A primitive confuciusornithid bird from China and its implications for early avian flight  

作　　者：Michael J. BENTON 

机构地区：[1]Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK

出　　处：《Science China Earth Sciences》2008年第5期625-639,共15页中国科学（地球科学英文版）

基　　金：National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40472018, 40121202);the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX3-SW- 142);the Major Basic Research Projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (Gtant No. 2006CB806400);the Royal Soci-ety and Natural Environment Research Council (Grant No. NE/E011055/1)

摘　　要：Confuciusornithids, lived from 120–125 million years ago, form a basal bird group and include the oldest birds with horny beaks. Here we describe Eoconfuciusornis zhengi, gen. et sp. nov. from the Early Cretaceous Dabeigou Formatio (131 Ma) in Fengning, Hebei Province, northern China. It represents a new and, more primitive than other known, member of this group and extends the lifespan of this family to 11 Ma, the longest of any known Early Cretaceous avian lineages. Furthermore, Eoconfuciusornis and its relatives present many osteological transformations, such as the size increase of the deltopectoral crest of the humerus and the keel of the sternum, apparently an adaptation toward improved flight in the evolution of the Confuciusornithidae.Confuciusornithids, lived from 120―125 million years ago, form a basal bird group and include the oldest birds with horny beaks. Here we describe Eoconfuciusornis zhengi, gen. et sp. nov. from the Early Cretaceous Dabeigou Formation (131 Ma) in Fengning, Hebei Province, northern China. It repre- sents a new and, more primitive than other known, member of this group and extends the lifespan of this family to 11 Ma, the longest of any known Early Cretaceous avian lineages. Furthermore, Eoconfuciusornis and its relatives present many osteological transformations, such as the size increase of the deltopectoral crest of the humerus and the keel of the sternum, apparently an adaptation toward improved flight in the evolution of the Confuciusornithidae.

关 键 词：BIRDS EARLY CRETACEOUS confuciusornithids FLIGHT 

分 类 号：Q915[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]