A field guide to mesozoic birds and other winged dinosaurs
Introduction
Defining “Birds” Prehistoric birds are often overshadowed in the public consciousness by their larger dinosaurian relatives; Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, and decidedly non-bird-like (fictional) portrayals of “raptors” dominate the prehistoric landscape in popular culture from film to TV to video games. Ask even enthusiastic young dinosaur fans to name a few prehistoric birds, and most will be stumped after the obvious choice: Archaeopteryx, the famous “first bird” (or “urvogel”, an increasingly popular term for the Bavarian fossil species). However, we now know that Mesozoic birds were incredibly diverse, and discoveries since the late 1990s have shown that some of the most popular and well-known dinosaurs, including the “raptors”, may be included among them. The first Archaeopteryx fossil, and in fact the first Mesozoic bird fossil ever found under just about any definition of the term (see below), was described by Hermann von Meyer in 1861. Consisting of a single fossil feather unearthed in the Solnhofen limestone quarries of Bavaria, this historic find is now housed in the collections of the Humboldt Museum in Berlin. Complete skeletons soon followed, and revealed a species much different than modern birds. Archaeopteryx lithographica (“lithographic ancient wing”, referring to the use of the limestone it was preserved in for lithographic printing) had a long tail like a reptile, no beak, numerous small teeth, and clawed fingers, among other primitive features. Subsequent discoveries of small dinosaurs would show striking similarities to Archaeopteryx, leading to the hypothesis that dinosaurs and birds were close relatives. This hypothesis would be strengthened with the discovery of species like Deinonychus antirrhopus, which were so similar to Archaeopteryx that some scientists placed them in the same biological “family”. Today, a vast majority of scientists hold the opinion that birds are the dinosaur’s direct descendants, and therefore are considered to be a sub-group within Dinosauria. Birds are as much dinosaurs as the long-necked elephantine sauropods were: neither group were considered dinosaurs under the original definition of the term, but have been included thanks to later discoveries. Pretenders to Archaeopteryx’s title of “first bird” have come and gone over the past several decades. Most infamous of these is the still-contentious Protoavis texensis specimen, which is likely to be a chimera made 9
- Page 1 and 2: A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and
- Page 3 and 4: To my wife Rashida, For always bugg
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- Page 14 and 15: Bird Origins & Evolution
- Page 16 and 17: fur-like filaments called pycnofibr
- Page 18 and 19: This same group (Chuniaoae) is wher
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- Page 32 and 33: While Mesozoic birds and other anci
- Page 34 and 35: Feathers & Wings Feathers are class
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- Page 38 and 39: which aids in aerial maneuverabilit
- Page 40 and 41: Hesperornis, the premaxillary nail
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- Page 44 and 45: Feather Color Recent work by Jakob
- Page 46 and 47: Above: Hypothetical restoration of
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- Page 51 and 52: Guide to Mesozoic Birds
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- Page 55 and 56: Above: Relationships of basal caena
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Introduction
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