tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88930264744268811962024-03-16T11:50:52.416-07:00RaptormaniacsCelebrating the most inclusive clade including <i>Passer domesticus</i> but not <i>Dromiceiomimus brevitertius</i>... most of the timeAlbertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.comBlogger296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-38638291092297637862024-01-07T13:09:00.006-08:002024-01-19T12:11:20.237-08:00Review of 2023<p>Another quiet year for this blog, mostly consisting of <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/05/sape-2023.html">conference</a> <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/11/svp-2023.html">trip</a> <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/12/tetzoocon-2023.html">reports</a>, though I also found time to write about <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/06/prehistoric-planet-season-2.html"><i>Prehistoric Planet</i> Season 2</a> and a new post on <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/04/alvarezsaurid-paleobiology-update.html">alvarezsaur paleobiology</a> (which is <i>already</i> demanding further followups—such is the nature of science!). Behind the scenes, I've made substantial progress on a variety of research projects, which I hope I'll get to discuss in more detail over the coming year. In addition, I've maintained work on <a href="https://new-dinosaurs.tumblr.com/">New Dinosaur Alert</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQ0Kh8vlPeY3YsYW3hHmvg">Through Time and Clades</a>. <br /></p><p>Those who follow me on <a href="https://albertonykus.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> might have noticed that I've started <a href="https://albertonykus.tumblr.com/tagged/Doraemon">posting</a> a lot about <i><a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/gadget-cat-in-past-paleontology-in.html">Doraemon</a></i> on there. It's been refreshing, to be honest, to simply share my thoughts and observations on a media franchise (especially one so extensive yet rarely discussed in English-speaking circles), as opposed to scientific writing where I may feel the need to double-check half a dozen references for every other sentence I write.</p><p>I have no intention of halting my scientific communications entirely though, so let's take a look at what 2023 had to offer in maniraptoran research. As always, my coverage of papers about modern birds is necessarily going to be incomplete, so I put more focus on those that have more direct connections to paleontology, such as studies on anatomy, ontogeny, and higher-order phylogeny.<br /></p><p><b>General and non-paravian maniraptorans</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123001817">Downy feather fossils</a> from the Zhonggou Formation<br /></li><li>Experimental preservation of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/sedimentencased-pressuretemperature-maturation-experiments-elucidate-the-impact-of-diagenesis-on-melaninbased-fossil-color-and-its-paleobiological-implications/CE813A075752887DE4ADDF6D58D7B358">melanin</a> in feathers</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02091-z">Morphological disparity and evolutionary rates</a> in the limbs of maniraptorans (and other theropods)</li><li>Review of the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0143">evolution of avian nesting behavior</a><br /></li><li>Review of the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0144">evolution of contact incubation</a> in maniraptorans<br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-04552-4">claw function</a> in alvarezsaurs and therizinosaurs</li><li>New alvarezsaur <i><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293801">Jaculinykus yaruui</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://biocomm.spbu.ru/article/view/15305">Ontogeny</a> of alvarezsaurids</li><li><a href="https://peerj.com/articles/16605/">Range of shoulder motion</a> in <i>Mononykus</i><br /></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvv3Rlu0nGzGi7UVjN7hz72X0g34Eff9_M5BROOuD-lo_24uhk3TNcOOr_189XabJaC-kDelAXGUu44odwjPbqql6QWu_-lbteBLjK9IIWAtYNhPo8imOxsGuh_joFB3z1ZjJUyumahG5mXO9ocB9-DCH_G18vDG2tyXAe4H70vax9csmLfoOkN1-Tp0U/s2275/journal.pone.0293801.g020.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2275" data-original-width="2100" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvv3Rlu0nGzGi7UVjN7hz72X0g34Eff9_M5BROOuD-lo_24uhk3TNcOOr_189XabJaC-kDelAXGUu44odwjPbqql6QWu_-lbteBLjK9IIWAtYNhPo8imOxsGuh_joFB3z1ZjJUyumahG5mXO9ocB9-DCH_G18vDG2tyXAe4H70vax9csmLfoOkN1-Tp0U/w369-h400/journal.pone.0293801.g020.PNG" width="369" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Jaculinykus yaruui</i> (A–C), life restoration by Seiji Yamamoto (D), and phylogenetic diagram showing the known distribution of a bird-like sleeping posture among maniraptorans (E), from <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293801">Kubo et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New indeterminate maniraptoran <i><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123001337">Migmanychion laiyang</a></i></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.1487">Maniraptoran teeth</a> from the Middle Jurassic of the United Kingdom<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566712300085X">Hindlimb musculature</a> of <i>Falcarius</i><br /></li><li>Reconstruction of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21579">non-contractile soft tissues</a> in the hindlimb of <i>Nothronychus</i><br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37317-y">body shape and mass distribution</a> in pennaraptorans (and other dinosaurs)</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05048-x">Rarity of molt evidence</a> in Mesozoic pennaraptorans<br /></li><li>Evolution of the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40851-023-00204-x">propatagium</a> in pennaraptorans</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523001055">Caenagnathids</a> from the Aguja Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123002367">Caenagnathids</a> from the Scollard Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/eggthief-architect-experimental-oviraptorosaur-nesting-physiology-the-possibility-of-adultmediated-incubation-and-the-feasibility-of-indirect-contact-incubation/DD107A21B6F9250E2079B9F649C3AB35">Feasibility of contact incubation</a> in oviraptorids</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHzIND73_mqyjszXJHYFxsGG8hi4TD4Yc0JeEZSzsf5F0R43SbbtNIHX9JuR51B286k9keHaT-Pj1P70ign-zb7RbaeSHF9OiYo0nXAU3tyxk_zdwtebhK-egTNjRo4mKG3AYJx67f34TVpDrr7vMElTp8EjBd2ztHmZDxhwm69tvBTOQvPk16Ou2yp8/s803/urn%20cambridge.org%20id%20binary%2020230810085137618-0453%20S0094837323000192%20S0094837323000192_fig8.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="803" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHzIND73_mqyjszXJHYFxsGG8hi4TD4Yc0JeEZSzsf5F0R43SbbtNIHX9JuR51B286k9keHaT-Pj1P70ign-zb7RbaeSHF9OiYo0nXAU3tyxk_zdwtebhK-egTNjRo4mKG3AYJx67f34TVpDrr7vMElTp8EjBd2ztHmZDxhwm69tvBTOQvPk16Ou2yp8/w400-h178/urn%20cambridge.org%20id%20binary%2020230810085137618-0453%20S0094837323000192%20S0094837323000192_fig8.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Depiction of an oviraptorid incubating its eggs (A) and schematic showing how the "inverted cone" shape of an oviraptorid nest would have increased surface area available for accommodating a large clutch of eggs (B–C), from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/eggthief-architect-experimental-oviraptorosaur-nesting-physiology-the-possibility-of-adultmediated-incubation-and-the-feasibility-of-indirect-contact-incubation/DD107A21B6F9250E2079B9F649C3AB35">Hogan (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b> General and non-neornithean paravians</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Evolution of the avian-like <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220997">cephalic thermoregulation system</a></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230147">Dental microstructure</a> of paravians</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40570-w">Preservation</a> of phaeomelanin in paravian (and other vertebrate) fossils<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02177-8">Preservation</a> of corneous β-proteins in fossil paravian feathers<br /></li><li>Effect of <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/acda03">flapping</a> on early paravian locomotion based on robotic modeling<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/azo.12467">bone histology</a> in dromaeosaurids and troodontids<br /></li><li><a href="https://app.pan.pl/article/item/app010042022.html">Plumage coloration</a> of <i>Wulong</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123002392">Large dromaeosaurids</a> from the Quantou Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/141">Dromaeosaurid</a> from the Villalba de la Sierra Formation</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123000526">New specimens</a> of <i>Kansaignathus</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app010652023.html">New specimen</a> of <i>Shri</i><br /></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBmViUkAy4oWftBU6kA43qyl8MkJA2Msc64Yh0OxUSdoIcGJ24YSF06M-a81HtU9jNhO9z-MWgzr6_-GwqKVhMrOHkQ4cfd2m2Bhn5xsARyjMXSsPnWD-ZK_SBH0onw8PTcykZIfwDrKy-qmNyUueb7eu-7ue6EJYwpk0wUp2COasIjo8fiZV98zVL6M/s876/wulongcolor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="876" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBmViUkAy4oWftBU6kA43qyl8MkJA2Msc64Yh0OxUSdoIcGJ24YSF06M-a81HtU9jNhO9z-MWgzr6_-GwqKVhMrOHkQ4cfd2m2Bhn5xsARyjMXSsPnWD-ZK_SBH0onw8PTcykZIfwDrKy-qmNyUueb7eu-7ue6EJYwpk0wUp2COasIjo8fiZV98zVL6M/w320-h205/wulongcolor.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life restoration of <i>Wulong</i> by Bob Nicholls with coloration informed by analyses of preserved melanosomes, from <a href="https://app.pan.pl/article/item/app010042022.html">Croudace et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://www.geojournals.cn/georev/georev/article/abstract/202369s1001">Troodontid</a> from the Early Cretaceous of China</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2242911">Bone histology</a> of <i>Liaoningvenator</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213987120">Eggshell mineralization and body temperatures</a> in troodontids</li><li><a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article/doi/10.1130/B37077.1/629495/New-biogeochemical-insights-into-Mesozoic">Enamel biogeochemistry</a> suggests omnivory in troodontids<br /></li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293308">Avialan tracks</a> from the Wonthaggi Formation<br /></li><li>Putative avialan teeth from the Late Cretaceous of Canada <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0283581">reinterpreted</a> as those of crocodylians</li><li>New anchiornithid <i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06513-7">Fujianvenator prodigiosus</a></i><br /></li><li>Evidence for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40311-z">folivory</a> in <i>Jeholornis</i><br /></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjC8RH4Iv71E_p3vWWfvQJ9fvV4EOvya5Us7mZkj7AGCbxnANFWvzvYgJ4e_iUPt5Tyn2xaGbEG9pbv1tLI6_eL-rfF5NitkA-9pBILeyaevHe5-tjowQ4aFgBTR3Cb3G5zCIlmlh1eSaccmcMiyyZ7lxvW4SUflYs0Y8nEtr3J4JzHD3culUQel32lM/s2000/41467_2023_40311_Fig1_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1741" data-original-width="2000" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjC8RH4Iv71E_p3vWWfvQJ9fvV4EOvya5Us7mZkj7AGCbxnANFWvzvYgJ4e_iUPt5Tyn2xaGbEG9pbv1tLI6_eL-rfF5NitkA-9pBILeyaevHe5-tjowQ4aFgBTR3Cb3G5zCIlmlh1eSaccmcMiyyZ7lxvW4SUflYs0Y8nEtr3J4JzHD3culUQel32lM/w320-h279/41467_2023_40311_Fig1_HTML.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Specimen of <i>Jeholornis</i> that preserves phytoliths as gut contents, suggesting leaf-eating behavior, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40311-z">Wu et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.1020594/full">Taphonomy</a> of feathers in <i>Sapeornis</i></li><li><a href="https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/sjpalaeontology/article/view/27543">Flight performance</a> of <i>Confuciusornis</i><br /></li><li>New jinguofortisid <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01921-w"><i>Cratonavis zhui</i></a></li><li>New enantiornithean <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753396922000519"><i>Castignovolucris sebei</i></a><br /></li><li><a href="https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/sjpalaeontology/article/view/26504">Enantiornithean</a> from the La Huérguina Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123001003">Molting</a> in juvenile enantiornitheans (based on feathers preserved in <a href="http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-ugly-truth-behind-oculudentavis.html">Burmese amber</a>)</li><li><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.25341">Redescription</a> of <i>Dapingfangornis</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(23)00288-2">Diet</a> of pengornithids</li><li><a href="https://peerj.com/articles/15139/">Diet</a> of longipterygids<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.vertpala.ac.cn/EN/10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.230217">New specimen</a> of <i>Parabohaiornis</i></li><li>Quantification of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pala.12677">gastral masses</a> in <i>Archaeorhynchus</i> and <i>Iteravis</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2020">Locomotor ecology</a> of <i>Ichthyornis</i></li><li><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/blood-flow-rates-to-leg-bones-of-extinct-birds-indicate-high-levels-of-cursorial-locomotion/DC4F386360E91EDB0A8BF7FC5A74E3F6">Femoral blood flow rates</a> in avialans</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123001234">Avialan</a> from the La Colonia Formation<br /></li></ul><p><b>General and miscellaneous crown birds</b><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-14852-1">In a Class of Their Own</a></i> by Gary Ritchison published<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/view/418">Update</a> of Cenozoic fossil birds of Argentina</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1387">Ecological predictors</a> of avian bill and leg length variation</li><li>Ecological and life-history <a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article/77/7/1720/7146188">drivers</a> of avian skull evolution</li><li>Avian beak shape <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0147">correlates</a> with nest material use</li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adg1641">Innovation and elaboration</a> of avian beak shape<br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/199/1/10/7222581">Casque ontogeny</a> in birds<br /></li><li>Comparative morphology of the avian <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25278">bony columella</a></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyeZLwlCa1n-7SkU3LISUxNtVHZX_LmGpOne45LRTlyyb9qnJ-u3ppSV53tV1IiAm-o7nzrTcHO3hrcZw5F7ES4lcgK3INxoeROYIIOzTCyQRdXhQih1TFDVdyui36MAAHIpHGI0tBACk_YtWnF9vooNUOkH-dmLAx7BdQ_gSTvVREtUwN_MSXEsNFlk/s5000/zlad016_fig8.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5000" data-original-width="3610" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyeZLwlCa1n-7SkU3LISUxNtVHZX_LmGpOne45LRTlyyb9qnJ-u3ppSV53tV1IiAm-o7nzrTcHO3hrcZw5F7ES4lcgK3INxoeROYIIOzTCyQRdXhQih1TFDVdyui36MAAHIpHGI0tBACk_YtWnF9vooNUOkH-dmLAx7BdQ_gSTvVREtUwN_MSXEsNFlk/w289-h400/zlad016_fig8.jpeg" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suitability of modern bird casques as potential analogues for similar skull structures in extinct dinosaurs, from <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/199/1/10/7222581">Green and Gignac (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Review of avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21638">neck evolution, function, and development</a></li><li><a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-023-01715-x">Role of the neck</a> in avian macroevolution and mosaicism<br /></li><li>Bird clades with less complex appendicular skeletons tend to have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41415-2">higher species richness</a><br /></li><li>Quantification of avian <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0160">humeral pneumaticity</a></li><li>Nonpathological inflammation drives avian <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2219757120">pygostyle development</a></li><li>Quantification of bone surface textures for <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40543-023-00413-1">ontogenetic ageing</a> of bird specimens<br /></li><li><a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.13043">Allometry</a> of avian pectoral flight muscles</li><li>Review of <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/226/Suppl_1/jeb245171/297128">form–function relationships</a> in avian bills<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2023.0433">Mechanism</a> of avian postural stability</li><li>Radial porosity profiles as a tool for tracing <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21567">locomotor maturation</a> in avian limb bones</li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10682-023-10261-5">Functional trade-offs</a> in foot morphology of Australian birds<br /></li><li>Evolution of avian <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05151-z">hindlimb use</a><br /></li><li>Changes in avian <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2201945119">functional diversity</a></li><li>Decoupled <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00135-5">spatiotemporal patterns</a> of avian taxonomic and functional diversity</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEe0-fSsNS7gun1MwGcB7B8VrMS0K6g9BeEdr8Xo-Mgz-Xkxw_xl-tpFcr5Sn049w8MHXzKpaL6hqTFFhZIh9W5e3kzwkVzG6FGigA-KWNFSb3smA6c9lBZ1q2Z5EPjAyQBLPZ-Qo6gWD8ksItqf9Ge2aLf-lkjVbnl-uwmJDwL4IbpBIoB3d8BWLXcuM/s2000/42003_2023_5151_Fig2_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="2000" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEe0-fSsNS7gun1MwGcB7B8VrMS0K6g9BeEdr8Xo-Mgz-Xkxw_xl-tpFcr5Sn049w8MHXzKpaL6hqTFFhZIh9W5e3kzwkVzG6FGigA-KWNFSb3smA6c9lBZ1q2Z5EPjAyQBLPZ-Qo6gWD8ksItqf9Ge2aLf-lkjVbnl-uwmJDwL4IbpBIoB3d8BWLXcuM/w400-h269/42003_2023_5151_Fig2_HTML.