What does the fossil record tell us about bird evolution?

What does the fossil record
tell us about bird evolution?
http://www.luisrey.ndtilda.co.uk/html/chin1to4.htm
Bhullar, Marugán-Lobón, Racimo, et al. 2012.
Biol. 452
Lecture 2
Summer 2012
Read in Pough:
Ch. 16:398-401, 407-408,
410-411, 428-436;
Ch. 17:439-442
Ornithischia
Dinosauria
Saurischia
Compare the 2 dinosaur pelvis designs to that in birds.
Hutchinson &
Allen, 2009.
pubis
femur
Anterior to the right
Saurischia:
Carnotaurus
Saurischians are
ancestors of birds
Ornithischia:
Stegasaurus
Posteriorly
directed pubis
Aves
ilium
Anteriorly
directed
pubis (pu)
Saurischia:
Sauropods
Ornithischia:
Stegasaurus
What traits define the clade Dinosauria?
Upright posture; swan-like, S-shaped neck
How was the ancestral dinosaur skull modified in bird evolution?
Diapsid skulls: pair of temporal fenestrae
Alligator
Upper & lower temporal fenestrae
Tyrannosaurus
Velociraptor
Archaeopteryx
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-witmer/dinoskulls02.htm

What evidence suggests that birds have paeodmorphic skulls?
Embryo
Juveniles
Bhullar, Marugán-Lobón, Racimo, et al. 2012.
What is heterochronic evolution?
Alligator
Coelophysis
Archaeopteryx
Adults
Describe how the brain’s volume & the premaxilla’s shape
change in this evolutionary series.
Bhullar, Marugán-Lobón, Racimo, et al. 2012.
Within each lineage, how does the skull shape change
during development (juvenile to adult)?
Bhullar, Marugán-Lobón, Racimo, et al. 2012.
Archaeopteryx
Microraptor
Arrows indicate ontogeny
(developmental changes)
Principal Components:
analysis of numerous
measurements of the skull
Enlarged eyes may have led to cranial kinesis in Aves.
Xu, You, Du, & Han, 2011
Alonso et al, 2004
Lower temporal fenestra opens to eye socket
Caspian Tern Skull

Describe the cranial kinesis of these bird skulls.
Herring Gull
Miller, 2002
When did 1-way airflow & airsacs (as seen in birds) evolve?
How could pneumatic bones facilitate evolution of large body size or flight?
O'Connor &
Claessens, 2005.
Bird Theropod
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdrespiration.html
Farmer &
Sanders, 2010
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdrespiration.html
Archosaur: Alligator Lungs
Louchart & Viriot, 2011
When & why did tooth loss evolve in Dinosaurs?
This is not a complete phylogeny,
it shows only taxa with tooth loss.
Proventriculus
Gizzard
Louchart & Viriot, 2011
Wings O, & Sander PM. 2007.
Birds: Two-part stomach
Wings, 2007
Bird Gizzard with grit (gastroliths)

What did other Mesozoic
birds look like?
O’Connor, Chiappe, & Bell, 2011
Review Questions
Pygostylia: Pygostyle series of short,
fused tail vertebrae, supports tail feathers
Changchengornis drawing
Ornithurae: “Modern”
pygostyle, ploughshare – shape
Keeled
Sternum
Ichthyornis
1. List 2 derived traits shared by all dinosaurs. Describe the design of the femur & hip
necessary for upright posture. Compare the design of the pelvis of the Ornithiscian &
Saurischian dinosaurs. How was the Saurischian (ie. theropod) pelvis modified in the
evolution of birds?
2. Describe these modifications in the ancestral diapsid skull in the evolution of birds: loss of
lower temporal arch, eye & brain enlargement, & modification of the premaxilla. Explain
heterochrony & why scientists consider the bird skull to be paedomorphic. Explain the
benefits of cranial kinesis.
3. What are the benefits to tooth loss & beak formation? Explain how birds mechanically
process their food if they can’t chew it. What evidence suggests that some theropod
dinosaurs had gizzards. Describe the evidence that suggests that some ancestors of birds
had air sacs & 1-way air-flow through their lungs, similar to birds today. In what clade(s)
has this evidence been found?
4. How diverse were Mesozoic birds? Describe the recent molecular phylogeny of modern
birds. Does it support the divergence of modern orders of birds prior to the Cretaceous-
Tertiary boundary (K-T)? Are there numerous fossils to support this conclusion? Are all
traditionally named orders of birds monophyletic based on the Pachecoet al., 2011 data?
When did orders of
Neoaves birds arise?
During the Cretaceous or after
the K-T mass extinction?
K-T = end of Cretaceous (Mesozoic Era) &
start of Cenozoic Era (Tertiary Epoch)
Analysis using Mitochondrial DNA
Pacheco, et al, 2011.
Selected References
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Strigiformes
Psittaciformes
Coraciiformes
Passeriformes
Columbiformes
Falconiformes