Ornithothoraces) (Univ. Southern California, 2009).

  53. Zhou, Z. & Zhang, F. Two new ornithurine birds from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning, China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 46, 1258–1264 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Zhang, F., Zhou, Z., Hou, L. & Gu, G. Early diversification of birds: evidence from a new opposite bird. Chin. Sci. Bull. 46, 945–949 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Manning, P. L., Payne, D., Pennicott, J., Barrett, P. M. & Ennos, R. A. Dinosaur killer claws or climbing crampons?. Biol. Lett. 2, 110–112 (2006).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Novas, F. E. & Pol, D. New evidence on deinonychosaurian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Nature 433, 858–861 (2005).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Middleton, K. M. & Gatesy, S. M. Theropod forelimb design and evolution. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 128, 149–187 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Dececchi, T. A. & Larsson, H. C. E. Body and limb size dissociation at the origin of birds: uncoupling allometric constraints across a macroevolutionary transition. Evolution 67, 2741–2752 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Motta, M. J., Brissón Egli, F. & Novas, F. E. Tail anatomy of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum (Theropoda, Unenlagiidae) and comparisons with other basal paravians. Cretac. Res. 83, 168–181 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Foth, C. & Rauhut, O. W. M. Re-evaluation of the Haarlem Archaeopteryx and the radiation of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs. BMC Evol. Biol. 17, 236 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  61. Gianechini, F. A., Makovicky, P. J., Apesteguía, S. & Cerda, I. Postcranial skeletal anatomy of the holotype and referred specimens of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, Apesteguía and Agnolín 2005 (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae), from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. PeerJ 6, e4558 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Hu, D., Hou, L., Zhang, L. & Xu, X. A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus. Nature 461, 640–643 (2009).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Field, D. J. et al. Complete Ichthyornis skull illuminates mosaic assembly of the avian head. Nature 557, 96–100 (2018).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Clarke, J. A. & Middleton, K. M. Mosaicism, modules, and the evolution of birds: results from a Bayesian approach to the study of morphological evolution using discrete character data. Syst. Biol. 57, 185–201 (2008).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Francillon-Vieillot, H. et al. in Skeletal Biomineralization: Patterns, Processes and Evolutionary Trends Vol. 1 (ed. Carter J. G.) 175–234 (American Geophysical Union, 1990).

  66. Brusatte, S. L., Lloyd, G. T., Wang, S. C. & Norell, M. A. Gradual assembly of avian body plan culminated in rapid rates of evolution across the dinosaur–bird transition. Curr. Biol. 24, 2386–2392 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Turner, A. H., Montanari, S. & Norell, M. A. A new dromaeosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Khulsan locality of Mongolia. Am. Mus. Novit. 2020, 3965 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Goloboff, P. A. & Catalano, S. A. TNT version 1.5, including a full implementation of phylogenetic morphometrics. Cladistics 32, 221–238 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Ezcurra, M. D. Exploring the effects of weighting against homoplasy in genealogies of palaeontological phylogenetic matrices. Cladistics 40, 242–281 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Ronquist, F. et al. MrBayes 3.2: efficient Bayesian phylogenetic inference and model choice across a large model space. Syst. Biol. 61, 539–542 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  71. Yang, Z. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic estimation from DNA sequences with variable rates over sites: approximate methods. J. Mol. Evol. 39, 306–314 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Zhang, C., Stadler, T., Klopfstein, S., Heath, T. A. & Ronquist, F. Total-evidence dating under the fossilized birth–death process. Syst. Biol. 65, 228–249 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  73. Bell, A. & Chiappe, L. M. Statistical approach for inferring ecology of Mesozoic birds. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 9, 119–133 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Gatesy, S. M. Hind limb scaling in birds and other theropods: implications for terrestrial locomotion. J. Morphol. 209, 83–96 (1991).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Gatesy, S. M. & Middleton, K. M. Bipedalism, flight, and the evolution of theropod locomotor diversity. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 17, 308–329 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Brusatte, S. L. in Computational Paleontology (ed. Elewa A. M. T.) 53–74 (Springer-Verlag, 2011).

  77. Revell, L. J. phytools 2.0: an updated R ecosystem for phylogenetic comparative methods (and other things). PeerJ 12, e16505 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  78. Rohlf, F. TpsDig2. v.2.1 https://tpsdig2.software.informer.com (2009).

  79. Zelditch, M. L., Swiderski, D. L. & Sheets, H. D. Geometric Morphometrics for Biologists: a Primer (Academic, 2012).

  80. Adams, D. C. & Otárola-Castillo, E. geomorph: an R package for the collection and analysis of geometric morphometric shape data. Methods Ecol. Evol. 4, 393–399 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Stefan, S. Morpho: calculations and visualisations related to geometric morphometrics, version 2.13. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/Morpho/Morpho.pdf (2026).

  82. Palci, A., Hutchinson, M. N., Caldwell, M. W. & Lee, M. S. The morphology of the inner ear of squamate reptiles and its bearing on the origin of snakes. R. Soc. Open Sci. 4, 170685 (2017).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  83. Xu, L. et al. Jurassic flightless bird reveals early ecological diversity of avialans. figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31228414 (2026).

Download references