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogenetic distribution of foot dexterity in birds, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05151-z">Gutiérrez-Ibáñez et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Review of the avian <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41433-023-02568-y">visual system</a></li><li>Predictors of avian <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6004/4/3/24">eye size variation</a><br /></li><li>Evolution of avian <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/10/1675">eye size</a></li><li>Review of avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.13276">eye color variation</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.15983">Pupil dynamics</a> in birds (and mammals)</li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3656">Blinking mechanisms</a> of birds<br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adf0405">gaze following</a> in birds (and other archosaurs)</li><li>Review of the avian <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1235377/full">taste system</a><br /></li><li>Mechanistic hypotheses for <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/63/2/474/7189914">proprioceptive sensing</a> within the avian lumbosacral spinal cord</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43108-2">Morphological evolution</a> of avian wings follows a mechanical sensitivity gradient</li><li><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbirs.2023.1305453/full">Correlation</a> between avian wing morphology and life history<br /></li><li>Phylogenetic comparative analysis of avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biolinnean/blad085/7273072">alula morphology</a></li><li><a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.13139">Relationships</a> between avian flight feather count and underlying skeletal size<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13222">elongated tail feather function</a> in birds</li><li>Molecular and cellular characterization of avian <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2221-3759/11/3/30">reticulate scales</a></li><li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2217692120">Evolutionary predictors</a> of avian coloration</li><li>Melanin-rich skin color associated with <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0304">increased net diversification rates</a> in birds</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgjWsNNUdDYBfDxv3iikBhNDotrMKY991diiLEhzDHU2K9RGFrE8LIGZiGUSFeVQu6WDslyaoXtlLiVZfFLp4GSboqcrR82ZbvrWjNM84YbFtljK_GODITtCtMIa9-h-HqdOsOQPRt-T6kswKBug-JGIwCk4cds1jEOJVmupAAardWBH_tq8U8g0gADo/s1480/pnas.2217692120fig04.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1246" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgjWsNNUdDYBfDxv3iikBhNDotrMKY991diiLEhzDHU2K9RGFrE8LIGZiGUSFeVQu6WDslyaoXtlLiVZfFLp4GSboqcrR82ZbvrWjNM84YbFtljK_GODITtCtMIa9-h-HqdOsOQPRt-T6kswKBug-JGIwCk4cds1jEOJVmupAAardWBH_tq8U8g0gADo/w336-h400/pnas.2217692120fig04.jpg" width="336" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Correlations between habitat use and climate with bird coloration, from <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2217692120">Delhey et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Parental provisioning <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2121467120">drives brain size</a> in birds</li><li><a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/93458/">Metabolic scaling</a> of birds (and mammals)</li><li>Birds are better at <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0373">regulating heat loss through their legs</a> than through their bills<br /></li><li>Review of avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/63/5/1028/7157107">heterothermy</a><br /></li><li>Review of avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12943">migration genetics</a></li><li>Determinants of avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/15/5/evad064/7142498">mitochondrial genetic diversity</a><br /></li><li>Evolution of avian <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6332">retroelements</a> in relation to adaptation for arid environments</li><li>Changes in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oa.3219">avian body size</a> in the Yucatán Peninsula since the Late Pleistocene</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0145">Variation</a> in avian nest-building behavior<br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/34/5/780/7205605">extra-pair paternity and paternal care</a> in birds</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0511">Life history variation</a> in birds (and mammals)<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0100">mixed-species avian flock classification</a><br /></li><li>Effect of sociality on avian <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1894">competitive interactions</a></li><li>Review of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14720">island syndrome</a> in birds<br /></li><li>Avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14203">island diversity–area relationships</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0536">Strength of the island rule</a> in birds associated with absence of predators<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12945">Beringia</a> as an engine of avian speciation</li><li>An elevational phylogeographic diversity gradient in Neotropical birds is <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/728598">decoupled</a> from speciation rates<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ornithology/ukad051/7450124">avian biogeography</a> in Amazonia</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43445-2">Estimation</a> of undiscovered anthropogenic avian extinctions<br /></li><li>Digital reconstruction of <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25275">cranial suture ontogeny</a> in the common ostrich and Eurasian magpie</li><li><a href="https://www.scielo.br/j/aabc/a/3mNnMRr8G3NHpKZ4w8K6m8J/">Vegaviids</a> from the López de Bertodano Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523000608">Jaw anatomy</a> of <i>Vegavis</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2230584">Rhamphotheca anatomy</a> of pelagornithids from the Eocene of Antarctica</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2228335">Bone microstructure</a> of pelagornithids from the Buchak Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/480">Covariation</a> in sternum and pelvis shape in waterbirds</li><li><a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/226/24/jeb246754/338273/A-framework-to-unlock-marine-bird-energetics">Energy expenditure</a> in seabirds<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.221023">Eggshell composition and surface properties</a> in avian brood parasites</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiKXdR_7BgfhkA3-JHysPGGbtM_-e9-uwbH7k8k1IjynGUb9iS0Pi0h2vYzr0vN6CZ1_RHOlWQcNbuwXqjXFbW5RlUbjhYUjUmacZ_9-_SlG8bTi8LzUO_ZCzzQTnmqaCaRxkiTdvsMnRbYF20QW9tU3RVSVn_pJIAtgY-PaGQcWgLIop2yAr7YZxG9o/s1200/ghbi_a_2230584_f0004_oc.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1200" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiKXdR_7BgfhkA3-JHysPGGbtM_-e9-uwbH7k8k1IjynGUb9iS0Pi0h2vYzr0vN6CZ1_RHOlWQcNbuwXqjXFbW5RlUbjhYUjUmacZ_9-_SlG8bTi8LzUO_ZCzzQTnmqaCaRxkiTdvsMnRbYF20QW9tU3RVSVn_pJIAtgY-PaGQcWgLIop2yAr7YZxG9o/w320-h202/ghbi_a_2230584_f0004_oc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Depiction of a pelagornithid showing inferred beak structure, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2230584">Piro and Acosta Hospitaleche (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Paleognaths</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Evolution of <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/81092">eggshell structure</a> in paleognaths</li><li>Effect of data type on paleognath <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/15/6/evad092/7179533">phylogenetics</a></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-023-01794-x">Absence of allopreening</a> in paleognaths<br /></li><li>Ostrich <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/265">femur cast</a> from the Pleistocene of China rediscovered</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13992">Syrinx morphology</a> of the common ostrich<br /></li><li><a href="https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-023-03665-6">Morphometrics</a> of the appendicular skeleton of common ostriches<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13936">Natal down structure</a> of the common ostrich<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/4/481">Eggshell structure and composition</a> in the common ostrich</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001669952300061X">Running speed</a> of <i>Opisthodactylus</i><br /></li><li>Ontogeny of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmor.21596">feeding apparatus</a> of greater rheas</li><li>Ontogeny of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ahe.13004">hindlimb bone texture</a> in greater rheas<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21594937.2022.2152532">Play</a> in juvenile greater rheas</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36405-3">Diversity</a> of elephant birds based on ancient DNA</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03036758.2023.2264789">Moa tracks</a> from the Maniototo Conglomerate Formation<br /></li><li>Character displacement of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article/77/8/1874/7161805">egg colors</a> during tinamou speciation</li><li>Atlas of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13919">pectoral anatomy</a> in the Andean tinamou</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKigEWUqhgKyefgB5AW7jgDreknuwQLBxClQAgLyjR6s4yj2yinC_qn3j6ODTZacTSkeyZD9tvLoRNP8HX3WcOBeqXeVYHjQbcFNlnmaiWmSQmWER8g6pw26hlJ8aW0crMasQVThHD3sD4uHmGPkKswPvNxkRMhEAJPdVMIAWOwOTkKzVeZ37nVWE5E_A/s2550/41467_2023_36405_Fig2_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="2007" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKigEWUqhgKyefgB5AW7jgDreknuwQLBxClQAgLyjR6s4yj2yinC_qn3j6ODTZacTSkeyZD9tvLoRNP8HX3WcOBeqXeVYHjQbcFNlnmaiWmSQmWER8g6pw26hlJ8aW0crMasQVThHD3sD4uHmGPkKswPvNxkRMhEAJPdVMIAWOwOTkKzVeZ37nVWE5E_A/w315-h400/41467_2023_36405_Fig2_HTML.png" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogeny of elephant birds based on ancient DNA, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36405-3">Grealy et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Galloanserans</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Evolution of the galloanseran <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21594">quadrate</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/63/3/772/7233721">Locomotor performance</a> of developing galloanserans<br /></li><li>New <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/233">stem-anseriform <i>Anachronornis anhimops</i> and indeterminate galloanseran <i>Danielsavis nazensis</i></a><br /></li><li>New presbyornithid <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2184491"><i>Murgonornis archeri</i></a><br /></li><li>New Miocene ducks <i><a href="https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2023/5038-a-miocene-dabbling-duck">Lavanttalornis hassleri</a></i>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S003103012305012X"><i>Mioquerquedula palaeotagaica</i>, <i>Selenonetta lacustrina</i>, <i>Tagayanetta palaeobaikalensis</i></a>, and <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030123060114">Mionetta defossa</a></i> (also new genus <i>Caerulonettion</i> for "<i>Mionetta</i>" <i>natator</i>)</li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030123040159">Reevaluation</a> of "<i>Anas</i>" <i>soporata</i> and "<i>Anas</i>" <i>velox</i> as members of <i>Mioquerquedula</i> and <i>Protomelanitta</i> respectively<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1213">Binocular vision and foraging</a> in anatids<br /></li><li><a href="https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-023-02103-3">Phylogeny</a> of the bean goose species complex</li><li>Consistent changes in muscle metabolism <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1466">underlie dive performance</a> in diving ducks<br /></li><li>Effects of speed on <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/15362/">foot kinematics</a> of mallards</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbge3fd7vfKvXEKmsw0XKCchhCMjsSw1Mavi8hl1sPZQpFNI-TaimCIJoGvj_oXphpYKxkrJG4EA9su803PqxkbKXedt84gpX-KLXbuV89761UxraT6XVx8fez72br8Sn1_fVFmv8-w-JRdTjqA_bMPJ_sktpbg4mavbTDCj1XL7eWuREo1h9TYiZezk/s3029/anachronornis.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3029" data-original-width="2662" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbge3fd7vfKvXEKmsw0XKCchhCMjsSw1Mavi8hl1sPZQpFNI-TaimCIJoGvj_oXphpYKxkrJG4EA9su803PqxkbKXedt84gpX-KLXbuV89761UxraT6XVx8fez72br8Sn1_fVFmv8-w-JRdTjqA_bMPJ_sktpbg4mavbTDCj1XL7eWuREo1h9TYiZezk/s320/anachronornis.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull and vertebrae from the holotype of <i>Anachronornis anhimops</i>, from <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/233">Houde et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New possible stem-galliform <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523000050"><i>Tegulavis corbalani</i></a></li><li>Putative rusty-margined guan × helmeted guineafowl hybrid <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.9689">refuted</a></li><li>Reduction of wing area <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230817">affects estimated stress</a> in flight muscles of chickens<br /></li><li>Behavioral and musculoskeletal changes as a result of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220809">wing disuse</a> in chickens</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21622">Differential growth</a> of the adductor muscles, eyeball, and brain in chickens<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579123003565">Genetic basis</a> of feathered feet in chickens<br /></li><li>Developmental pathway underlying <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adg9619">transition of skin appendage fate</a> in chicken embryos</li><li>Cognitive ecology of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291416">mirror self-recognition</a> in chickens</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716623000750">Muscle forces and strain distribution</a> in the femur of Cabot's tragopans<br /></li><li>Effect of keratin cortex thickness on <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220786">iridescent feather colors</a> in common pheasants<br /></li></ul><p><b>Miscellaneous neoavians</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New perplexicervicid <i><a href="https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2023/3934-birds-from-the-london-clay">Perplexicervix paucituberculata</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13980">Structure and function</a> of tuberculate neck vertebrae of perplexicervicids<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2241050">Flamingo egg</a> from the Pleistocene of Mexico</li><li>New Pleistocene sandgrouse <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0012496623700497">Pterocles bosporanus</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2022.0878">Structure</a> of the water-holding feathers of Namaqua sandgrouse<br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/138/4/437/7076253">Biogeographic history</a> of pigeons</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/40/11/msad243/7405376">Evolutionary history</a> of the rock pigeon<br /></li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5315.2.2">Nubotis</a></i> for the Nubian bustard ("<i>Neotis</i>" <i>nuba</i>)<br /></li><li>Role of egg darkness and nest similarity in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0103">crypsis</a> of cuckoo eggs</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZjNJUxR1OB6yQ58HBNKW-TQu4cS8J6b1jfs3axHMdePMpZ66xirFS5c_U503-i3D1jg0nsTR9Do7QKKproDap4G-je0NeY9HLBeNBV3F4mt3RlSyss20fszNl2Vm537egmRsgOaokPBOx9t5NHJZCO7ilogLnAoyWP-Z2SARtfkH_1xhRQdbtUgqXsQ/s2247/joa13980-fig-0002-m.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2247" data-original-width="2128" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZjNJUxR1OB6yQ58HBNKW-TQu4cS8J6b1jfs3axHMdePMpZ66xirFS5c_U503-i3D1jg0nsTR9Do7QKKproDap4G-je0NeY9HLBeNBV3F4mt3RlSyss20fszNl2Vm537egmRsgOaokPBOx9t5NHJZCO7ilogLnAoyWP-Z2SARtfkH_1xhRQdbtUgqXsQ/w379-h400/joa13980-fig-0002-m.jpg" width="379" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neck vertebrae of perplexicervicids, from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13980">Mayr et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Strisoreans</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.aviansystematics.org/uploads/texteditor/AS_1_6_PDFA.pdf">Systematics</a> of South American nightjars, including new genera <i>Quechuavis</i> for the Tschudi's nightjar ("<i>Systellura</i>" <i>decussata</i>) and <i>Tepuiornis</i> for the Roraiman nightjar ("<i>Setopagis</i>" <i>whitelyi</i>)<br /></li><li>Convergence in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2307340120">hearing-related genes</a> between echolocating birds and mammals<br /></li><li>Unorthodox feeding styles drive <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/726036">negative correlation</a> between foot and bill size in hummingbirds<br /></li><li>Morphology and niche evolution influence <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1793">speciation rates</a> in hummingbirds<br /></li><li>Absence of song suggests <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02057-9">heterogeneity of vocal learning</a> in hummingbirds</li><li>Hummingbird <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14235">blood traits</a> track oxygen availability across space and time</li><li>Hummingbirds use <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2023.0229">wing inertial effects</a> to improve maneuverability<br /></li><li>Ecological drivers and consequences of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2099">torpor</a> in Andean hummingbirds<br /></li><li>Hybridization explains <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.221603">rapid gorget color divergence</a> in <i>Heliodoxa</i> hummingbirds</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/139/2/145/7123808">Phylogenetic discordance</a> in the blue-throated starfrontlet and golden-bellied starfrontlet</li><li><a href="https://zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/BzB_72_2/201_kirwan_20231117.pdf">Reevaluation</a> of <i>Lophornis</i> "<i>melaniae</i>" as a synonym of the spangled coquette (<i>Lophornis stictolophus</i>)<br /></li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-143/issue-1/bboc.v143i1.2023.a3/A-new-genus-for-Thalurania-ridgwayi-Trochilidae/10.25226/bboc.v143i1.2023.a3.full">Dicranurania</a></i> for the Mexican woodnymph ("<i>Eupherusa</i>" <i>ridgwayi</i>)</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU83TlKKkMX8C8MQpuTOtkt0W5Sz6LlfiNtINk3FKOvtJVV1_CK-ns0WMEJ9IA9YR_t8dez1DumjZBelsW-8al6n-wYJNr05MvdKz3tlUmwBQhuy2v9rFsuG5WIZxivRF1i_YghJfG8xczf_NisRi_FaqB_LE6U6YZC7U1jar5U_OAmJMdnsPrLVxT1Vg/s2182/images_large_fg3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2182" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU83TlKKkMX8C8MQpuTOtkt0W5Sz6LlfiNtINk3FKOvtJVV1_CK-ns0WMEJ9IA9YR_t8dez1DumjZBelsW-8al6n-wYJNr05MvdKz3tlUmwBQhuy2v9rFsuG5WIZxivRF1i_YghJfG8xczf_NisRi_FaqB_LE6U6YZC7U1jar5U_OAmJMdnsPrLVxT1Vg/w330-h400/images_large_fg3.jpeg" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogenetic distribution of unorthodox feeding behaviors in hummingbirds, from <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/726036">Colwell et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Gruiforms and charadriiforms</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New possible stem-limpkin <i><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523000050">Papulavis annae</a></i></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zsc.12595">Phylogeny</a> of laterallin and pardirallin rails</li><li><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-143/issue-3/bboc.v143i3.2023.a8/The-provenance-of-the-only-known-egg-of-the-extinct/10.25226/bboc.v143i3.2023.a8.full">Provenance</a> of the only known egg of the Tristan moorhen</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17227">Ancient mitogenomes</a> of moho and takahē<br /></li><li>New Eocene charadriiform <i><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/early-eocene-fossils-elucidate-the-evolutionary-history-of-the-charadriiformes-shorebirds-and-allies/F48665E3D9BBF2B43E3E3D2716F75BED">Charadriisimilis essexensis</a></i><br /></li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.aviansystematics.org/uploads/texteditor/AS_1_3_PDFA.pdf">Hesperoburhinus</a></i> for American dikkops ("<i>Burhinus</i>" <i>bistriatus</i> and "<i>Burhinus</i>" <i>superciliaris</i>)<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13220">Systematics</a> of the Kentish plover species complex</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01584197.2023.2240346">Plains-wanderers</a> from the Pleistocene of Australia</li><li>Cause of <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/85422">genetic diversity declines</a> in whimbrels and curlews<br /></li><li>Eurasian woodcocks produce the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2022.0920">most brilliant white plumage patches</a> among birds</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13214">Asymmetry of feather ornaments</a> in whiskered auklets</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkY7fm2nIzdBvbppwN8I9RfUoe3nGxwsIblyKPvfqAgORcMOuUdaupbktecW0TrJjrfexnFiUR2DudaR8fKMqOsv-liPcWy7c706UmbxX9h6RoyRPl4fUTkvY7osSEUln8umtT73M7wcF4KowfQffdcx39YxDsDG4FjHYsSC-quwIoXYz9q2ILtmM3NME/s2102/charadriisimilis.