A diminutive perinate European Enantiornithes reveals an asynchronous ossification pattern in early birds

Fabien Knoll (), Luis M. Chiappe, Sophie Sanchez, Russell J. Garwood, Nicholas P. Edwards, Roy A. Wogelius, William I. Sellers, Phillip L. Manning, Francisco Ortega, Francisco J. Serrano, Jesús Marugán-Lobón, Elena Cuesta, Fernando Escaso and Jose Luis Sanz
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Fabien Knoll: ARAID—Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinopolis
Luis M. Chiappe: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Sophie Sanchez: Uppsala University
Russell J. Garwood: University of Manchester
Nicholas P. Edwards: University of Manchester
Roy A. Wogelius: University of Manchester
William I. Sellers: University of Manchester
Phillip L. Manning: University of Manchester
Francisco Ortega: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Francisco J. Serrano: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Jesús Marugán-Lobón: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Elena Cuesta: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Fernando Escaso: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Jose Luis Sanz: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Fossils of juvenile Mesozoic birds provide insight into the early evolution of avian development, however such fossils are rare. The analysis of the ossification sequence in these early-branching birds has the potential to address important questions about their comparative developmental biology and to help understand their morphological evolution and ecological differentiation. Here we report on an early juvenile enantiornithine specimen from the Early Cretaceous of Europe, which sheds new light on the osteogenesis in this most species-rich clade of Mesozoic birds. Consisting of a nearly complete skeleton, it is amongst the smallest known Mesozoic avian fossils representing post-hatching stages of development. Comparisons between this new specimen and other known early juvenile enantiornithines support a clade-wide asynchronous pattern of osteogenesis in the sternum and the vertebral column, and strongly indicate that the hatchlings of these phylogenetically basal birds varied greatly in size and tempo of skeletal maturation.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03295-9

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