Tag Archives: Birds
Leg-wing cooperation in baby birds, dinosaurs is key transition in origin of flight
New research based on high-resolution x-ray movies reveals that despite having extremely underdeveloped muscles and wings, young birds acquire a mature flight stroke early in their development, initially relying heavily on their legs and wings to work in tandem to … Continue reading
Posted in Paleontology
Tagged Birds, cooperation, Dinosaurs, flight, origin, transition
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Leg-wing cooperation in baby birds, dinosaurs is key transition in origin of flight
New research based on high-resolution x-ray movies reveals that despite having extremely underdeveloped muscles and wings, young birds acquire a mature flight stroke early in their development, initially relying heavily on their legs and wings to work in tandem to … Continue reading
Posted in Paleontology
Tagged Birds, cooperation, Dinosaurs, flight, origin, transition
Leave a comment
New basal bird from China reveals the morphological diversity in early birds
A new species, Chongmingia zhengi, sheds light on the early evolution of birds. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that it is basal to the dominant Mesozoic avian clades Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha, and represents a new basal avialan lineage. This new discovery adds … Continue reading
Influence of Earth’s history on the dawn of modern birds
The evolution of modern birds was greatly shaped by the history of our planet’s geography and climate. New research finds that birds arose in what is now South America around 90 million years ago, and radiated extensively around the time … Continue reading
Study uncovers influence of Earth’s history on the dawn of modern birds
New research led by the American Museum of Natural History reveals that the evolution of modern birds was greatly shaped by the history of our planet’s geography and climate. The DNA-based work, published today in the journal Science Advances, finds … Continue reading
The dinosaur ankle re-evolved amphibian-like development in birds
In the 19th century, Darwin’s most vocal scientific advocate was Thomas Henry Huxley, who is also remembered as a pioneer of the hypotheses that birds are living dinosaurs. He noticed several similarities of the skeleton of living birds and extinct … Continue reading
The dinosaur ankle re-evolved amphibian-like development in birds
In the 19th century, Darwin’s most vocal scientific advocate was Thomas Henry Huxley, who is also remembered as a pioneer of the hypotheses that birds are living dinosaurs. He noticed several similarities of the skeleton of living birds and extinct … Continue reading
Tiny ancient fossil from Spain shows birds flew over the heads of dinosaurs
A new discovery documents the intricate arrangement of the muscles and ligaments that controlled the main feathers of the wing of an ancient bird, supporting the notion that at least some of the most ancient birds performed aerodynamic feats in … Continue reading
Tiny ancient fossil from Spain shows birds flew over the heads of dinosaurs
A new paper documents the intricate arrangement of the muscles and ligaments that controlled the main feathers of the wing of an ancient bird, supporting the notion that at least some of the most ancient birds performed aerodynamic feats in … Continue reading
Caged Birds Cannot Sing
PFor the past 2 months my girlfriend, Aubrey, has been in Mexico (and now Guatemala) on a soul-searching voyage. After living in Seattle her whole life, she decided it was time to stretch her wings and take off to explore … Continue reading