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="2102" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkY7fm2nIzdBvbppwN8I9RfUoe3nGxwsIblyKPvfqAgORcMOuUdaupbktecW0TrJjrfexnFiUR2DudaR8fKMqOsv-liPcWy7c706UmbxX9h6RoyRPl4fUTkvY7osSEUln8umtT73M7wcF4KowfQffdcx39YxDsDG4FjHYsSC-quwIoXYz9q2ILtmM3NME/w400-h173/charadriisimilis.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Limb bones from the holotype of <i>Charadriisimilis essexensis</i>, from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/early-eocene-fossils-elucidate-the-evolutionary-history-of-the-charadriiformes-shorebirds-and-allies/F48665E3D9BBF2B43E3E3D2716F75BED">Mayr and Kitchener (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Phaethoquornitheans</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New stem-tropicbird <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2246528">Clymenoptilon novaezealandicum</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app010912023.html">Loons</a> from the Liuchungchi Formation<br /></li><li>New stem-penguins <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/largestknown-fossil-penguin-provides-insight-into-the-early-evolution-of-sphenisciform-body-size-and-flipper-anatomy/8D4A78B2CA0A716134F8E60169A633FD"><i>Kumimanu fordycei</i> and <i>Petradyptes stonehousei</i></a><br /></li><li><a href="https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pof/article/35/6/061907/2897344/Hydrodynamic-performance-of-a-penguin-wing-Effect">Hydrodynamic performance</a> of penguin wings<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21588">Ecomorphological variation</a> of the penguin wing</li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-023-03176-y">Bone histology</a> of Adélie penguins</li><li>Nesting Adélie penguins <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh0771">accrue large quantities of sleep</a> through seconds-long microsleeps<br /></li><li><a href="https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/comptes-rendus-palevol/22/13">Small penguin skull</a> from the Bahía Inglesa Formation</li><li>New Pliocene penguin <i><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/pliocene-fossils-support-a-new-zealand-origin-for-the-smallest-extant-penguins/A722D072F8EE3B5FC194A33EF7DBC47F">Eudyptula wilsonae</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/1814232X.2023.2171126">Pleistocene decline</a> of the African penguin</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXpjr-U8PuYElAyzWG9T6WgQicj5Q_RXdXgXipfjQV_pmIdh7fGkaJqHYsvzRbBJiaKNgo34d1Yj8FGyRWzznicrdr_4nSLQeLWOduW8BuR0iQHfiXk7AhMlI4AhCmmAs2EHV5H3Ldh2M6W0uwN7EMCx48DfEzModMzGICfl6SobwUKH7vjQEc38hlUeQ/s3850/talc_a_2246528_f0002_c.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3784" data-original-width="3850" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXpjr-U8PuYElAyzWG9T6WgQicj5Q_RXdXgXipfjQV_pmIdh7fGkaJqHYsvzRbBJiaKNgo34d1Yj8FGyRWzznicrdr_4nSLQeLWOduW8BuR0iQHfiXk7AhMlI4AhCmmAs2EHV5H3Ldh2M6W0uwN7EMCx48DfEzModMzGICfl6SobwUKH7vjQEc38hlUeQ/w320-h315/talc_a_2246528_f0002_c.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Clymenoptilon novaezealandicum</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2246528">Mayr et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New stem-albatross <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03036758.2023.2266390">Plotornis archaeonautes</a></i></li><li>Drivers of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230751">shape variation</a> in the compound bill of albatrosses</li><li>Movement of wandering albatrosses suggests <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2218679120">sensitivity to infrasound cues</a> at sea<br /></li><li>New Pliocene petrel <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6500/3/1/6"><i>Macronectes tinae</i></a><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5270.3.5">Recently extinct subspecies</a> of Abbott's booby from the Mascarenes<br /></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41513-022-00203-5">Gannet</a> from the Miocene of Portugal</li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02117-0">Gannet</a> from the Hurupi Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.25329">Anhingas</a> from the Solimões Formation<br /></li><li>New Oligocene cormorant <i><a href="https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/orhu-2023-0008">Praecarbo strigoniensis</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/199/1/310/7208973">Phylogeny</a> of microcormorants, including new genus <i>Afrocarbo</i> for the reed ("<i>Microcarbo</i>" <i>africanus</i>) and crowned ("<i>Microcarbo</i>" <i>coronatus</i>) cormorants<br /></li><li>New stem-ibis <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-022-00647-1"><i>Rhynchaeites litoralis</i></a></li><li>New Miocene pelican <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2023.2202702">Pelecanus paranensis</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/5/1/obad010/7084018">Morphological covariance</a> in skull and hindlimb dimensions of herons<br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/140/2/ukad005/6995439">Phylogeny</a> of herons</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523000591">Osteology</a> of recently extinct night herons</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDYHtriIJ1RnBrr4BjNUQSbu4Xw2HbVmm1IqjMLvXrOErIYg5fVEot4rzErHMHO0W8w1Dte6zybJ0mZK_YhT2jsUZp82pM4Zvl9CctQFfE9LUJbjlW9ArS56X6p6aJI0slB-mPpNQZD8UOY5z_5c0cjeamibnreilMi8ZuH99w2OL2WvBR8cCF5mj69k/s1299/heronphyl.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1299" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDYHtriIJ1RnBrr4BjNUQSbu4Xw2HbVmm1IqjMLvXrOErIYg5fVEot4rzErHMHO0W8w1Dte6zybJ0mZK_YhT2jsUZp82pM4Zvl9CctQFfE9LUJbjlW9ArS56X6p6aJI0slB-mPpNQZD8UOY5z_5c0cjeamibnreilMi8ZuH99w2OL2WvBR8cCF5mj69k/w400-h365/heronphyl.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogeny of herons, from <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/140/2/ukad005/6995439">Hruska et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Telluravians</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pace of avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article/78/1/160/7379636">mitochondrial molecular evolution</a> varies with seasonal migration distance<br /></li><li>Genetic evidence for <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1334">population size expansion</a> in North American boreal birds prior to the Last Glacial Maximum</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2325">Tail feather strength</a> in tail-assisted climbing birds achieved through geometric change</li><li>Skull shape <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.13127">predicts feeding ecology</a> in vultures<br /></li><li>New Pliocene condor <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2288612">Vultur messii</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0106">Long-term record</a> of diet and nest usage in Andean condors</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01232-0">Anomalous binocular vision</a> in the African harrier-hawk<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-25288-x">Coprolites</a> of bearded vultures from the Pleistocene of Portugal</li><li>New large Pleistocene eagles <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02055-x">Dynatoaetus gaffae</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2268780">Dynatoaetus pachyosteus</a></i><br /></li><li>Role of culture in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1951">dietary specialization</a> of Eurasian griffon vultures<br /></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02054-y">Visual fields</a> of the harpy eagle<br /></li><li>Concentration of tropical forest <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-31258-8">nutrient hotspots</a> generated by harpy eagles</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00832-1">Obstacle avoidance</a> by Harris's hawks during aerial pursuit</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQHxpyXAqMADzgpc-YgPPFFzrCyy92AexCHG4OXRjbJWJ3-tWOdHA-HZP0XRkGMFCs79KZQX74l8NG9io_w-aJMpB-nWIrpgWB1inSZym3XIQvxMTpblLUsFoEI6XQMZ2znnKR8HsE-BJtklJ_JwkLBjdK3j1nV2Efx1TSrbMk2dR0wwWj1IlQy-J7q8/s1973/10336_2023_2055_Fig9_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1973" data-original-width="1416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQHxpyXAqMADzgpc-YgPPFFzrCyy92AexCHG4OXRjbJWJ3-tWOdHA-HZP0XRkGMFCs79KZQX74l8NG9io_w-aJMpB-nWIrpgWB1inSZym3XIQvxMTpblLUsFoEI6XQMZ2znnKR8HsE-BJtklJ_JwkLBjdK3j1nV2Efx1TSrbMk2dR0wwWj1IlQy-J7q8/s320/10336_2023_2055_Fig9_HTML.png" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foot bones of <i>Dynatoaetus gaffae</i>, from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02055-x">Mather et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.13044">Ecomorphology</a> of owl feet</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0664">Binocular field configuration</a> in owls<br /></li><li>Convergent evolution of <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01231-9">dim light vision</a> between owls and deep-diving whales<br /></li><li>Island volcanism predicts <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14596">pheomelanin-based plumage coloration</a> in the barn owl species complex<br /></li><li><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25192">Hindlimb muscle architecture</a> of the American barn owl <br /></li><li>New Miocene owl <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2180738"><i>Yarquen dolgopolae</i></a><br /></li><li>New stem-trogon <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02071-x">Eotrogon stenorhynchus</a></i><br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/34/3/387/7079007">coloration</a> in coraciiforms</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790323002099">Diversification</a> of the dollarbird–azure roller species complex<br /></li><li><a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/83426">Color diversification</a> of kingfishers</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05359-z">Genomic signatures</a> of convergent shifts to plunge diving in kingfishers<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17080">Phylogenetic discordance</a> in <i>Todiramphus</i> kingfishers<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2395">Biomechanical trade-offs</a> in bill shape of barbets</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/140/3/ukad022/7151309">Phylogeny</a> of Neotropical barbets</li><li>Assessment of evidence for <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.13093">mutualism</a> between greater honeyguides and honey badgers</li><li>Culturally determined <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh4129">interspecies communication</a> between greater honeyguides and humans<br /></li><li>Upper beak depression dominates <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0148">cranial kinesis</a> in woodpeckers<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.add0560">Convergent genomic signatures</a> of local adaptation in downy and hairy woodpeckers</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-43771-x">Phorusrhacid tracks</a> from the Río Negro Formation<br /></li><li><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-the-arizona-nevada-academy-of-science/volume-50/issue-1/036.050.0103/Observation-of-Claw-Use-and-Feeding-Behavior-of-the-Red/10.2181/036.050.0103.full">Claw function</a> in the red-legged seriema</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUekwALsOQ3llnmTLeg68_-TJHafcxb1VO2Av-fGsNWAVT6TKHNgS-Qw0cdjHVu3e1gyAAmUfmcecfTiNYmJInBxmSWssJIfU2R_DbSczDygdqaiYGJIfVR-1v5S_kJ_PD1Y9iDCV25dlrlwm5ashJ6bvuYxPz2xavhicOgtBKLuSRRdrvi1P7mzzpXE/s1652/ezgif-5-93d4718fb9.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="1652" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUekwALsOQ3llnmTLeg68_-TJHafcxb1VO2Av-fGsNWAVT6TKHNgS-Qw0cdjHVu3e1gyAAmUfmcecfTiNYmJInBxmSWssJIfU2R_DbSczDygdqaiYGJIfVR-1v5S_kJ_PD1Y9iDCV25dlrlwm5ashJ6bvuYxPz2xavhicOgtBKLuSRRdrvi1P7mzzpXE/w400-h354/ezgif-5-93d4718fb9.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phorusrhacid tracks from the Río Negro Formation, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-43771-x">Melchor et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New Miocene falcon <i><a href="https://fundacionazara.org.ar/img/revista-historia-natural/tercera-serie-volumen-13-2-2023/HN_13_2_15-24.pdf">Thegornis sosae</a></i></li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01462-8">Innovative problem solving</a> in striated caracaras</li><li>New Pleistocene falcon <i><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/western-north-american-naturalist/volume-83/issue-1/064.083.0104/Two-New-Late-Quaternary-Avifaunas-from-the-East-Central-Great/10.3398/064.083.0104.full">Falco powelli</a></i><br /></li><li>New <a href="https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/njgpa/detail/307/102756/The_Vastanavidae_and_Messelasturidae_Aves_from_the_early_Eocene_London_Clay_of_Walton_on_the_Naze_Essex_UK">vastanavid <i>Avolatavis europaeus</i> and messelasturids <i>Tynskya brevitarsus</i> and <i>Tynskya crassitarsus</i></a><br /></li><li>New halcyornithids <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523000633">?<i>Pulchrapollia eximia</i> and ?<i>Pulchrapollia tenuipes</i></a><br /></li><li>Decline in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1058130/full">dietary breadth</a> of kākāpō</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423000689">Shifting drivers</a> of kākāpō decline</li><li>Review of the <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article/43/2/145/494858/A-review-of-the-taxonomy-and-distribution-of">taxonomy</a> of black cockatoos</li><li>Individual preferences for <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.1271">sound tool design</a> in palm cockatoos<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00057-X">Flexible tool set transport</a> in Tanimbar corellas</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0411">Innovative food-soaking behavior</a> in Tanimbar corellas</li><li><a href="https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/ajvr/84/7/ajvr.23.03.0059.xml">Beak papillae and nerves</a> of the African gray parrot<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03949370.2023.2178031">Mirror responses</a> in African gray parrots</li><li>Changes in amazon parrot <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2301128120">diversity</a> after human arrival to the Caribbean<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01584197.2023.2181185">Cranial adaptations</a> of the night parrot</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790323001227">Phylogeny</a> of lovebirds</li><li><a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/226/24/jeb246659/336535/The-dual-function-of-prokinesis-in-the-feeding-and">Dual function of prokinesis</a> in the feeding and locomotion of rosy-faced lovebirds</li><li>How yellow-collared lovebirds <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2023.0442">dissipate heat</a> before, during, and after flight<br /></li><li>Fast <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0596">visual adaptation to dim light</a> in budgerigars</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01528-2">Role of anterior forebrain pathway</a> of budgerigars in producing learned vocalizations</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQzAbhIkJaIxq72AyzMmOJpbDt9R73siN6pJ3-vQw0iBP9fkHDWnk0ndw2tCbuFA85W8h26IjnpAYDp7TMkp5GcpuUT83GpYo4YcS4PE5mfmo-s9eRb9tGVUscGnPe0QIQzS_uaQX-3A_4czK86MbwAcOW_7O5tetCmjBwJTKRXCvTX5eX9XEB9jKNOM/s2075/pulchrapollia%20eximia.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="2075" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQzAbhIkJaIxq72AyzMmOJpbDt9R73siN6pJ3-vQw0iBP9fkHDWnk0ndw2tCbuFA85W8h26IjnpAYDp7TMkp5GcpuUT83GpYo4YcS4PE5mfmo-s9eRb9tGVUscGnPe0QIQzS_uaQX-3A_4czK86MbwAcOW_7O5tetCmjBwJTKRXCvTX5eX9XEB9jKNOM/w400-h281/pulchrapollia%20eximia.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of ?<i>Pulchrapollia eximia</i>, from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699523000633">Mayr and Kitchener (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New stem-passeriform <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app010492022.html"><i>Sororavis solitarius</i></a></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/34/5/872/7200093">Carotenoid-dependent plumage coloration</a> associated with reduced male care in passeriforms<br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/oik.09870">ground nesting</a> in passeriforms</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jeb/voad001/7459550">Variable macroevolutionary outcomes</a> of interhemispheric dispersal in passeriforms</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43964-y">Origins</a> of Indo-Pacific montane avifauna<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.14611">Phylogeography</a> of passeriforms from Amazonian white-sand ecosystems</li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0148">nest architecture</a> in tyrannidans</li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5361.1.8">Protopelma</a></i> for the Serra do Mar tyrant-manakin ("<i>Neopelma</i>" <i>chrysolophum</i>)<br /></li><li>New extant tityrid <i><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad108/7285246">Schiffornis cracrafti</a></i><br /></li><li><a href="https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jav.03159">Phylogeography</a> of royal flycatchers</li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5361.2.11">Neophilydor</a></i> for the rufous-rumped ("<i>Philydor</i>" <i>erythrocercum</i>) and slaty-winged ("<i>Philydor</i>" <i>fuscipenne</i>) foliage-gleaners</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrb_FDPtMYEuHyP-3WqFJk6B47s7yM3ux0YAl2HRLnQXkWdSya2vB2IFUgpz21QdegQifaNTz0rc-c4KV2vLmIHZ3NoU_eI7Vb1q_S4PsorxCFx0QSETmtzpQ_FPnPyBuScJBYWHDCdB6z3rAHmiK1jPoVX35a-unNUaml_eQgoU0x_AaRuDmcckJW1DA/s2923/rstb20220148f02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="2010" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrb_FDPtMYEuHyP-3WqFJk6B47s7yM3ux0YAl2HRLnQXkWdSya2vB2IFUgpz21QdegQifaNTz0rc-c4KV2vLmIHZ3NoU_eI7Vb1q_S4PsorxCFx0QSETmtzpQ_FPnPyBuScJBYWHDCdB6z3rAHmiK1jPoVX35a-unNUaml_eQgoU0x_AaRuDmcckJW1DA/w275-h400/rstb20220148f02.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogenetic distribution of next architecture in tyrannidans, from <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2022.0148">Ocampo et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Songbirds that display more complex vocal learning are <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh3428">better problem solvers</a></li><li>New Oligocene bowerbird <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2023.2180537">Sericuloides marynguyenae</a></i><br /></li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5330.1.10">Pinarostola</a></i> for the marbled ("<i>Pycnopygius</i>" <i>cinereus</i>) and plain ("<i>Pycnopygius</i>" <i>ixoides</i>) honeyeaters<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.16878">Genomic basis</a> for batrachotoxin resistance in toxic corvideans</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/140/3/ukad025/7161807">Phylogenetic position</a> of white-crowned shrikes</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.10411">Diversification</a> of <i>Cyanolyca</i> jays</li><li>Long-term memory of experienced Mexican jays <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46666-z">facilitates problem-solving</a> by naïve group members<br /></li><li>Social influences on <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289197">delayed gratification</a> in Eurasian jays and New Caledonian crows<br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/cz/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cz/zoad048/7336799">Phylogenetic position</a> of Nearctic magpies<br /></li><li>Western jackdaws can <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40808-7">selectively adjust social associations</a> while preserving long-term relationships<br /></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-023-02103-6">Reevaluation</a> of <i>Corvus</i> "<i>fangshannus</i>" as a synonym of the extant common raven (<i>Corvus corax</i>)<br /></li><li>Carrion crows <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00774-1">flexibly apply statistical inferences</a> based on previous experience</li><li>Genomic basis of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/15/9/evad166/7274084">leg length divergence</a> in tits<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S205371662300021X">Systematics</a> of larks, including new genus <i>Plocealauda</i> for the Bengal bush lark ("<i>Mirafra</i>" <i>assamica</i>) and closely related species</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad107/7285693">Taxonomy</a> of <i>Corypha</i> larks</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.13297">Phylogenetic position</a> of the Nicobar bulbul<br /></li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5361.1.10">Stictocerthia</a></i> for pygmy babblers ("<i>Dasycrotapha</i>" <i>plateni</i> and "<i>Dasycrotapha</i>" <i>pygmaea</i>)</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2lofLfyby1hZFEqJZAvK0GoPlN3IIQBGwweYITqbmn0mbkQdQmYAZQYqsBPHdUGvncU1GzoiFBtZ-jb_kYKJDWiYerUEiLVXus1-qY_oj5eCWKLyEYXFWjUnby6v49glFIznjq2JrtoDNrNRROZHVcdHoROnNSLBoVljZD3XXpLjvi201ECMu3Uwv1NM/s4508/1-s2.0-S205371662300021X-gr2_lrg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4508" data-original-width="3380" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2lofLfyby1hZFEqJZAvK0GoPlN3IIQBGwweYITqbmn0mbkQdQmYAZQYqsBPHdUGvncU1GzoiFBtZ-jb_kYKJDWiYerUEiLVXus1-qY_oj5eCWKLyEYXFWjUnby6v49glFIznjq2JrtoDNrNRROZHVcdHoROnNSLBoVljZD3XXpLjvi201ECMu3Uwv1NM/w300-h400/1-s2.0-S205371662300021X-gr2_lrg.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogeny of larks, from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S205371662300021X">Alström et al. (2023)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Group augmentation underlies the evolution of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2212211120">complex sociality</a> in the superb starling</li><li>New extant thrush, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/199/1/228/7221281">Darién nightingale-thrush (<i>Catharus arcanus</i>)</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42977-023-00191-2">Biogeographic history and egg coloration</a> in <i>Turdus</i> thrushes<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13219">Signaling function</a> of plumage coloration in the chestnut thrush</li><li>New genus <i><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5271.1.14">Karoocichla</a></i> for the Karoo scrub robin ("<i>Cercotrichas</i>" <i>coryphaeus</i>)</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790323002993">Taxonomy</a> of niltavine flycatchers<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716623000464">Phylogeography</a> of Asian <i>Ploceus</i> weaverbirds</li><li>Combined measures of mimetic fidelity explain <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0538">imperfect mimicry</a> in the eggs of the cuckoo finch</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790323001835">Phylogeny</a> of parrotfinches<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716623000233">Mitogenomes</a> of accentors<br /></li><li>Acoustic model of the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2022.0728">upper vocal tract</a> in the house sparrow</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syad062/7294611">Introgression</a> underlies phylogenetic uncertainty but not parallel plumage evolution in wagtails<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0420">Beak morphometry and morphogenesis</a> across songbird radiations<br /></li><li>Exceptionalism of songbird <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1813976120">adaptive radiations</a></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syad078/7503792">Phylogenetic discordance</a> in buntings<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.13181">Phylogeny</a> of blue seedeaters</li><li>Physical basis of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.10408">carotenoid redshift</a> in <i>Ramphocelus</i> tanagers</li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.adf6218">Genomic basis</a> of Darwin's finch evolution</li><li>Persistence associated with extractive foraging explains <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/advance-article/doi/10.1093/beheco/arad090/7332679">variation in innovation</a> in Darwin's finches<br /></li></ul>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-46305917515481012772023-12-26T02:48:00.001-08:002023-12-26T02:48:22.125-08:00TetZooCon 2023<p>TetZooCon keeps growing and growing, and it's fair to say that this year's was the biggest yet in terms of both the number of events and attendees. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have some prior apprehension about how smoothly the convention would go given this dramatic expansion, but I found it to be brilliantly run, and the organizers adapted admirably to some unexpected (though <a href="https://twitter.com/DelteilMelissa/status/1731000026321596704">memorable</a>) technical difficulties beyond their control. </p><p>Extinct marine reptiles featured heavily at TetZooCon this year to accompany the publication of Darren Naish's new book <i><a href="https://tetzoo.com/blog/2023/2/27/ancient-sea-reptiles-is-out-now">Ancient Sea Reptiles</a></i>, and one of the stars of the show was Flip the robotic plesiosaur, designed for Luke Muscutt's <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2017.0951">research</a> on plesiosaur swimming biomechanics. Although I was able to view (and briefly operate) Flip while it was being displayed in the exhibition hall at the convention, I had to
miss Muscutt's talk (which has fortunately since been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0oxEXqQMgo">posted online</a>), because it was held in parallel with the two presentations on birds at this year's TetZooCon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DJRaIN9MqP1n1x3_Wn9WILFwLYf2E2U76sqcW3cOyQCwkbHYjBO0Jo1ABncReUJ66ErkOxgPdMTGE1Axc0ewwt4rzqG8eWbhatyQrB2mIKlRIh7kVgpZReXgmL_c7-wgje-crfCk-9G029cizpG4VIvorQXGG5UpySSvnmGs0NUJwDF2BbYAapr5QE8/s4032/IMG_3309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DJRaIN9MqP1n1x3_Wn9WILFwLYf2E2U76sqcW3cOyQCwkbHYjBO0Jo1ABncReUJ66ErkOxgPdMTGE1Axc0ewwt4rzqG8eWbhatyQrB2mIKlRIh7kVgpZReXgmL_c7-wgje-crfCk-9G029cizpG4VIvorQXGG5UpySSvnmGs0NUJwDF2BbYAapr5QE8/s320/IMG_3309.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The two bird talks—one by Jennifer Campbell-Smith on studying corvid cognition and the other by Todd Green about his research on cassowaries—did not disappoint, being both informative and entertaining in equal measure. These were followed by a panel discussion among Todd, Darren, and their colleagues Kerrie and AJ Dodd about their involvement with an upcoming documentary about cassowaries, which is currently seeking <a href="https://1527productions.wedid.it/campaigns/11387-the-cassowary-kid-life-with-living-dinosaurs">crowdfunding support</a>.<br /></p><p>Also a highlight of this year's TetZooCon for me was Darren leading an event centered around <i><a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/06/prehistoric-planet.html">Prehistoric Planet</a></i>. Those of us in attendance were requested not to publicly divulge the details of what was discussed there, but it was very insightful regarding the creative process and production behind the series. Another eagerly anticipated presentation related to natural history filmmaking was the talk by Nigel Marven, who is probably best known in the paleontology community for hosting the mockumentary series <i>Chased by Dinosaurs</i>, <i>Sea Monsters</i>, and <i>Prehistoric Park</i>. He shared numerous humorous anecdotes about his experiences working with wildlife (both live and CGI) as well as with people.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGKDV53EDJICO7U-UBqSWEaFoYPK05NkJ-wzXaRuFSjubJwIAjh6yOjhGhblomQoi_x3hqvyD4jdsc9EF3ByiKobGLR4zzejTqiuXWVec2Y57O0QYxFPVG6DYaevkflNtV-GROesqPNEIiJ6PXDyRW6lBc__Qcg3QyknJ9RzKhLtaO7I3U2xUIJ1wyNs/s4032/IMG_3305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGKDV53EDJICO7U-UBqSWEaFoYPK05NkJ-wzXaRuFSjubJwIAjh6yOjhGhblomQoi_x3hqvyD4jdsc9EF3ByiKobGLR4zzejTqiuXWVec2Y57O0QYxFPVG6DYaevkflNtV-GROesqPNEIiJ6PXDyRW6lBc__Qcg3QyknJ9RzKhLtaO7I3U2xUIJ1wyNs/s320/IMG_3305.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A model of the tyrannosauroid <i>Juratyrant</i> by Dougal Dixon, on display at TetZooCon.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwgxRe6D3ewUUNZ5PdP9qgDOPizWYKfS84YDvHPyHwO6v_dohReNDq4C7j_9hQjuh4i2BNGwpLXx1OsYGreXLu5irtjiqt46SO_rhZYnw0QUviQwLiE0P_Y1shW7-iXX31YErrwvsBbgnxaWd3j-NZo9TpyXynecELQseq1EivpcXjkPCjS-Mi1hDhig/s4032/IMG_3327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwgxRe6D3ewUUNZ5PdP9qgDOPizWYKfS84YDvHPyHwO6v_dohReNDq4C7j_9hQjuh4i2BNGwpLXx1OsYGreXLu5irtjiqt46SO_rhZYnw0QUviQwLiE0P_Y1shW7-iXX31YErrwvsBbgnxaWd3j-NZo9TpyXynecELQseq1EivpcXjkPCjS-Mi1hDhig/s320/IMG_3327.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artwork of fossil birds (and Dr. Doofenshmirtz from <i>Phineas and Ferb</i> holding a stem-platypus) gifted to me at TetZooCon by my friend Ilari Pätilä.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>With each successive TetZooCon, I assume that my chances of placing top three in the challenging TetZooCon quiz will diminish, but I managed to score well again this year, coming in second place (tied with Kelvin Britton). I ended up selecting a <a href="https://www.palaeoplushies.com/">Palaeoplushies</a> rendition of the ankylosaur <i>Polacanthus</i> as my prize.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Mne-7dGflPPn2Ve9rBYH9_AaIKofxm9o9rxqiLp_wIgQOkV0wBDsmcLSJypHsJIL0I4aB0qPji5oymQuSxJDVvClfoh7TSMJx3NCxwT7f-KzJ49APzbemyTkPrDVI69yQ7chZKZrVQnNLIb2y5-I2_HpsHWem0lGv0LuTmEhvh-57lgYJ9uhhDpzBRg/s4032/IMG_3330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Mne-7dGflPPn2Ve9rBYH9_AaIKofxm9o9rxqiLp_wIgQOkV0wBDsmcLSJypHsJIL0I4aB0qPji5oymQuSxJDVvClfoh7TSMJx3NCxwT7f-KzJ49APzbemyTkPrDVI69yQ7chZKZrVQnNLIb2y5-I2_HpsHWem0lGv0LuTmEhvh-57lgYJ9uhhDpzBRg/s320/IMG_3330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The day after the main events concluded, I joined the TetZooCon field trip to the London Zoo. I didn't wind up taking many photos (partly because I'd already been to this zoo more than once, and partly because I couldn't be bothered to fish my camera out of my packed bag), but it was an excellent visit. We witnessed some very interesting species and behaviors, including gorillas mating, a juvenile scarlet ibis investigating Darren's shoes with its tactile bill, and a two-toed sloth passing just above our heads to drink from a sprinkler. TetZooCon remains a unique experience that I'd wholeheartedly recommend to all lovers of natural history should they get an opportunity to attend.<br /></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-69301736243192040242023-11-21T07:33:00.001-08:002023-11-21T07:33:54.225-08:00Cincinnati Zoo<p>As mentioned previously, the organizers of this year's <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/11/svp-2023.html">SVP</a> had arranged free entry to the Cincinnati Zoo for conference attendees. I ended up going to the zoo twice during the conference period just so I could see (almost) everything. I was quite impressed; the Cincinnati Zoo isn't massive, but it boasts a large diversity of species (many of which I'd rarely or never seen in other zoos) housed in generally well-designed exhibits.</p><p>One of the highlights for me was this expansive grassy habitat in the African section of the zoo, which features multiple species of large African birds (as well as lesser kudu). Here are just a few of the inhabitants, starting with a flock of pink-backed pelicans.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfHqrAfoIwaz941NakehofQEgXpzza0RcdSzCjb2sVl_vFrd_lEjQ0Emv-hbuhJM9s-ZQSob5LGA6FHYiSep95bkLuZVlPfUAfRiRuayKyws37eXGhQm5BfvTWXW0Llu_ZMIeh0wU74UkAGxZVXOTLA4BDKhnPvZW4pdA52SoF8lOeVWySGHzCfUlhsw/s4608/DSCN5888.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfHqrAfoIwaz941NakehofQEgXpzza0RcdSzCjb2sVl_vFrd_lEjQ0Emv-hbuhJM9s-ZQSob5LGA6FHYiSep95bkLuZVlPfUAfRiRuayKyws37eXGhQm5BfvTWXW0Llu_ZMIeh0wU74UkAGxZVXOTLA4BDKhnPvZW4pdA52SoF8lOeVWySGHzCfUlhsw/s320/DSCN5888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A gray crowned crane.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL18utGQ-fq-eNrJdABHSJBoA29icoBYzmXKVj77kIaHy-v7peMpuhMywM4Xf4IPn-idiq0XCEWDLqKDavB_9v8jWFQJOJeykhVNdtzm8TtwIF2axSbyLteBXcKN31IxkwcWnmY3tT8k37cBb5PbEZkB-1yFP2r0AwURtxcP6CIPgyQyBxaASutPMOAQ/s4608/DSCN5894.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL18utGQ-fq-eNrJdABHSJBoA29icoBYzmXKVj77kIaHy-v7peMpuhMywM4Xf4IPn-idiq0XCEWDLqKDavB_9v8jWFQJOJeykhVNdtzm8TtwIF2axSbyLteBXcKN31IxkwcWnmY3tT8k37cBb5PbEZkB-1yFP2r0AwURtxcP6CIPgyQyBxaASutPMOAQ/s320/DSCN5894.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A lappet-faced vulture.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayGHuOQD5HBhZVQshIOTubBG2WtkslG9ZawaBMrtCj79YMv5eC9Vbvlj4O9O4Kd3VFHhFnpXa9YnAvkFNrFnYDNuGtqJc5Ni4p4IgMzfBXVTnNKph8LQM6Ti7DbWTN8YPJUjL5bNKrTre4LtA6vi1Nk0Uc4n7bqwf61CqFDCgy_86X9VrNpGLbSUyqts/s4608/DSCN6032.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayGHuOQD5HBhZVQshIOTubBG2WtkslG9ZawaBMrtCj79YMv5eC9Vbvlj4O9O4Kd3VFHhFnpXa9YnAvkFNrFnYDNuGtqJc5Ni4p4IgMzfBXVTnNKph8LQM6Ti7DbWTN8YPJUjL5bNKrTre4LtA6vi1Nk0Uc4n7bqwf61CqFDCgy_86X9VrNpGLbSUyqts/s320/DSCN6032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Some Rüppell's vultures.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVL8R18xVn5rIDn5dIgu4MdnoVA-w7mC-AoND7si1Z9X7UW2Hjf519PFoQUS4u98ssItsrMmzC2xXupVnRUBwYHklQOJRKJpWCTrGCu3nAqXLzzxiGdwIsIgHIN_w8a4JpuPrEEqn2MRDv55a4EYFFWfc-wTFLzvqY9OgQj-BLHCqhoy-M9AN7rE7am0/s4608/DSCN6036.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVL8R18xVn5rIDn5dIgu4MdnoVA-w7mC-AoND7si1Z9X7UW2Hjf519PFoQUS4u98ssItsrMmzC2xXupVnRUBwYHklQOJRKJpWCTrGCu3nAqXLzzxiGdwIsIgHIN_w8a4JpuPrEEqn2MRDv55a4EYFFWfc-wTFLzvqY9OgQj-BLHCqhoy-M9AN7rE7am0/s320/DSCN6036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Some eastern crested guineafowl.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0k0UUd9bynKKE8PB48_j2v1ihQjcjQJ_BQGrFC-gpo8sv_-OTCsMP6bawH1-TaY-aLGumxMfaJzo787QybY_JIS-cJGmv5a6gTIN-j3AXBqGmAO5bd6RtP_u5hA-vpyYokLjrAQMUUAYth887kWZ4Tb7hebnlGhOOzIdV5zeZFb8Ca0HFAd_OP6w_Wg/s4608/DSCN5904.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0k0UUd9bynKKE8PB48_j2v1ihQjcjQJ_BQGrFC-gpo8sv_-OTCsMP6bawH1-TaY-aLGumxMfaJzo787QybY_JIS-cJGmv5a6gTIN-j3AXBqGmAO5bd6RtP_u5hA-vpyYokLjrAQMUUAYth887kWZ4Tb7hebnlGhOOzIdV5zeZFb8Ca0HFAd_OP6w_Wg/s320/DSCN5904.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A good look at the two-toed feet of a common ostrich.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nliwR7Mx46X8RR6g7XYDivHpvCnVOCF_BdPzx_JNDtriWf8CmMG79vftqa11GiQPhwJ58h4vYlYtflK1Y1a_7QpLPm4e-57sgaz_fxBfwGPxXlMbtbeDAuCtNBg_OOaDOxCRrNjRsoxA5jhk_mSX8h3IeV0akSiab4W8Xa-z8hiXOEYD7hjbwfB0pzA/s4608/DSCN5908.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nliwR7Mx46X8RR6g7XYDivHpvCnVOCF_BdPzx_JNDtriWf8CmMG79vftqa11GiQPhwJ58h4vYlYtflK1Y1a_7QpLPm4e-57sgaz_fxBfwGPxXlMbtbeDAuCtNBg_OOaDOxCRrNjRsoxA5jhk_mSX8h3IeV0akSiab4W8Xa-z8hiXOEYD7hjbwfB0pzA/s320/DSCN5908.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Something I noticed about several of the exhibits at the Cincinnati Zoo was that they had mirrors placed within them, presumably as enrichment for the animals.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ikp2hPXGJdVoGWc5Ps2S2uS9eCzrCa0mZIkgtHeTEAYGWzu7-9qMQFzeyGkj1OC-vR9IiKMYlpuiDJzbiPKWvp2G2zCCUATwbYSyT-zpc8kpfL0KP7kbwo4InCiSCZD48kdDWOXX6t3kWVPw72upq6Ox_0dScyD58kx4fLvJGAJI8H9XZaKAigHXuuU/s4608/DSCN5901.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ikp2hPXGJdVoGWc5Ps2S2uS9eCzrCa0mZIkgtHeTEAYGWzu7-9qMQFzeyGkj1OC-vR9IiKMYlpuiDJzbiPKWvp2G2zCCUATwbYSyT-zpc8kpfL0KP7kbwo4InCiSCZD48kdDWOXX6t3kWVPw72upq6Ox_0dScyD58kx4fLvJGAJI8H9XZaKAigHXuuU/s320/DSCN5901.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Another exhibit nearby is home to African wild dogs.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9VeSVrYuF3siD3TygBV71Dn7yZIXgq8TL6wU-oijLF9FWKXCh4G4TyjdnE5gL7FbB0teqH3gYwZiI77GhyFscJEjOWFcVVWeZtQG6yOh1XtMZQHdRdW2uXYkgS8wTZsio4fPYK2MkD121uuT1zqVL3LFjXcnZ8E8YxlBrBiiePot1AhXG8YMNM0YACI/s4608/DSCN6038.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9VeSVrYuF3siD3TygBV71Dn7yZIXgq8TL6wU-oijLF9FWKXCh4G4TyjdnE5gL7FbB0teqH3gYwZiI77GhyFscJEjOWFcVVWeZtQG6yOh1XtMZQHdRdW2uXYkgS8wTZsio4fPYK2MkD121uuT1zqVL3LFjXcnZ8E8YxlBrBiiePot1AhXG8YMNM0YACI/s320/DSCN6038.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>As avian paleontologists, my labmates and I were naturally eager to check out the bird house. Just outside of it is a habitat for Cape Barren goose, an unusual-looking Australian waterfowl.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BZ5kuZktHDJJzfZpEr9Ak4Z04WNPPaPM49_-bl6iCVAHb8v_pHjBWI8sYpewB0QjiMfsxlEsWrwg1yhpT-rxd5dZnc7EmVv0zz41M-BngeiEU6Zr280maT9C-fo7AXiRLt4dLSRQAuvJ38_W__Jar6iJAz_DzBIcZq-s4wP0bAGhFtb_LrwIXKSTQCo/s4608/DSCN5910.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BZ5kuZktHDJJzfZpEr9Ak4Z04WNPPaPM49_-bl6iCVAHb8v_pHjBWI8sYpewB0QjiMfsxlEsWrwg1yhpT-rxd5dZnc7EmVv0zz41M-BngeiEU6Zr280maT9C-fo7AXiRLt4dLSRQAuvJ38_W__Jar6iJAz_DzBIcZq-s4wP0bAGhFtb_LrwIXKSTQCo/s320/DSCN5910.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A salmon-crested cockatoo perched above.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgko1MW1oe3pqSJvk2QiZ6juR1n1yM9LDCwhVCMyCo7hhAVyzK1grr8VeJsFyQ1E-JTyAP5hezw7YIX7bbiBew46pEXwq9FIUQeugNU_4qrtMKnKMMLeU9U0e0JODMEuh68c3tAF3eCcauWre_BUb0N5K6vUKCFpZHBlUQ1CS0sRX9LrYtdSE5s2-Fu0EQ/s4608/DSCN6029.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgko1MW1oe3pqSJvk2QiZ6juR1n1yM9LDCwhVCMyCo7hhAVyzK1grr8VeJsFyQ1E-JTyAP5hezw7YIX7bbiBew46pEXwq9FIUQeugNU_4qrtMKnKMMLeU9U0e0JODMEuh68c3tAF3eCcauWre_BUb0N5K6vUKCFpZHBlUQ1CS0sRX9LrYtdSE5s2-Fu0EQ/s320/DSCN6029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Unfortunately, I did not get many satisfactory photos inside the bird house itself, as wire mesh, wet glass, and the fast movements of the birds themselves made it challenging to do so. However, I very much enjoyed what I saw. Highlights included two walk-in aviaries (one containing Neotropical birds, the other birds of Southeast Asia and Australia), as well as several seabird exhibits with underwater viewing.</p><p>It was quite surreal to see these Inca terns perched on a branch and exhibited in a tropical rainforest setup.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUEHVVv0iCBYNvsqSDY9Xdu7TLKor51r1tH15wKsjtKzUQ0mucZ9hPsZ2fAPjFMCtonzbdndVpZaDlKVBK6HV4DXvcVAMqqUCDt9K4bIZRPvWnsaPsHVlcfwWriuPMJ1aBK1KeI9U9v9yZY_MZWa_SaUFZAsDgd3Y546d4-sadxOuPjfM2yvReR-i6Js/s4608/DSCN5914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUEHVVv0iCBYNvsqSDY9Xdu7TLKor51r1tH15wKsjtKzUQ0mucZ9hPsZ2fAPjFMCtonzbdndVpZaDlKVBK6HV4DXvcVAMqqUCDt9K4bIZRPvWnsaPsHVlcfwWriuPMJ1aBK1KeI9U9v9yZY_MZWa_SaUFZAsDgd3Y546d4-sadxOuPjfM2yvReR-i6Js/s320/DSCN5914.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A tawny frogmouth. I will always stop for <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/08/shining-light-on-nightbird-evolution-my.html">strisoreans</a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HIvW9AYgW2Fku40prgOUlSnV-LATp0LvNFoGKV8ieav3MTJr5S8A5tVXDBoBGEUeJ0hOS204VIueFA7DqN3CHZE_N2tCMUrI8HddqfmDJYNLcnHin-zYe6ylX77ZKMvpLy0cZyVVxHozLcAYJpVqGjwGhOewAJoUvTABMPNhyphenhyphendbdpCG7-PMr0ky-lOs/s4608/DSCN6020.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HIvW9AYgW2Fku40prgOUlSnV-LATp0LvNFoGKV8ieav3MTJr5S8A5tVXDBoBGEUeJ0hOS204VIueFA7DqN3CHZE_N2tCMUrI8HddqfmDJYNLcnHin-zYe6ylX77ZKMvpLy0cZyVVxHozLcAYJpVqGjwGhOewAJoUvTABMPNhyphenhyphendbdpCG7-PMr0ky-lOs/s320/DSCN6020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A helmeted hornbill.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI75-_jdI-zClb4A51fhFEbrf13bq309uoDvitRt0HyIdDkcqP7tIoVi56SUtRTQhUWLlDXlynW6_DPvu_adqaTQeEKEwppPdUPoH9Lxy8t-jt3EK9umbnzimt2dZcH_gu49kTULSleRmTY0daQnNhQW6rJCG_HB25vQ_r4nVDOtdvR7NNvDFlc0pgrbs/s4608/DSCN6028.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI75-_jdI-zClb4A51fhFEbrf13bq309uoDvitRt0HyIdDkcqP7tIoVi56SUtRTQhUWLlDXlynW6_DPvu_adqaTQeEKEwppPdUPoH9Lxy8t-jt3EK9umbnzimt2dZcH_gu49kTULSleRmTY0daQnNhQW6rJCG_HB25vQ_r4nVDOtdvR7NNvDFlc0pgrbs/s320/DSCN6028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>In addition to a nice bird collection, the Cincinnati Zoo also houses a diverse range of primates. Here are some Coquerel's sifakas, also known to North Americans of a certain age as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoboomafoo">Zoboomafoo</a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDD1CY9A59kgpG6VoIFW4aG4ZUjb26gRpYA3aT9iqFiouKQwSkTL4SWJ_90w7ZHZJJwOnte_LfEkBvaVEHPxbZpttotrJoY7H72pBSG2B44poF5iZySO-FsX-O9sxZf_bmeoEEJqux1jTGxSbjECdPW0mUUqrBfpJLg_NWBqSrRElxKrpHkWMyjfEEtY/s4608/DSCN5952.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDD1CY9A59kgpG6VoIFW4aG4ZUjb26gRpYA3aT9iqFiouKQwSkTL4SWJ_90w7ZHZJJwOnte_LfEkBvaVEHPxbZpttotrJoY7H72pBSG2B44poF5iZySO-FsX-O9sxZf_bmeoEEJqux1jTGxSbjECdPW0mUUqrBfpJLg_NWBqSrRElxKrpHkWMyjfEEtY/s320/DSCN5952.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>The zoo has a building dedicated to wildlife from the wetlands of the Southeastern United States with Florida manatees as the centerpiece, one of the few places outside of Florida where America's afrotheres can be seen. The open-mouthed (probably prey-luring) pose of this alligator snapping turtle was quite striking.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpjJQhKeK1dzff24L2RSLxHKCMHIyAf-0A2MZ3-F7YZO0IQKX9WBJDvDp3xmV8tdMbhLQxaTim_gsk1NksjiCdymG8dHTIQOrFnwKS1pcvi7ox643sijgTJJJ_p81LoD2ryWN_M_ssjsoUCAXFhWUsStCCKMt4GKvLfLgzB_MsU-wV3hMzDsU7fqG-Wg/s4608/DSCN5954.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpjJQhKeK1dzff24L2RSLxHKCMHIyAf-0A2MZ3-F7YZO0IQKX9WBJDvDp3xmV8tdMbhLQxaTim_gsk1NksjiCdymG8dHTIQOrFnwKS1pcvi7ox643sijgTJJJ_p81LoD2ryWN_M_ssjsoUCAXFhWUsStCCKMt4GKvLfLgzB_MsU-wV3hMzDsU7fqG-Wg/s320/DSCN5954.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Just outdoors are some exhibits for hoofed mammals, such as these Visayan warty pigs.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBe2d9vhyDJD3omRyttLsvoQ8VjvfEsM_F9gc9-dnNAVoD3-dqeWToNWIw3_X2IkxS43r1PhCS-Y5G9P7Hnjb32b51-QTqJj0JUzIRgMHvkarj5bboaJvXQQB6n6f0WQUiEtLixdtqUxgJDNI88r8Yky52qOqWAYersZeQklMoJIL_hZG-4jFISdlyv8/s4608/DSCN6010.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBe2d9vhyDJD3omRyttLsvoQ8VjvfEsM_F9gc9-dnNAVoD3-dqeWToNWIw3_X2IkxS43r1PhCS-Y5G9P7Hnjb32b51-QTqJj0JUzIRgMHvkarj5bboaJvXQQB6n6f0WQUiEtLixdtqUxgJDNI88r8Yky52qOqWAYersZeQklMoJIL_hZG-4jFISdlyv8/s320/DSCN6010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A pair of bongo antelope.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4_3LQL43mEI5kYnA1-FKMz56wyQ-6WM3UvxjPP280vpiC4QK_igPdCFL_1mkBYkxkk4M74xJmF_-MIExfuZW4V0tnARqgWjAdk4PeoNJvn_HDkMcOLFZhnS2uDrQa1EMWdO1lzARgPEMXUH1in1dOnGZurO3I38HuE5Wtt8PUYXJa6IjA6zhasblFHM/s4608/DSCN6013.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4_3LQL43mEI5kYnA1-FKMz56wyQ-6WM3UvxjPP280vpiC4QK_igPdCFL_1mkBYkxkk4M74xJmF_-MIExfuZW4V0tnARqgWjAdk4PeoNJvn_HDkMcOLFZhnS2uDrQa1EMWdO1lzARgPEMXUH1in1dOnGZurO3I38HuE5Wtt8PUYXJa6IjA6zhasblFHM/s320/DSCN6013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Several displays near the entrance of the zoo provided homes for large raptors, including this Andean condor.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NBD_zHmVh4If1JtgdA8snY9hhk_h1aR2IVd11CO4b4OqDxGgrswYbK2CbBvB4qWMXmJky7p2as_i4_eFWpoqljalfpcuGjDDjglitfX2HqyGq7jXFycqA3GLOSRhcuVOd8ApIIfSwpIymeUELZ5hxi8mRb-FVcJ-U5u8PaJK7_raFApAMZXn7W4MLQI/s4608/DSCN5955.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NBD_zHmVh4If1JtgdA8snY9hhk_h1aR2IVd11CO4b4OqDxGgrswYbK2CbBvB4qWMXmJky7p2as_i4_eFWpoqljalfpcuGjDDjglitfX2HqyGq7jXFycqA3GLOSRhcuVOd8ApIIfSwpIymeUELZ5hxi8mRb-FVcJ-U5u8PaJK7_raFApAMZXn7W4MLQI/s320/DSCN5955.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The reptile (and amphibian) house also had a nice selection of species, including these Titicaca water frogs. They are able to breathe through their baggy skin in the cold water where they live.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRl4nUSyKzlob9OLUjbyZTNHjI4awp6feKPh3DB2G-JJjROdLIEeLs0mkZW1D9GAGphEFLk7Z6kQ4-IKVMas7-ZDkR41PEWQtMlF-7M1e3OwrxfZF3rkE1upeuDOf9Gykjac4OiAWu_6IzIZXex9a1LG8FJVsRqiadlWZGJ-KoIYoc_pDGHWx3xtIIaA/s4608/DSCN5958.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRl4nUSyKzlob9OLUjbyZTNHjI4awp6feKPh3DB2G-JJjROdLIEeLs0mkZW1D9GAGphEFLk7Z6kQ4-IKVMas7-ZDkR41PEWQtMlF-7M1e3OwrxfZF3rkE1upeuDOf9Gykjac4OiAWu_6IzIZXex9a1LG8FJVsRqiadlWZGJ-KoIYoc_pDGHWx3xtIIaA/s320/DSCN5958.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A juvenile Komodo dragon, having mostly lost its hatchling coloration but still far from full size.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aMOZg91Nmx2XECywUzlYw7kMYRBe013sNoaZfRhUZ4jmoLWSe3mOmCs-8UW_YS2s71qEtSXCSiQapxkQeJYSVGhZmysjvsnaD7OVpovUkZfQynqEhuUD0Cv-HJ3TdfcXGWQ8BBZLFPlyg2qugU3va9VkOnPPIZYkoeEF9Yp_WeV7gReEZt4AM7xgFPs/s4608/DSCN5961.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aMOZg91Nmx2XECywUzlYw7kMYRBe013sNoaZfRhUZ4jmoLWSe3mOmCs-8UW_YS2s71qEtSXCSiQapxkQeJYSVGhZmysjvsnaD7OVpovUkZfQynqEhuUD0Cv-HJ3TdfcXGWQ8BBZLFPlyg2qugU3va9VkOnPPIZYkoeEF9Yp_WeV7gReEZt4AM7xgFPs/s320/DSCN5961.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>At the center of the reptile house is an open-topped habitat for this Chinese alligator.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdtXtr10J4NgkU5l4o-GVn5V5vd5MrRud82yIwkSo3o2njIuppo-C41baGrbWQU5ar81dFeJZumhKrIXS8J1MXg6CKlslEnAv2rIQp42G6FAdWWVhHYFEqKIWE8p6VkZol_hsgloB7vYbn_deNbvjMIa83iavuhpKuNa_tK_eSUmQN1fET4ubRMR4BTQ/s4608/DSCN5963.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdtXtr10J4NgkU5l4o-GVn5V5vd5MrRud82yIwkSo3o2njIuppo-C41baGrbWQU5ar81dFeJZumhKrIXS8J1MXg6CKlslEnAv2rIQp42G6FAdWWVhHYFEqKIWE8p6VkZol_hsgloB7vYbn_deNbvjMIa83iavuhpKuNa_tK_eSUmQN1fET4ubRMR4BTQ/s320/DSCN5963.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>One of my favorite exhibits at the zoo overall was probably the nocturnal house, but photographing the inhabitants in the dark was of course difficult. I had to try and get a picture of this aardwolf though, this being the first time I've seen this species. It is the smallest of all extant hyenas and feeds almost entirely on termites. Hmm, I wonder <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/05/making-sense-of-alvarezsaurid.html">why that might be of interest</a> to me...<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1iStuGIY6cF0dPBXaCk6t4TA94nOezg1CSK09j341KBOrWpeWeffEBP3aBvLvj2EG7I55hHBlhrDxmDXLb5-2DxVO3Xqv-NRqHqFwJgiKovH9Y6shEycYhc5rI9h3PGAcQ_VT0OjOeSbfG0yKuv_Ub6N7WyEGnaekif7SN2nB2Kp2OPMFjjgZfoDpv_0/s4608/DSCN5967.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1iStuGIY6cF0dPBXaCk6t4TA94nOezg1CSK09j341KBOrWpeWeffEBP3aBvLvj2EG7I55hHBlhrDxmDXLb5-2DxVO3Xqv-NRqHqFwJgiKovH9Y6shEycYhc5rI9h3PGAcQ_VT0OjOeSbfG0yKuv_Ub6N7WyEGnaekif7SN2nB2Kp2OPMFjjgZfoDpv_0/s320/DSCN5967.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Most of the outdoor exhibits next to the nocturnal house featured wild cats (including mountain lions, tigers, and snow leopards), which we got some excellent views of. However, I was unsurprisingly most taken by this Eurasian eagle owl.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ge1mgc7DYjE3g5oZM5e1rDVChQGVDAVWgPDHkseWVD0elispeSkN0EJ6RXhDidei3RB9mOLbtoe7sEG6pXzJ1aDMQ7018zb54rgG-MN-VEq48TEqxCZswOHhggysiwqy5C-UKgUOTcQYgaYO-Wz9lf4n6LmUEAkf6ItjEOKxnqr5puOo6nmq1jgSCK8/s4608/DSCN5980.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ge1mgc7DYjE3g5oZM5e1rDVChQGVDAVWgPDHkseWVD0elispeSkN0EJ6RXhDidei3RB9mOLbtoe7sEG6pXzJ1aDMQ7018zb54rgG-MN-VEq48TEqxCZswOHhggysiwqy5C-UKgUOTcQYgaYO-Wz9lf4n6LmUEAkf6ItjEOKxnqr5puOo6nmq1jgSCK8/s320/DSCN5980.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>As the site where the last passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet passed away, the Cincinnati Zoo has dedicated a poignant memorial to these species.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbCnbl_yy4_jHzZfSCH4g33GAn12xRQNe1zhwgJvsKCH_0WaPrTPYFwf2QnauUh5W26RuuGznJUAYUU4qg4bT6PVFIzyseXYZTEnBS-jO9IXypahuZFq1oDiCdw8LOaFPOcJZj2y7_813PEGGSUvYHfKiEv6Tg-A6hyhehMgxfrDywGsy6ejOlm98GGU/s4608/DSCN5982.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbCnbl_yy4_jHzZfSCH4g33GAn12xRQNe1zhwgJvsKCH_0WaPrTPYFwf2QnauUh5W26RuuGznJUAYUU4qg4bT6PVFIzyseXYZTEnBS-jO9IXypahuZFq1oDiCdw8LOaFPOcJZj2y7_813PEGGSUvYHfKiEv6Tg-A6hyhehMgxfrDywGsy6ejOlm98GGU/s320/DSCN5982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The insect house is quite large and contains more than just arthropods. It also displays, for example, these Solomon Island leaf frogs (eyeing a feeder cricket).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARpSpnb5gpE_t3SFCxKExsLcLMqA8n8e0kslCYKgtTn-FlksF_mn3_HvUnJ0h7XhcHOWJnSNOSWLFDCI1JUj1b_3cKdUIjGlv4NuZPciyiTL6Gs0FD0lS3F8JPB30QcU1xbN91mP4LTarLKt90PJeOwqB25dwwau_Nxf5gXNAiyp7x8xiiQCUQMRK4fs/s4608/DSCN5986.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARpSpnb5gpE_t3SFCxKExsLcLMqA8n8e0kslCYKgtTn-FlksF_mn3_HvUnJ0h7XhcHOWJnSNOSWLFDCI1JUj1b_3cKdUIjGlv4NuZPciyiTL6Gs0FD0lS3F8JPB30QcU1xbN91mP4LTarLKt90PJeOwqB25dwwau_Nxf5gXNAiyp7x8xiiQCUQMRK4fs/s320/DSCN5986.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A black-breasted leaf turtle. According to exhibit signage, this species can rotate each of its eyes independently, similar to a chameleon.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB7AxTJrcR7jRP2jNZefa1TstO4QcB7I3siemkKidscC1U0WAEW0LxMo6b8q9l2NvNNz027tcFzgmdzRhgLJ8npPPVVPyjtIh04WbTyfbpsgBn2Nv6fIW249H7vZcTQkzenqD3gBc3iWR-fh6yivhgTNBN8JSaCSVxMkfFAV2NhLPFAGvsla_G3xYXYI/s4608/DSCN5988.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB7AxTJrcR7jRP2jNZefa1TstO4QcB7I3siemkKidscC1U0WAEW0LxMo6b8q9l2NvNNz027tcFzgmdzRhgLJ8npPPVVPyjtIh04WbTyfbpsgBn2Nv6fIW249H7vZcTQkzenqD3gBc3iWR-fh6yivhgTNBN8JSaCSVxMkfFAV2NhLPFAGvsla_G3xYXYI/s320/DSCN5988.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>There is no lack of actual arthropod displays in the insect house though. Here is a Baja whipspider.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLAXlww8fCK-eVxxaOg_PSfwTBGuysv4QcCvywZv6OO5aaz9hPuLM11IcsoTwOSzXR5x2xwnQ0TXNeFX8IGdid6b1tmGUkHhn3CqyRo5SA-qSCWsxFUDkS1iqoMkT_vsVabEgZTUf30jgo8eWvXi-Ia4kh0xqv2lTfBoyCGE9w7n0ztL7r7pbkXoQiHA/s4608/DSCN5993.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLAXlww8fCK-eVxxaOg_PSfwTBGuysv4QcCvywZv6OO5aaz9hPuLM11IcsoTwOSzXR5x2xwnQ0TXNeFX8IGdid6b1tmGUkHhn3CqyRo5SA-qSCWsxFUDkS1iqoMkT_vsVabEgZTUf30jgo8eWvXi-Ia4kh0xqv2lTfBoyCGE9w7n0ztL7r7pbkXoQiHA/s320/DSCN5993.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Some giant water bugs (including males carrying eggs).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFtAC1MfLt3A8cQCcQNZj4e7C-UGS9fcWg265m7YhiWisA0U4Tsmlf0AyknMQb8gvSWAJdVYG3xrMHJT83ViYfFDjPTXD_obUvDQOTsV2gbIc2DISObrYuT5ctiuWLwzkvlwyWzvt0-Offe5p8tXBakynfOjN3Q_mof0rBkqHEoleZsFJ2wjRL1c3yoQ/s4608/DSCN5996.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFtAC1MfLt3A8cQCcQNZj4e7C-UGS9fcWg265m7YhiWisA0U4Tsmlf0AyknMQb8gvSWAJdVYG3xrMHJT83ViYfFDjPTXD_obUvDQOTsV2gbIc2DISObrYuT5ctiuWLwzkvlwyWzvt0-Offe5p8tXBakynfOjN3Q_mof0rBkqHEoleZsFJ2wjRL1c3yoQ/s320/DSCN5996.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A Peruvian firestick, apparently a poisonous stick insect that has evolved bright colors to warn predators of its toxicity.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSPMd6ewO332j4Pz8H4MjN3kbjh7jyorjfYLvW4dKmWJhCDtIb24uKk7qSo4xeN8hrsqLKHs5ERgbNzlhQ3XEpksAyez-5kgbv4BbnJdHYPHu0ZER3xzhBqs2S_bji5z1O1GzGF4c9P6gHm79ayNymS9zfZ0J7sUNdLzPsnQGn0LI9nMonKlR0E-jWLM/s4608/DSCN5998.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSPMd6ewO332j4Pz8H4MjN3kbjh7jyorjfYLvW4dKmWJhCDtIb24uKk7qSo4xeN8hrsqLKHs5ERgbNzlhQ3XEpksAyez-5kgbv4BbnJdHYPHu0ZER3xzhBqs2S_bji5z1O1GzGF4c9P6gHm79ayNymS9zfZ0J7sUNdLzPsnQGn0LI9nMonKlR0E-jWLM/s320/DSCN5998.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Another building nearby is primarily dedicated to exhibiting lizards, such as this quince monitor.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUz4zg2DMYGrXn144iqqSC5WgwY4PtL0_zG_nfIPYQYbYaK_57BeIoiTDiu15kcdSnRlyfhxrY_o5xeRI6i6ZygTe5gjxpu1zGqcXqMlmR20nmFF7Dbsa-6PY-g3acMb7Wg6f4oT3hGYw3xxIec3QZjQ589yjJKMtIcaJGtBMD7wwx-64ZDBv2Cyo7YEI/s4608/DSCN6003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUz4zg2DMYGrXn144iqqSC5WgwY4PtL0_zG_nfIPYQYbYaK_57BeIoiTDiu15kcdSnRlyfhxrY_o5xeRI6i6ZygTe5gjxpu1zGqcXqMlmR20nmFF7Dbsa-6PY-g3acMb7Wg6f4oT3hGYw3xxIec3QZjQ589yjJKMtIcaJGtBMD7wwx-64ZDBv2Cyo7YEI/s320/DSCN6003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The star of the show here is this adult Komodo dragon. It lives in perhaps one of the most unexpected mixed-species zoo habitats I've seen, sharing its exhibit with zebra finches. Presumably, they are too small and quick to be seen as worthwhile prey. They certainly didn't seem too bothered from what I saw of them, actively fluttering to the exhibit floor to collect nesting material.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4TcRDGw3ADLrPvckOCiuM8RxyETR5LRBUpbQf586wWRXzCIwXTWlRzo4vZqcfV48AYASqnPpNGAUajrO4Pe9qyUhZoB4pLJm8esgu1t-_9Q5CYJ30Nqnhrqu6cQsjfHzFsOBQy9LUleDiKIgeJhaOXqOLduQ48eDuMEopPXW80uym0Fjg-MVDkFD6Gs/s4608/DSCN6005.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4TcRDGw3ADLrPvckOCiuM8RxyETR5LRBUpbQf586wWRXzCIwXTWlRzo4vZqcfV48AYASqnPpNGAUajrO4Pe9qyUhZoB4pLJm8esgu1t-_9Q5CYJ30Nqnhrqu6cQsjfHzFsOBQy9LUleDiKIgeJhaOXqOLduQ48eDuMEopPXW80uym0Fjg-MVDkFD6Gs/s320/DSCN6005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-59672714482793843692023-11-06T16:08:00.000-08:002023-11-06T16:08:23.889-08:00SVP 2023<p>Despite those of us on international flights being made to go through security twice, SVP attendees received a warm welcome in Cincinnati, Ohio this year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gxfSSaa3rwNF3PtxFybj8Bv0o0eQ_DoQjzKid7inRSsOjYkWJS4edLpNxz7VztVEkuE9INFpDIUEs3nktOF5yewW5bTxreuhvFAAChMiNd5G2o_lqnGcHIGCeWnZrNCoOuya82cqtpg66L5Fw_UVBtPeeUk7CJ4ACQWQEGHyxwBuT3RqabLLVkHU8AM/s4032/IMG_3195.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gxfSSaa3rwNF3PtxFybj8Bv0o0eQ_DoQjzKid7inRSsOjYkWJS4edLpNxz7VztVEkuE9INFpDIUEs3nktOF5yewW5bTxreuhvFAAChMiNd5G2o_lqnGcHIGCeWnZrNCoOuya82cqtpg66L5Fw_UVBtPeeUk7CJ4ACQWQEGHyxwBuT3RqabLLVkHU8AM/s320/IMG_3195.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>The welcome reception was held at the Cincinnati Museum Center, which proved to be an excellent venue, being spacious enough that it generally didn't feel too crowded even with about 1000 paleontologists crammed inside. The Cincinnati Museum Center is composed of several museums and other facilities, but for me going through just the Museum of Natural History and Science took up most of the evening. Here is the skull of <i>Apatosaurus</i> (with some other sauropod parts).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMJ1EH_J-6ZuaD-8-EEBp27s37XABoHJBhYfNnFhlTcZkyPkiEWAMEjgyV4Lm2xjXTEo-sYMu6bHIPt_QlEkFAZMOf7Fdw4SewWpuutJlgFrviovVIzZipeoRBpGOZL3b_TVGI9z4yaEytOuB2dweUiEsU7BE7RzNpRWbFpfQ7-mo6kLpkvOI9HXY4pg/s4608/DSCN5865.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMJ1EH_J-6ZuaD-8-EEBp27s37XABoHJBhYfNnFhlTcZkyPkiEWAMEjgyV4Lm2xjXTEo-sYMu6bHIPt_QlEkFAZMOf7Fdw4SewWpuutJlgFrviovVIzZipeoRBpGOZL3b_TVGI9z4yaEytOuB2dweUiEsU7BE7RzNpRWbFpfQ7-mo6kLpkvOI9HXY4pg/s320/DSCN5865.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Two large theropods from the Morrison Formation are mounted side by side, the megalosauroid <i>Torvosaurus</i> and the allosauroid... <i>Allosaurus</i>. The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science apparently has the world's only <i>Torvosaurus</i> mount on display, and it was certainly an impressive sight.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzAE2t6j3a9rEYYTbQnja-EabwJ7JPh2KXyxfepw8IIPm2BLRBtyo1wUIl9jm2SdaunxfM-aTYDX7OePVn7zvJS6TGYWkUO0ijkRq6g7OB4Y4xoDPaBhElxEhOxb4VCYwelD9XfEy2mTXMqm21tUbOVHTlIPN9hffq45u5BZDH95GjNPovloM9rnIU8k/s4608/DSCN5867.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzAE2t6j3a9rEYYTbQnja-EabwJ7JPh2KXyxfepw8IIPm2BLRBtyo1wUIl9jm2SdaunxfM-aTYDX7OePVn7zvJS6TGYWkUO0ijkRq6g7OB4Y4xoDPaBhElxEhOxb4VCYwelD9XfEy2mTXMqm21tUbOVHTlIPN9hffq45u5BZDH95GjNPovloM9rnIU8k/s320/DSCN5867.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Nearby is the tyrannosaurid <i>Daspletosaurus</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnJIMZdmi35xK1XpQDI1OHzyouu7_VYnQrYWSRhm_0KU7aPb2ylkXZRK9loAjA9V_xTLtO0QtCl_XnwwVEBi3vxZEd2kMQgGSKgc88Zuy8Y4THfZ74fsFFuguufL8CgbTZjC7L17V-1yvshwsvsk8c4DoYCRa-lQ2okXyHts5PX1Wrl-bBA6UvSi-r98/s4608/DSCN5874.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnJIMZdmi35xK1XpQDI1OHzyouu7_VYnQrYWSRhm_0KU7aPb2ylkXZRK9loAjA9V_xTLtO0QtCl_XnwwVEBi3vxZEd2kMQgGSKgc88Zuy8Y4THfZ74fsFFuguufL8CgbTZjC7L17V-1yvshwsvsk8c4DoYCRa-lQ2okXyHts5PX1Wrl-bBA6UvSi-r98/s320/DSCN5874.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>You know you study birds though when one of the theropod mounts you were most excited about was a chicken skeleton...<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0xQfdnwAdXMIkm7g7vIUzrga-Fo_xtuH8l3RsJ8b86VRUwnqJQYoz0PG7nCzhRAYt0GdMefPSzqmvTFHbWuoxzjXsSeN8rxcFgND2OqZ96OwHOMR1__CH2qQpELk0znldVyW3g9MAZDPA2PdUWDs1svODNerMxhIzKxXoQ5OEv0l9zR2NqHCoYbB2Js/s4608/DSCN5868.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0xQfdnwAdXMIkm7g7vIUzrga-Fo_xtuH8l3RsJ8b86VRUwnqJQYoz0PG7nCzhRAYt0GdMefPSzqmvTFHbWuoxzjXsSeN8rxcFgND2OqZ96OwHOMR1__CH2qQpELk0znldVyW3g9MAZDPA2PdUWDs1svODNerMxhIzKxXoQ5OEv0l9zR2NqHCoYbB2Js/s320/DSCN5868.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>It wouldn't be a vertebrate paleontology trip to Ohio without saying hi to <i>Dunkleosteus</i>!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbzjRezFMDGuaKeZ8Mzgt8jn0erNO5ILa1DQYP-ygc2R-VzVdS-xz6tY95QMj2wUUd7mKXv8FMXzu-BS7skTtivMZyiXtGoP9dC-dpWsSwjv4JHmmrwsksK8cBWwoY0H7L_xkyVlh0-b5SFAdWm_MVBLLeVg7Bajo5L1OGPgg_cxM_NWhI9m1olhnnyw/s4608/DSCN5881.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbzjRezFMDGuaKeZ8Mzgt8jn0erNO5ILa1DQYP-ygc2R-VzVdS-xz6tY95QMj2wUUd7mKXv8FMXzu-BS7skTtivMZyiXtGoP9dC-dpWsSwjv4JHmmrwsksK8cBWwoY0H7L_xkyVlh0-b5SFAdWm_MVBLLeVg7Bajo5L1OGPgg_cxM_NWhI9m1olhnnyw/s320/DSCN5881.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'd had no idea that stem-amniote tracks had been found in Ohio. These ones are Carboniferous in age.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97OTRR2NOvNntRwDqKXuLsiDwL3Igc9j18t0bEmA6tPHUOWueZjYurRltQazHmXEY_ntg5mIEsHhbTxiqKXnyHFqHeUr-uBlJX9qQlb7L0ejittm_aLZjGzfowJaAxj4LPhdh00dX9TtajduhHPpPK2khdQ5Gya1o3AH4oS3OhpzpJEt9wT4ATS5fURc/s4608/DSCN5882.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97OTRR2NOvNntRwDqKXuLsiDwL3Igc9j18t0bEmA6tPHUOWueZjYurRltQazHmXEY_ntg5mIEsHhbTxiqKXnyHFqHeUr-uBlJX9qQlb7L0ejittm_aLZjGzfowJaAxj4LPhdh00dX9TtajduhHPpPK2khdQ5Gya1o3AH4oS3OhpzpJEt9wT4ATS5fURc/s320/DSCN5882.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The museum has an excellent Pleistocene exhibit, including this cabinet of North American carnivoran skulls. These species lived alongside each other during the Pleistocene, but only half of them are still extant today.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QP-pyvDocXQpD3Js68oU-06lXdv6oZz_d_h1pOEjwD424oxziIGXusB2xf0jZwLiI2Lbhu7aw16HF1m0FekRZwjODFQRab9X76ruUt-WmBGnkJZcxeF-Rzcmb-XZQhrnmOzRuOhW6BdJ0mGl4-oOA6-6vMiQNQzIsou3sqRUB1la_DFJJjrqw1OU0ys/s4608/DSCN5883.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QP-pyvDocXQpD3Js68oU-06lXdv6oZz_d_h1pOEjwD424oxziIGXusB2xf0jZwLiI2Lbhu7aw16HF1m0FekRZwjODFQRab9X76ruUt-WmBGnkJZcxeF-Rzcmb-XZQhrnmOzRuOhW6BdJ0mGl4-oOA6-6vMiQNQzIsou3sqRUB1la_DFJJjrqw1OU0ys/s320/DSCN5883.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>To drive the point home, part of the gallery consists of a model Pleistocene forest where restorations of extinct and extant North American organisms are exhibited side by side. I noticed that the museum signage was remarkably up to date, for example reflecting the recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03082-x">reclassification</a> of the dire wolf in the genus <i>Aenocyon</i>, distinct from <i>Canis</i>.</p><p>Not every extinct species shown in this gallery died out thousands of years ago, as it also includes models of passenger pigeons, which went extinct in the early 20th Century. Imagery depicting passenger pigeons is not difficult to come by in Cincinnati—the Cincinnati Zoo was where the last one died. Speaking of which, SVP deserves props for organizing free entry to the zoo for conference attendees, an amenity that I made sure to capitalize on. That should probably be the subject of its own post though.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOpWbwDZU86xbIjM8dbdW-j7VvzeoTTjL0s546OpdyerttTfGGnlkztxAprV8hZsMBVzXuJS0MwK8FqRiGb-HN6Z5KD9QY926CTaXNdh0LzQg-0CZ6xAP_lwwd-Bb5xs8QfS1mZ713f-fIbjchbVjiQcK5CjBc9wmLJpdlpC7En5caphLWirkjR54Ncc/s4608/DSCN5884.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOpWbwDZU86xbIjM8dbdW-j7VvzeoTTjL0s546OpdyerttTfGGnlkztxAprV8hZsMBVzXuJS0MwK8FqRiGb-HN6Z5KD9QY926CTaXNdh0LzQg-0CZ6xAP_lwwd-Bb5xs8QfS1mZ713f-fIbjchbVjiQcK5CjBc9wmLJpdlpC7En5caphLWirkjR54Ncc/s320/DSCN5884.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>This year's SVP had no fewer than <i>six</i> talk sessions focused on dinosaurs. It would have been possible for one to attend almost nothing but dinosaur sessions and still be present at the conference throughout the entire time that talks were being held. As with <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/svp-2022.html">last year</a>, my labmates and I represented a large proportion of the speakers in the bird session (to the point where other speakers this year <a href="https://twitter.com/albertonykus/status/1715024884332405001">joked</a> about it). </p><p>We were also graced by the presence of a very special attendee. Session moderator Meig Dickson had brought along eir green-cheeked parakeet Ellie, making this the only time in SVP history I'm aware of that a dinosaur has helped moderate a talk session. Ellie was remarkably well behaved throughout the conference, for most part only vocalizing during audience applause. In any case, my own talk went well and received Ellie's blessing.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnS0aWT7OY1W3iiD2OPYfJG19nPhogUsHdiiNmSYrn57c6_plv2C9BdWToHTF_JEkPhekpVsfQovgao8vWB5kWhLXzcSnAefpCAbqwa73DnHANpjKyBPc9K8nMhG97k_x33rL-4UxReMprNudr1PTSA-XseRgieCYM23YMp-AjFIJd_A35LZvm_9G4jU/s4032/IMG_3183-1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnS0aWT7OY1W3iiD2OPYfJG19nPhogUsHdiiNmSYrn57c6_plv2C9BdWToHTF_JEkPhekpVsfQovgao8vWB5kWhLXzcSnAefpCAbqwa73DnHANpjKyBPc9K8nMhG97k_x33rL-4UxReMprNudr1PTSA-XseRgieCYM23YMp-AjFIJd_A35LZvm_9G4jU/s320/IMG_3183-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>As others have <a href="https://equatorialminnesota.blogspot.com/2023/10/fossils-at-airports.html">written</a> about, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport plays host to several skeletal mounts of Pleistocene megafauna, including a mastodon, the "stag-moose" <i>Cervalces</i>, and the ground sloth <i>Megalonyx</i>. I'd missed these on my way in to Cincinnati, but got to see them during my departure. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEdM6BEfZEDyUrbW0kqTfVC9USm8ipLGB-1OpRebooj5jE0zsr7nDMaKghACIvnDTdqQUz3S49P3Efnj1HBVw_q2vkuS-2vv-ckjbAkVop0nt3_zgLB2KDllEYWzkaFIq35X150NJuZExMoSIve_Z_4UPWcWazAYSHC7G4maMkfhO-e8y6aCt6HX3crk/s4032/IMG_3199.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEdM6BEfZEDyUrbW0kqTfVC9USm8ipLGB-1OpRebooj5jE0zsr7nDMaKghACIvnDTdqQUz3S49P3Efnj1HBVw_q2vkuS-2vv-ckjbAkVop0nt3_zgLB2KDllEYWzkaFIq35X150NJuZExMoSIve_Z_4UPWcWazAYSHC7G4maMkfhO-e8y6aCt6HX3crk/s320/IMG_3199.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFl6Gel20_bImKXjL_4Ce9I6deYZsHy9KiBlQyt1L4kp0qYOikl9q-kcIeUC4xQnZaHuO5lYyFdiSaAF1WUD4ojLf6mkBfCvNsWR_LwPCeaf4DbIUNENxf9OhrfjajYdDEL_0y9sVBRZbJciqF2WpbvAruXMHPD5AVXC3Bzk3wx3U8kpzve0hfNyuAU8/s4032/IMG_3200.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFl6Gel20_bImKXjL_4Ce9I6deYZsHy9KiBlQyt1L4kp0qYOikl9q-kcIeUC4xQnZaHuO5lYyFdiSaAF1WUD4ojLf6mkBfCvNsWR_LwPCeaf4DbIUNENxf9OhrfjajYdDEL_0y9sVBRZbJciqF2WpbvAruXMHPD5AVXC3Bzk3wx3U8kpzve0hfNyuAU8/s320/IMG_3200.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPTiOP6qpORtmZQyy6f9AuSRgWXAeYhyphenhyphenCxC0s4pIKDdwA8Ji2TntD98I9Rf0cXYpShap54d_OBsqnQg-pw5SRI5YzF5UiCQLpnxP_3ZR51GjM-v-1p67iH2ivESlJEBpUT-p_L7mxahUoR5BxvndKFFzNRgPAI-QTWQg9GyGl2K4j6KK0sRG3A7TdHGo/s4032/IMG_3203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPTiOP6qpORtmZQyy6f9AuSRgWXAeYhyphenhyphenCxC0s4pIKDdwA8Ji2TntD98I9Rf0cXYpShap54d_OBsqnQg-pw5SRI5YzF5UiCQLpnxP_3ZR51GjM-v-1p67iH2ivESlJEBpUT-p_L7mxahUoR5BxvndKFFzNRgPAI-QTWQg9GyGl2K4j6KK0sRG3A7TdHGo/s320/IMG_3203.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p>All in all, I had a lot of fun at SVP this year, but I know that not everyone came away from it so fortunate. As of the time of writing, the proportion of attendees who have <a href="https://vertpaleo.org/supplemental-code-of-conduct-pandemic-era-for-attending-the-2023-svp-annual-meeting-in-person/">reported</a> contracting COVID-19 during or after the conference has been twice as high this year as it was in 2022. Notably, no masking mandate was in place for this SVP, and I hope the organization reconsiders this policy at future meetings. I managed to avoid the disease this time, but having caught it for the first time myself during <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2023/05/sape-2023.html">SAPE</a> earlier in the year, it's not an experience that I'm eager to repeat again, nor would I wish it on anyone else.<br /></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-25085347041771448782023-06-13T11:31:00.008-07:002023-06-14T07:24:24.739-07:00Prehistoric Planet Season 2<p>To the delight of many, <i><a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/06/prehistoric-planet.html">Prehistoric Planet</a></i> came back this year for a second season. Much of the praise that was lavished on the first season is equally applicable to this one, so I think it's fair to cut to the chase and dive into the specifics of its maniraptoran portrayals. Season 2 follows its predecessor in focusing on life during the Maastrichtian Age of the Late Cretaceous, and with this setting comes a whole cast of both new and returning maniraptoran taxa.<br /></p><p>One of these returning maniraptorans is the oviraptorosaur <i>Corythoraptor</i> from the Nanxiong Formation of China, this time shown in a nesting colony. From an aesthetic standpoint, I'm very much a fan of the <i>Corythoraptor</i> model in this series, so it was fantastic to see it get some airtime besides becoming tyrannosaurid chow. This segment was also a great opportunity to showcase the relatively large amount of data we have on <a href="https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/SP521-2021-181">oviraptorid reproduction</a>. Sharp-eyed viewers might notice that the <i>Corythoraptor</i> eggs have a rough surface texture composed of numerous tubercles and are arranged in multiple superimposed, partially buried rings with their narrower ends pointing outward and inclined downward, all of which are traits that have been observed in <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app004972018.html">preserved oviraptorid nests</a>. The narration informs us that male <i>Corythoraptor</i> are responsible for tending to the nests, a behavior that has been suggested for oviraptorids based on <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1163245">several lines</a> <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0158496">of evidence</a>. The <a href="https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/6858">posture</a> of the nesting <i>Corythoraptor</i> and the presence of a <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0135">central opening</a> in the nest for them to sit in are also inspired by known oviraptorid specimens.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3UtDX2MNJUFVNdVjzFGOVK12APSS1ob9dbCpB-yIt_-BvKWI92xptM-erFob_4eMb6tjkM6FlAp7rx1cwE7hnny4rmmTRyR91NLJ2b06ejtEvySHfWIeURWAz_fbLS_ictNr8HNRmKmaOrLHdF7gFL3FvVGsR_9ggiq-Mr9coyJ-S64AcGr9n-FFp/s1366/php-corythoraptornest.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3UtDX2MNJUFVNdVjzFGOVK12APSS1ob9dbCpB-yIt_-BvKWI92xptM-erFob_4eMb6tjkM6FlAp7rx1cwE7hnny4rmmTRyR91NLJ2b06ejtEvySHfWIeURWAz_fbLS_ictNr8HNRmKmaOrLHdF7gFL3FvVGsR_9ggiq-Mr9coyJ-S64AcGr9n-FFp/w400-h225/php-corythoraptornest.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A <i>Corythoraptor</i> inspects its nest.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are a few details in this depiction that may be controversial. One scene shows a <i>Corythoraptor</i> moving one of its eggs to a different spot in the nest, but it has been argued that most Mesozoic pennaraptorans likely <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/133/4/654/5149241">did not manipulate their eggs</a> after they were laid. In fact, a few studies have <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app004972018.html">disputed</a> the popular idea that oviraptorids incubated their own eggs at all, primarily on the basis of their nest architecture, though recent <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/do-paleontologists-dream-of-electric-dinosaurs-investigating-the-presumed-inefficiency-of-dinosaurs-contact-incubating-partially-buried-eggs/57924EF40EB870F8F577B4FEABEC85AD">experimental evidence</a> indicating that such eggs would have still benefited from the body heat of a parent and the absence of any obvious alternative means of incubation currently suggests to me that some level of contact incubation in these dinosaurs is more plausible. I was surprised that the <i>Corythoraptor</i> eggs were not <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/3706/">colored</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0646-5">blue-green</a> following the inference of such coloration in eggs referred to <i>Heyuannia</i>. This is not a demonstrable inaccuracy (as egg coloration can be highly variable in closely related modern birds), but it seems like the type of scientific detail that <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> has otherwise fallen over itself to include.<br /></p><p>Like nest-guarding animals of today, the <i>Corythoraptor</i> in the show have to contend with potential nest raiders. There is an irony to oviraptorids (once interpreted as specialist
"egg thieves") being shown suffering from egg predation themselves. In this case, the main threat that appears is the dromaeosaurid <i>Kuru</i>, an unexpected choice given that this dinosaur was named in 2021 (almost certainly well into the production of the series) and is not known to have occurred at the same locality as <i>Corythoraptor</i>, instead having been discovered in the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. I wasn't particularly bothered by this—if these taxa overlapped in time (which is a possibility given that the ages of many Upper Cretaceous fossil-bearing rock units in Asia are far from well constrained), it's entirely plausible that they had geographic ranges larger than their current fossil record would suggest. The <i>Kuru</i> is depicted using the cover of darkness to target the <i>Corythoraptor</i> nests, likely based on evidence from <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1200043">scleral ring anatomy</a> that some dromaeosaurids, including the closely related <i>Velociraptor</i>, may have been primarily nocturnal. </p><p>Speaking of <i>Velociraptor</i>, it is another returning face from the first season. In this season's outing, a family of <i>Velociraptor</i> are portrayed using steep terrain to their advantage while hunting the pachycephalosaur <i>Prenocephale</i>. It's a nice sequence that further showcases the potential diversity of hunting strategies in dromaeosaurids, and includes some cute baby <i>Velociraptor</i> to boot. New to the series (and to paleontology documentaries in general, as far as I'm aware) is the bizarre giant unenlagiine dromaeosaurid <i>Austroraptor</i> from the Allen Formation of Argentina, which is shown preying on fish, as has been <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app20090127.html">hypothesized</a> based on its long snout containing numerous conical teeth.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6c5NWwAz6yzyLQ9NZAv0t6KvEc9ZiXdBBn19BcKEFzdrHtJdGZKY7SZcpGBVZ6rdzzLi9lLJhRzEglo51ENJKRN5da71GEYRfJdzcrhKAEN4R_p5vcAbQQZBjEYCskK485cGCwWa7a3PYnIPcBIdtPcow_HUTdUvWYsvyYcnpau86TzITFzdxb5K/s3840/Prehistoric_Planet_Photo_020301.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6c5NWwAz6yzyLQ9NZAv0t6KvEc9ZiXdBBn19BcKEFzdrHtJdGZKY7SZcpGBVZ6rdzzLi9lLJhRzEglo51ENJKRN5da71GEYRfJdzcrhKAEN4R_p5vcAbQQZBjEYCskK485cGCwWa7a3PYnIPcBIdtPcow_HUTdUvWYsvyYcnpau86TzITFzdxb5K/w400-h225/Prehistoric_Planet_Photo_020301.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An <i>Austroraptor</i> dismembers a gar.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The final dromaeosaurid genus to appear in this season is <i>Pyroraptor</i> from southeastern France, with a few juveniles briefly showing up on a shoreline to eat some stranded ammonoid larvae. I'll admit, it did enter my head that <i><a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/03/catch-falling-star-meet-asteriornis.html">Asteriornis</a></i>* would have been an excellent fit for the geographic location and ecological role demanded by this scene, but I understand that reusing the existing juvenile dromaeosaurid model was undoubtedly much easier for the filmmakers than designing an entirely new animal for such a minor part.</p><p>*I'd originally assumed that <i>Asteriornis</i>, having been described in 2020, did not have a chance of being included in either season of <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>. However, the second season does extensively feature the Malagasy mammaliaform <i>Adalatherium</i>, which was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2234-8">described</a> about a month after <i>Asteriornis</i> was.</p><p>Moving away from dromaeosaurids (probably), this season also depicts <i>Imperobator</i> from the Snow Hill Island Formation of Antarctica. <i>Imperobator</i> was a large paravian of unclear affinities, and unlike dromaeosaurids, its second toe on each foot was not specialized for being raised off the ground, which <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> portrays correctly. In one scene, several <i>Imperobator</i> are shown as though they were filmed using a thermal imaging camera, and later on, the group attempts to hunt the ornithopod <i>Morrosaurus</i>. Coincidentally, the events in this segment bear some resemblance those of to a fan-made <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sD_7fp_9hM">storyboard sequence</a> by Denver Humphries and Ilari Pätilä.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC35jZDGCMCf37YL1UB7IREml6Nu47oKbATmsIw5TReELvNBRzl5DcuahZ_YkvDsTohi1B2NSWEBY5EOafR9PhFfletaNl3M2SvZgvirgarKQeiRDLXsPddTrCHZhZre0THK1mSW4BypRkC9sYQurfLFIzx3kWEGZU_s9KoSliJUuJPt10JswbhIc3/s3840/Prehistoric_Planet_Photo_020103.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC35jZDGCMCf37YL1UB7IREml6Nu47oKbATmsIw5TReELvNBRzl5DcuahZ_YkvDsTohi1B2NSWEBY5EOafR9PhFfletaNl3M2SvZgvirgarKQeiRDLXsPddTrCHZhZre0THK1mSW4BypRkC9sYQurfLFIzx3kWEGZU_s9KoSliJUuJPt10JswbhIc3/w400-h225/Prehistoric_Planet_Photo_020103.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of <i>Imperobator</i> catch their breath on the surface of a frozen lake.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Troodontids are represented in a couple of scenes. Several individuals investigate a fresh <i>Alamosaurus</i> carcass, but, consistent with studies on the <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30371-3">structure and wear patterns</a> of troodontid teeth, they are unable to penetrate its thick hide until a <i>Tyrannosaurus</i> opens it up. That troodontids coexisted with these larger dinosaurs is not in doubt, given that their teeth have been <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093190">found</a> in the Ojo Alamo Formation (or Kirtland Formation, depending on your terminology) of the southwestern United States. <i>Pectinodon</i> from the Lance and Hell Creek Formations further north appears in a separate segment, in which a group visits an alkaline lake to feed on swarms of brine flies, a behavior probably inspired by some extant <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIqIAvEOGDs">gulls</a>. The <i>Pectinodon</i> family here consists of a male and its offspring, reflecting the fact that male parental care has been inferred in troodontids for the same reasons that it has in oviraptorids.</p><p>Not content with only the flies as a food source, the adult <i>Pectinodon</i> is shown preying on some other paravians that have gathered at the lake, a flock of presbyornithids. An unusual decision was made here to refer to the presbyornithids by a name that has yet to be formally published, originally used for some undescribed pectoral girdle bones from the Hell Creek Formation. Regardless, the anatomy of the presbyornithids, like that of essentially all the other prehistoric animals in the show, is depicted very solidly. Details such as the webbed feet and the flattened, hook-tipped bill lined with keratinous plates for filter feeding were evidently referenced from more completely known <a href="https://docubase.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/pl_dochome?query_src=pl_search&collection=PaleoBios+Archive+Public&id=115">Cenozoic presbyornithid fossils</a>. In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that conversations I've had with Darren Naish, the main scientific consultant on the series, were used to inform these presbyornithid restorations. So that's my informal and infinitesimally minuscule contribution to <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, and I'm relieved that I no longer have to keep the existence of Season 2 a secret!<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MAD3OghVYFn2Pc0E94xKd-8gIk6NmvEUB-Of-0PiyxCCTLOHBGCo9vTh1tHO_laaewY2LcAlnFd8-inNF1_m89Nx5OQXAoPeQa_-RCtBqteTz5elJbxKVHn6D7uFVWiAgA5Vn91vgKQREheEQGU10mmKsmauZf0D8p7cbfizCd81RaP4K2vTYhG9/s1366/php-presbys3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MAD3OghVYFn2Pc0E94xKd-8gIk6NmvEUB-Of-0PiyxCCTLOHBGCo9vTh1tHO_laaewY2LcAlnFd8-inNF1_m89Nx5OQXAoPeQa_-RCtBqteTz5elJbxKVHn6D7uFVWiAgA5Vn91vgKQREheEQGU10mmKsmauZf0D8p7cbfizCd81RaP4K2vTYhG9/w400-h225/php-presbys3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flamingo-duck's smile.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Having said that, my most severe criticism of this season concerns this segment. After the presbyornithids are introduced, the narration follows up with, "Dinosaurs, are here, too" as an segue to the arrival of the <i>Pectinodon</i>, thus implying that the presbyornithids are not also dinosaurs! This is not only flat-out inaccurate, but not mentioning that birds are themselves a group of dinosaurs seems like a major missed educational opportunity, especially considering that <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> has not shied away from showing non-avialan dinosaurs with bird-like appearances and behaviors (including in this very same segment). Darren has <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1662047656607203330">hinted</a> that wording more explicitly recognizing the dinosaurian nature of birds was met with pushback from other forces during show production, which I think is incredibly unfortunate given that <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i> had no issue with referring to avialans as "flying dinosaurs" in 1999.</p><p>That's not to end on a dour note, however. There is one more maniraptoran featured in the series left to discuss: the flightless marine euornithean <i>Hesperornis</i>, probably one of the most aquatically-adapted dinosaurs ever to have lived. The best known fossils of <i>Hesperornis</i> are between Coniacian–Campanian in age, but undescribed specimens from the Hell Creek Formation have been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2017.1341960">mentioned</a> in scientific literature. Having been named in 1872, <i>Hesperornis</i> is no stranger to science, nor to appearances in popular media. However, I feel reasonably secure in saying that the <i>Hesperornis</i> in this series is the most scientifically rigorous depiction of this taxon ever animated in a work of this genre. In <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, <i>Hesperornis</i> has a beak <a href="http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html">occupying distinct parts of its jaws</a> from its teeth (despite the narration incorrectly stating that it had a "beak full of [...] teeth"), <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2010.512615">sprawling hindlimbs</a> with the shins held close to the body, and a rudder-like tail fan (suggested by its <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/182172#page/106/mode/1up">broad, flat tail vertebrae</a>), all features that are commonly overlooked in artistic restorations.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZ6q6w6VwUsSxD8fEcho62nH5Qzqn4-ytxF2MhwLATMDWIJa8gYlmOvQEN6a38Q-Vy-7e-tv4vwMKCPqbFolC0zSw4sPD6TDWF6ZPdT9GqP0uDsMKWJ4Iz_BNfuuu3fX5Qul6IbmLBIEK9KuNBYQj14Mp4y49LgiEJF-xTr6p-rPdpfTR5xsZ0Dkk/s3840/Prehistoric_Planet_Photo_020401.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZ6q6w6VwUsSxD8fEcho62nH5Qzqn4-ytxF2MhwLATMDWIJa8gYlmOvQEN6a38Q-Vy-7e-tv4vwMKCPqbFolC0zSw4sPD6TDWF6ZPdT9GqP0uDsMKWJ4Iz_BNfuuu3fX5Qul6IbmLBIEK9KuNBYQj14Mp4y49LgiEJF-xTr6p-rPdpfTR5xsZ0Dkk/w400-h225/Prehistoric_Planet_Photo_020401.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A <i>Hesperornis</i> terrorizes a school of fish.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Last but not least, it should be said that <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> Season 2 goes a long way towards addressing both of my main concerns about the first season: the near-absence of tetrapods that weren't non-avialan dinosaurs, pterosaurs, or large marine reptiles, and the limited disclosure about the science behind creative decisions made for the show. This season not only includes two avialan species (the presbyornithids and <i>Hesperornis</i>), but also the crocodylomorphs <i>Simosuchus</i> and <i>Shamosuchus</i>, the snake <i>Madtsoia</i>, the mammaliaform <i>Adalatherium</i>, and (returning from the previous season) the large frog <i>Beelzebufo</i> in prominent roles. On a related note, though ammonoids were not tetrapods, <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> must also be commended again for highlighting the diversity and life history of these key players in Mesozoic marine ecosystems, in a way that no other paleontology documentary has done before.</p><p>As for scientific content, twice as many "Uncovered" videos explaining the scientific backing behind the series were produced for this season compared to the last. Half of these segments are also directly attached to the main series episodes (instead of only being available as separate videos), likely allowing them to reach a wider audience. Furthermore, a <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prehistoric-planet-the-official-podcast/id1683634290"><i>Prehistoric Planet</i> podcast</a> was released, explaining additional details about the show's creative process. These are welcome additions to the lineup of official<i> Prehistoric Planet</i> media, but they probably still just barely unveil the curtain on the substantial effort and decision-making that assuredly went into the series. I for one would be eager to see even more behind-the-scenes material.</p><p>Whether there's more in store from <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, only time will tell. However, for now I wouldn't be too upset if this were all we ever got. The two seasons of this show have been a veritable triumph, representing by far the most scientifically grounded and up to date portrayal of life in the latest Cretaceous that's currently available as a documentary series.<br /></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-21032425201860180222023-05-24T18:50:00.006-07:002023-05-30T17:12:52.948-07:00Alvarezsaurid Paleobiology, an Update<p>It's been a few years since I <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/05/making-sense-of-alvarezsaurid.html">wrote a post</a> about alvarezsaurids on this blog, in which I discussed the interpretation of these dinosaurs as specialized insectivores that used their unusual forelimbs to dig for social insects, and why I happened to think that that was the most convincing model for their lifestyle and ecology. Back then, I had little expectation that there would be much alvarezsaurid news in the immediate future, so it was a pleasant surprise to see an alvarezsaurid featured prominently and portrayed as a termite-eating specialist in the high-profile documentary series <i><a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/06/prehistoric-planet.html">Prehistoric Planet</a></i> last year. Not only that, but many studies on alvarezsaurids have been published in the intervening time. Has this newfound information updated and modified my thoughts on how alvarezsaurids lived? Let's take a look.</p><p><b>The New Alvarezsaurs on the Block<br /></b>To start off, several new alvarezsaurid taxa were named in recent years, including <i>Trierarchuncus</i> from the Hell Creek Formation of the western United States (Fowler et al., 2020; Freimuth and Wilson, 2021), <i>Dzharaonyx</i> from the Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan (Averianov and Sues, 2021), and <i>Khulsanurus</i> and <i>Ondogurvel</i> from the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia (Averianov and Lopatin, 2022a; Averianov and Lopatin, 2022b). The braincase of an indeterminate alvarezsaurid from the Qiupa Formation of China was also described (Agnolín et al., 2022), and the anatomy of <i>Parvicursor</i> was reevaluated in detail (Averianov and Lopatin, 2021).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbfTCPZiIdEGlXEBGK9v7IFAAkE2VYj5yuG5L9P2YraLIGYpEZIGi4vl6kM4h32tJyfxfnum34vN9M8kzAR8dsk11ntCGTnkIn1EIlVp7M_1KaX0OPGG4I7JwUnKf7uIutlVerRFuQrJS6N_fN3BtBJ3CUI0SIw2jcaHt3e2hYXO_dSwBTcR3RP_8/s802/1-s2.0-S0195667120302469-gr5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="802" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDbfTCPZiIdEGlXEBGK9v7IFAAkE2VYj5yuG5L9P2YraLIGYpEZIGi4vl6kM4h32tJyfxfnum34vN9M8kzAR8dsk11ntCGTnkIn1EIlVp7M_1KaX0OPGG4I7JwUnKf7uIutlVerRFuQrJS6N_fN3BtBJ3CUI0SIw2jcaHt3e2hYXO_dSwBTcR3RP_8/w400-h158/1-s2.0-S0195667120302469-gr5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly complete thumb claw of <i>Trierarchuncus</i>, from Fowler et al. (2020).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In general, most of these new findings don't substantially change what I previously talked about, but it's great to have more alvarezsaur anatomy to work with. <i>Trierarchuncus</i> deserves mention, however, in that one of the specimens referred to it represents the most completely preserved alvarezsaurid thumb claw to date. I noted in my previous post on alvarezsaurs that complete alvarezsaurid thumb claws are hard to come by, making it difficult to compare their shape to the claws of modern animals. This <i>Trierarchuncus</i> specimen reveals that at least some alvarezsaurid thumb claws were much more sharply curved than formerly expected, in line with their hypothesized function in hook-and-pull digging.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqVlrhG6QqrklaJNAyZ9G0ai134NZWXMggGtVOq1aSdynrcSwQVmP43Q75YU-4LQ34HSJUUCcnMrCqqAj9vPqF-1nc5wcdeL__D9pDmZxnglh8_2SnybIDeiPmzT84UAS3qYFxifshVlp28l2Cha1W9LdG8Z7IMUivEDGMJuvw0VFGgoGz_s3Y4ib/s1662/1-s2.0-S0195667120302469-gr10_lrg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1413" data-original-width="1662" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqVlrhG6QqrklaJNAyZ9G0ai134NZWXMggGtVOq1aSdynrcSwQVmP43Q75YU-4LQ34HSJUUCcnMrCqqAj9vPqF-1nc5wcdeL__D9pDmZxnglh8_2SnybIDeiPmzT84UAS3qYFxifshVlp28l2Cha1W9LdG8Z7IMUivEDGMJuvw0VFGgoGz_s3Y4ib/s320/1-s2.0-S0195667120302469-gr10_lrg.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reconstructed curvature of the thumb claw of <i>Mononykus</i> based on that of <i>Trierarchuncus</i>, from Fowler et al. (2020).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In addition, comparing the claws of differently sized <i>Trierarchuncus</i> individuals suggests that as alvarezsaurids aged, the bony core of their thumb claws became wider and gained a roughened texture (possibly induced by stress) near where the claw attached to the rest of the thumb, consistent with the use of the claws in strenuous activity (Fowler et al., 2020; Freimuth and Wilson, 2021).</p><p><b>Turning Tail<br /></b>As I mentioned in my previous post, a long tail for balance can be a helpful adaptation to a hook-and-pull digger. Although alvarezsaurids were long tailed, however, a long tail is typical of diapsid reptiles, so this in itself was not necessarily a specific adaptation to digging in alvarezsaurids. That being said, alvarezsaurids did have a few unusual features of the tail that may shed light on their lifestyle, and Meso et al. (2021) provided a detailed description and functional interpretation of alvarezsaurid tail anatomy.</p><p>For one, alvarezsaurids were long-tailed even for theropods; relative to their body size, they probably had among the longest tails of any maniraptoran. For another, many features of their tail vertebrae suggest that their tails were more flexible from side to side than those of most other theropods. Probably to compensate for this increase in length and mobility, the muscles along the top of the tail that would have helped hold it aloft appear to have been well developed in alvarezsaurids. Also abnormal among theropods is the fact that alvarezsaurid tail vertebrae were procoelous: the back end of each vertebra fit into a socket in the front end of the vertebra behind it. (In typical theropods, the joint surfaces of the tail vertebrae tend to be flat or nearly so.) This may have been another way of reinforcing the tail, giving it further mobility without a correspondingly high risk of dislocating the vertebrae.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0khJ6_3ZQOpRDuwGBvKDsgK8GWVUlgewpwLqNhoVACCDOjLg-G0joLCfBPn43WbJK9Uhj9fekmBSuIIVHnO43roTNotdgTKvTxerDE-jVWsTnB9uOEfDBEphWxd0RkPsng1NgyESieReamVuaCPXMXfJtaIOcInby80dT6NB19sGv2fhBm8ekvyVP/s4373/1-s2.0-S019566712100077X-gr7_lrg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4373" data-original-width="3591" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0khJ6_3ZQOpRDuwGBvKDsgK8GWVUlgewpwLqNhoVACCDOjLg-G0joLCfBPn43WbJK9Uhj9fekmBSuIIVHnO43roTNotdgTKvTxerDE-jVWsTnB9uOEfDBEphWxd0RkPsng1NgyESieReamVuaCPXMXfJtaIOcInby80dT6NB19sGv2fhBm8ekvyVP/w329-h400/1-s2.0-S019566712100077X-gr7_lrg.jpg" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reconstructed tail musculature of an early alvarezsaur (A), a patagonykine alvarezsaurid (B), and a parvicursorine alvarezsaurid (C), from Meso et al. (2021).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Meso et al. note that overall configuration of the alvarezsaurid tail exhibits similarities to that of the extant aardvark (<i>Orycteropus afer</i>), which also has large muscles running along the top of a long (by mammal standards), strong, and flexible tail. In aardvarks, the tail probably serves an important role as a brace while digging (Endo et al., 2013). This could have also been the case in alvarezsaurids, but Meso et al. suggest that their characteristic tail morphology might have provided another adaptive benefit. As I discussed previously, one of the many strange features seen in alvarezsaurids is their apparent specialization towards running, and it is likely that they relied on this as a means to escape predation. Meso et al. posit that their increased tail flexibility gave alvarezsaurids a smaller turning radius, granting them a further advantage in avoiding pursuers.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XAz7A6NL2b_s6RL-77f7-SxR5V2xykH0Sr6c8i3H_K2e8VLdzF_qFX1oUxMmCC30vNvtFYZ__Sr01hnlLOrO8gfUPdrL8df7IiUlb8J9T64FKUST6spQeDEoR_lflQoCD_PYOGNI9KGN2OX_HHro2NYM608sHoMobiols0V1bZ1mQDsPBgSLPzte/s3591/1-s2.0-S019566712100077X-gr8_lrg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3016" data-original-width="3591" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XAz7A6NL2b_s6RL-77f7-SxR5V2xykH0Sr6c8i3H_K2e8VLdzF_qFX1oUxMmCC30vNvtFYZ__Sr01hnlLOrO8gfUPdrL8df7IiUlb8J9T64FKUST6spQeDEoR_lflQoCD_PYOGNI9KGN2OX_HHro2NYM608sHoMobiols0V1bZ1mQDsPBgSLPzte/w400-h336/1-s2.0-S019566712100077X-gr8_lrg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram showing how the flexible tail of alvarezsaurids might have helped them avoid predators (with a successful escape making use of a reduced turning radius shown in B), from Meso et al. (2021).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Creatures of the Night<br /></b>How an animal perceives the world naturally has a major influence on how it interacts with its environment and the other organisms in it, and Choiniere et al. (2021) offered some considerable insight into this aspect of alvarezsaurid biology. Their study was not focused solely on alvarezsaurs, but compared the proportions of the scleral ring (a bony ring embedded in the eyeball of many vertebrates, though not in mammals) and the anatomy of the inner ear in a wide variety of Mesozoic dinosaurs to those of extant birds and other reptiles. However, the results they found for the alvarezsaurid <i>Shuvuuia</i> (one of the few alvarezsaurs in which both of these elements are well preserved) were especially intriguing.</p><p>The anatomy of both the scleral ring and inner ear in <i>Shuvuuia</i> strongly suggests that it was primarily active at night. What's more, its inner ear exhibits an extreme morphology similar to that of the extant western barn owl (<i>Tyto alba</i>), a nocturnal predator that famously uses sensitive hearing to detect prey. It's important to emphasize here (as I've seen some popular retellings of this study misunderstand this) that the observed similarities between the inner ear of <i>Shuvuuia</i> and barn owls are due to the structure of the ear itself, <b>not related to ear asymmetry</b>.</p><p>Barn owls and their close relatives in the group Tytonidae are one lineage of owls that have evolved asymmetrical ears, which help them pinpoint the location of their prey. Ear asymmetry in owls can take several different forms, but in tytonids, the left ear opening is generally positioned higher than the right. However, this <b>asymmetry is not reflected in their skull</b> (Norberg, 2002). There are owls (such as those in the genus <i>Aegolius</i>) that do have asymmetrical skulls, but tytonids are not among them. Choiniere et al. also found no evidence of skull asymmetry in <i>Shuvuuia</i>. Might alvarezsaurids have instead had asymmetry in the soft tissue morphology of their ears, like barn owls? That seems like a possibility, but we may not be able to determine one way or another from their bony anatomy.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHNjRoTVztjhJE57kmj2GVFu-QV9eGiKVOYWcyLyUQ-S73L8vg2i_a4uF9-mmY5GAaV0AG5JosrrzD2N8aF_nZiq-yWoCo5lHZuipq3Erywf4olAqk9Qlrt6KvjbXXoVaW_6v4L62V_XY-07W_TpNsVa1aFYqMV6B2JtssvEASbd0CAGRh1cBGeKF/s1280/372_610_f2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1280" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHNjRoTVztjhJE57kmj2GVFu-QV9eGiKVOYWcyLyUQ-S73L8vg2i_a4uF9-mmY5GAaV0AG5JosrrzD2N8aF_nZiq-yWoCo5lHZuipq3Erywf4olAqk9Qlrt6KvjbXXoVaW_6v4L62V_XY-07W_TpNsVa1aFYqMV6B2JtssvEASbd0CAGRh1cBGeKF/w400-h311/372_610_f2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of the skull and inner ear of <i>Shuvuuia</i> (A–C) compared to that of a western barn owl (D–F), from Choiniere et al. (2021).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As noted by Choiniere et al., a combination of a nocturnal lifestyle with specialized hearing is widespread in tetrapods, especially in mammals, so the fact that <i>Shuvuuia</i> exhibits evidence of these traits does not by itself indicate that alvarezsaurids were myrmecophagous (feeding mostly on social insects). However, there is indeed an extant myrmecophage that often forages at night primarily by acoustic cues, the bat-eared fox (<i>Otocyon megalotis</i>) (Renda and le Roux, 2017). Therefore, I consider these new findings on alvarezsaurid sensory biology very much compatible with the hypothesis that they were myrmecophages. (In fact, I was aware of Choiniere et al.'s research before its formal publication, and deliberately inserted a reference to the bat-eared fox into my last alvarezsaur post as oblique foreshadowing.)<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsI64yGPYnwvr3wOEcAqwHkr5m_iL5TNnt8BPpUAeomdhDIpXwsoyrbnHxDNTkhwQ3PL33avi8LOXV3a2eLDDmJWNix2yDWOkFWm_ZslamCl0_v7-xtN6_OwF5lcz9ddYPkGBn2i2Dv7NvuNoFObAvMwiL2z7AwGWhz5U_4oW4SNEGxKJfrTJ4w5TF/s800/Otocyon_megalotis_-_Etosha_2014.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsI64yGPYnwvr3wOEcAqwHkr5m_iL5TNnt8BPpUAeomdhDIpXwsoyrbnHxDNTkhwQ3PL33avi8LOXV3a2eLDDmJWNix2yDWOkFWm_ZslamCl0_v7-xtN6_OwF5lcz9ddYPkGBn2i2Dv7NvuNoFObAvMwiL2z7AwGWhz5U_4oW4SNEGxKJfrTJ4w5TF/s320/Otocyon_megalotis_-_Etosha_2014.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bat-eared fox, photographed by Yathin S Krishnappa, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>. This species feeds mainly on termites, which it locates using its sensitive hearing. Perhaps alvarezsaurids did the same?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>The Incredible Shrinking Alvarezsaurs<br /></b>My previous post also mentioned small body size as as a curious evolutionary trend in later alvarezsaurids, and Qin et al. (2021) investigated this phenomenon in more detail. First of all, by inferring growth patterns based on the bone microstructure of individual alvarezsaur specimens, they confirmed that some alvarezsaurids, such as <i>Albinykus</i> and <i>Xixianykus</i>, had adult body masses of only about 1 kg or less. (It's worth noting though that one of the smallest known alvarezsaurids, the type specimen of <i>Parvicursor</i>, was subsequently reinterpreted as a juvenile instead of an adult by Averianov and Lopatin, 2021.)</p><p>Interestingly, Qin et al. indicated that <i>Albinykus</i> and <i>Xixianykus</i> had very different growth strategies from one another despite being of similar sizes. Whereas the type specimen of <i>Albinykus</i> had essentially stopped growing by the time it was three years old, the type specimen of <i>Xixianykus</i> grew more slowly but across a longer period of time, living for over a decade. This diversity in alvarezsaurid growth patterns was also observed more recently by D'Emic et al. (2023).</p><p>When Qin et al. plotted alvarezsaur body size across the evolutionary history of these dinosaurs, they found that not only were later alvarezsaurids smaller overall than their ancestors, but their small body size evolved very quickly in the early Late Cretaceous, about 90 million years ago. What may have caused this sudden miniaturization? Qin et al. point out that this event would have shortly followed the estimated diversification of both ants and termites during the Cretaceous, which may have created the opportunity for dedicated myrmecophagy to evolve in alvarezsaurs. Specialized insectivory as a driver of alvarezsaurid size reduction would also align with the median body size of insectivorous land vertebrates being consistently smaller than those with other dietary habits, a pattern that has been shown to hold true across different groups and biomes (Cooke et al., 2022).<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxqSZI4GKH3uizzyTAEvSJGH3nCl3kM8G7tLF7JI5_4B2SG6M2t3lK14b5t_3GBrUYByUNOXGRf4z-LLI248CREZMFOxLPWpoEqHhkq4YWuqaA11VsGpMY7GJL_C74d14VjkGff4OZNjpovZW0mc3PtT65c6LUYTRKXaapGbkkHBBpp_Dl6ZwVGJi/s2859/alvarezsaursize.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="2859" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxqSZI4GKH3uizzyTAEvSJGH3nCl3kM8G7tLF7JI5_4B2SG6M2t3lK14b5t_3GBrUYByUNOXGRf4z-LLI248CREZMFOxLPWpoEqHhkq4YWuqaA11VsGpMY7GJL_C74d14VjkGff4OZNjpovZW0mc3PtT65c6LUYTRKXaapGbkkHBBpp_Dl6ZwVGJi/w400-h360/alvarezsaursize.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evolution of alvarezsaur body size over time, from Qin et al. (2021).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b></b><p></p><p><b>When All You Have is a Pick...<br /></b>As I hope I reviewed thoroughly in my last alvarezsaur post, there are many features of alvarezsaurid forelimbs that suggest they functioned in digging. However, just how effective their claws would have been at this task had not been quantitatively tested until recently. Qin et al. (2023) applied <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrpj3cZrKn4">finite element analysis</a> (FEA) to alvarezsaur hand claws to compare how they performed under different scenarios. (This study also looked at the claws of therizinosaurs, but this post is not about them.) </p><p>For each claw studied, three scenarios were tested: piercing (puncturing a substrate), pulling (using the underside of the claw to pull an object downward), and scratching (dragging the tip of the claw through a substrate), with the last being considered analogous to digging. When compared to a variety of mammals representing a range of claw morphologies and functions, the claws of alvarezsaurids were found to behave akin to those of pangolins: experiencing relatively low stress and similar stress distributions across all three scenarios. On the surface, it may sound surprising that such seemingly specialized claws would be well suited to multiple tasks in this way, but as Qin et al. point out, this makes a lot of sense if alvarezsaurids were diggers. Hook-and-pull digging in particular requires piercing, pulling, <i>and</i> scratching motions, so it would be potentially advantageous for animals adapted for this behavior to excel at all three.<br /></p><p>Furthermore, Qin et al. found that the claws of alvarezsaurids performed better at scratching than those of earlier, non-alvarezsaurid alvarezsaurs, which had hands more broadly similar to those of typical theropods. This may suggest that increased digging specializations were specifically being selected for during alvarezsaur evolution.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJaVAdUlasbOlHgUNcwNdaCrtR_va53ZUgHqYGOEiU2zjt8sPeh8biCffVeiywIVFHkGQ_S2nk-2-Kd1vIJiHVDbauB5sSCW2hgDZNpvtaJrH-QOHzrPT12OsRoBdLgH5fG9dZfnWSUN5GbMtC-ZMQJKWmxk_hsfsPekC4xjpUe3Hr2JJezmbAf4C/s1996/alvarezsaurclawfunction.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1503" data-original-width="1996" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJaVAdUlasbOlHgUNcwNdaCrtR_va53ZUgHqYGOEiU2zjt8sPeh8biCffVeiywIVFHkGQ_S2nk-2-Kd1vIJiHVDbauB5sSCW2hgDZNpvtaJrH-QOHzrPT12OsRoBdLgH5fG9dZfnWSUN5GbMtC-ZMQJKWmxk_hsfsPekC4xjpUe3Hr2JJezmbAf4C/w400-h301/alvarezsaurclawfunction.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claw performance under different simulated scenarios in a selection of mammals (a), non-alvarezsaurian theropods (b), and alvarezsaurs (c), from Qin et al. (2023). What surprises me the most is that the fields for the pangolin and the tamandua plot so far apart, especially considering that, according to the supplementary material, the pangolin species studied was the tree pangolin (<i>Phataginus</i> ["<i>Manis</i>"] <i>tricuspis</i>), which, like tamanduas, spends a lot of time in trees. Maybe there is more functional variation among these superficially similar myrmecophages than commonly appreciated.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It makes me happy to see so much new alvarezsaur research being done lately, and new advances have been made in understanding the digging abilities of extinct mammals as well (Nakai and Fujiwara, 2023), which could perhaps be applied to alvarezsaurs in the future. I'm certainly pleased that essentially all of these new alvarezsaur studies either reinforce or are consistent with the hypothesis that alvarezsaurids were myrmecophages. However, what excites me most of all is that I might have had a very small hand in bringing some of this science to fruition. I have it on good authority from Qin Zichuan that he and his colleagues' study on alvarezsaurid claw biomechanics was directly inspired by my previous alvarezsaur post, in which I idly suggested some potential directions for future investigations into alvarezsaurid ecology. For my humble blog post, having stimulated actual scientific research on these remarkable dinosaurs is just about the highest honor that I can conceive of.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEgK0zz_zC5SOUxhQ9df-qWzRVFv662ST9qNkabsDSTAbRtofRFPAP9mMq9UQ6SbuWG_AmBO6UG64N26CdxgSZ0rdk_p4JeJWB3Is-P3XmvuIhx9uhtiX866aCTREk2l5WtLvIBJ6I_XUgIhP4jnpkVbjjiyMhS4LBjJ_MYYd06CP9gnP_gXE1CNR/s762/discussion.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="762" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEgK0zz_zC5SOUxhQ9df-qWzRVFv662ST9qNkabsDSTAbRtofRFPAP9mMq9UQ6SbuWG_AmBO6UG64N26CdxgSZ0rdk_p4JeJWB3Is-P3XmvuIhx9uhtiX866aCTREk2l5WtLvIBJ6I_XUgIhP4jnpkVbjjiyMhS4LBjJ_MYYd06CP9gnP_gXE1CNR/w400-h51/discussion.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt from the acknowledgements of Qin et al. (2023).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>References</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Agnolín, F.L., J.-C. Lu, M. Kundrát, and L. Xu. 2022. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.1929203">Alvarezsaurid osteology: new data on cranial anatomy.</a> <i>Historical Biology</i> <b>34</b>: 443–452. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2021.1929203<br /></li><li>Averianov, A.O. and A.V. Lopatin. 2021. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2021.2013965">A re-appraisal of <i>Parvicursor remotus</i> from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia: implications for the phylogeny and taxonomy of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs.</a> <i>Journal of Systematic Palaeontology</i> <b>19</b>: 1097–1128. doi: 10.1080/14772019.2021.2013965<br /></li><li>Averianov, A.O. and A.V. Lopatin. 2022a. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.2000976">The second taxon of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Khulsan locality in Gobi Desert, Mongolia.</a> <i>Historical Biology</i> <b>34</b>: 2125–2136. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2021.2000976</li><li>Averianov, A.O. and A.V. Lopatin. 2022b. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667122000325">A new alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Gobi Desert, Mongolia.</a> <i>Cretaceous Research</i> <b>135</b>: 105168. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105168<br /></li><li>Averianov, A.O. and H.-D. Sues. 2021. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.2036174">New material and diagnosis of a new taxon of alvarezsaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan.</a> <i>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</i> <b>41</b>: e2036174. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.2036174</li><li>Choiniere, J.N., J.M. Neenan, L. Schmitz, D.P. Ford, K.E.J. Chapelle, A.M. Balanoff, J.S. Sipla, J.A. Georgi, S.A. Walsh, M.A. Norell, X. Xu, J.M. Clark, and R.B.J. Benson. 2021. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7941">Evolution of vision and hearing modalities in theropod dinosaurs.</a> <i>Science</i> <b>372</b>: 610–613. doi: 10.1126/science.abe7941</li><li>Cooke, R., W. Gearty, A.S.A. Chapman, J. Dunic, G.J. Edgar, J.S. Lefcheck, G. Rilov, C.R. McClain, R.D. Stuart-Smith, S.K. Lyons, and A.E. Bates. 2022. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01726-x">Anthropogenic disruptions to longstanding patterns of trophic-size structure in vertebrates.</a> <i>Nature Ecology and Evolution</i> <b>6</b>: 684–692. doi: 10.1038/s41559-022-01726-x<br /></li><li>D'Emic, M.D., P.M. O'Connor, R.S. Sombathy, I. Cerda, T.R. Pascucci, D. Varricchio, D. Pol, A. Dave, R.A. Coria, and K.A. Curry Rogers. 2023. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adc8714">Developmental strategies underlying gigantism and miniaturization in non-avialan theropod dinosaurs.</a> <i>Science</i> <b>379</b>: 811–814. doi: 10.1126/science.adc8714</li><li>Endo, H., K. Mori, D. Koyabu, S. Kawada, T. Komiya, T. Itou, H. Koie, M. Kitagawa, and T. Sakai. 2013. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1439-0264.2012.01169.x">Functional morphology of the aardvark tail.</a> <i>Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia</i> <b>42</b>: 90–98. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0264.2012.01169.x<br /></li><li>Fowler, D.W., J.P. Wilson, E.A. Freedman Fowler, C.R. Noto, D. Anduza, and J.R. Horner. 2020. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667120302469"><i>Trierarchuncus prairiensis</i> gen. et sp. nov., the last alvarezsaurid: Hell Creek Formation (uppermost Maastrichtian), Montana.</a> <i>Cretaceous Research</i> <b>116</b>: 104560. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104560<br /></li><li>Freimuth, W.J. and J.P. Wilson. 2021. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667120303852">New manual unguals of <i>Trierarchuncus prairiensis</i> from the Hell Creek Formation, Montana, and the ontogenetic development of the functional alvarezsaurid hand claw.</a> <i>Cretaceous Research</i> <b>119</b>: 104698. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104698</li><li>Meso, J.G., Z. Qin, M. Pittman, J.I. Canale, L. Salgado, and V. Díez Díaz. 2021. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566712100077X">Tail anatomy of the Alvarezsauria (Theropoda, Coelurosauria), and its functional and behavioural implications.</a> <i>Cretaceous Research</i> <b>124</b>: 104830. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104830<br /></li><li>Nakai, D. and S. Fujiwara. 2023. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13815">Fossorial mammals emphasise the forelimb muscle moment arms used for digging: new indices for reconstruction of the digging ability and behaviours in extinct taxa.</a> <i>Journal of Anatomy</i> <b>242</b>: 846–861. doi: 10.1111/joa.13815<br /></li><li>Norberg, R.Å. 2002. Independent evolution of outer ear asymmetry among five owl lineages; morphology, function and selection. Pp. 329–342, in I. Newton, R. Kavanagh, J. Olsen, and I. Taylor (eds.), <i>Ecology and Conservation of Owls</i>. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton. </li><li>Qin, Z., Q. Zhao, J.N. Choiniere, J.M. Clark, M.J. Benton, and X. Xu. 2021. <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00808-3">Growth and miniaturization among alvarezsauroid dinosaurs.</a> <i>Current Biology</i> <b>31</b>: 3687–3693. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.013</li><li>Qin, Z., C.-C. Liao, M.J. Benton, and E.J. Rayfield. 2023. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-04552-4">Functional space analyses reveal the function and evolution of the most bizarre theropod manual unguals.</a> <i>Communications Biology</i> <b>6</b>: 181. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04552-4</li><li>Renda, S. and A. le Roux. 2017. <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/beh/154/2/article-p227_6.xml">The sensory ecology of prey detection in the bat-eared fox (<i>Otocyon megalotis</i>).</a> <i>Behaviour</i> <b>154</b>: 227–240. doi: 10.1163/1568539X-00003419<br /></li></ul>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-34000329905027224452023-05-16T14:15:00.000-07:002023-05-16T14:15:43.086-07:00SAPE 2023<p>I'd never been to a SAPE (Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution) conference before, partly because one hadn't happened for years. This year's meeting in Málaga had originally been scheduled for 2020, which would have been while I was studying for my PhD. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, had other plans, and ended up delaying the conference for three years.</p><p>This was not only my first SAPE, but also my first time in Spain, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. However, almost everything went reasonably smoothly for me, other than the fact that I am still recovering from a post-conference ailment—that's one thing I didn't miss about in-person meetings! As far as the conference itself was concerned, I found it very well organized, with a variety of planned activities and enough downtime in between to make it eventful without being hectic. It probably helped that it was a fairly small conference, allowing the talks to be spread out enough that one could attend all of them without feeling overwhelmed.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIzuM0vaF9RSxsAOu9HRk9rkxoKea5o_WkaKSTtLvvFA-RGhAvKdJAdntZeVgQgcsme9Y9AEvJisEhRHSco3e6RVCJsdMbrgvRb7-x-eYsYfA6u4wyyOBMLwPbUKzMMusiNUJfiuU8UfX_1vu4KgX8BN1Y38uc1nUcAxVDwAWB1rurTigupD6u8tB/s4032/IMG_2798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIzuM0vaF9RSxsAOu9HRk9rkxoKea5o_WkaKSTtLvvFA-RGhAvKdJAdntZeVgQgcsme9Y9AEvJisEhRHSco3e6RVCJsdMbrgvRb7-x-eYsYfA6u4wyyOBMLwPbUKzMMusiNUJfiuU8UfX_1vu4KgX8BN1Y38uc1nUcAxVDwAWB1rurTigupD6u8tB/s320/IMG_2798.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was also nice to see this <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/gadget-cat-in-past-paleontology-in.html">familiar face</a> on Spanish television.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Speaking of talks, I gave another version of my presentation from <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/svp-2022.html">last year's SVP</a>, summarizing the results of my PhD research. Even more so than SVP last year, my labmates represented a large contingent among the attendees. In fact, the session I spoke in consisted almost exclusively of presentations by members of my supervisor's lab group! Many jokes were made about how we were essentially holding our weekly lab meeting at SAPE. Outside of my labmates' work though, some presentations I especially enjoyed included Phoebe McInerney's talk on dromornithid cranial anatomy, Jacob Blokland's talk on the phylogeny of Australian fossil ralloids, and Anaïs Duhamel's talk on studying the migratory behavior of fossil birds.<br /></p><p>To me, one of the perks of traveling someplace new is of course the opportunity to see birds and other wildlife that I haven't seen before. The rich biodiversity of Spain was promising in this regard, and the organizers of SAPE this year did very well to capitalize on it by arranging two field trips with ample birding opportunities. First, there was a half-day excursion to Desembocadura del Guadalhorce, a nature reserve dedicated to conserving the estuary of the Guadalhorce river. The other spanned a full day, visiting El Caminito del Rey (a hiking trail along the side of a narrow gorge) in the morning and, after a surprisingly lengthy lunch, Laguna de Fuente de Piedra (a large saline lagoon) in the evening. In total, I saw over 70 species of birds in Spain, more than 30 of which I'd not seen in the wild previously. A few of my favorite sightings included greater flamingos, Eurasian griffon vultures, and endangered white-headed ducks.</p><p>Most of these birds were seen from a fair distance, so I didn't take many bird photos. However, here is a pair of Kentish plovers we spotted on the beach at Desembocadura del Guadalhorce. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNr9s0hdgOyr9p8BbkT8rTTi473W60UA6ujgjRQGBf8XHsHXG08lpFHLaf4XkxvzVMoQYOJdrLE0lPK5SVEzVSPUGta8SBTvlDLPbAP3mezeukcs4-CTRFRwRnDJOSawWIxmeHI-HkkYy0K_P_7DTLleeQZx_s5CebUE8u4dkncz56bJRhTJzpoPeh/s4608/DSCN5514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNr9s0hdgOyr9p8BbkT8rTTi473W60UA6ujgjRQGBf8XHsHXG08lpFHLaf4XkxvzVMoQYOJdrLE0lPK5SVEzVSPUGta8SBTvlDLPbAP3mezeukcs4-CTRFRwRnDJOSawWIxmeHI-HkkYy0K_P_7DTLleeQZx_s5CebUE8u4dkncz56bJRhTJzpoPeh/s320/DSCN5514.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Rock pigeons along El Caminito del Rey. It almost felt strange to encounter this species in such a naturalistic setting, but their mastery of this environment was immediately evident. You haven't truly seen rock pigeons unless you've seen them acrobatically catching updrafts along sheer cliffs like these.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrsT3GFNE-aLcn7wKVNK-vcvxhJzYAOHjfKRZM_dX1Yb1ZxdZ5fxnO4Ogkqn3ycbnCX-QAl9UyXRHJy28_UIWZuP_dKsdTQkXGjX_r_6v6E3Rw5ip0baxUnoTj0XviXhn6JU33mqahZUZk_h29n-iDaxu6CDfqD20RAg6Nyv6N8DSaQGI4Anf6Dxd/s4608/DSCN5523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijrsT3GFNE-aLcn7wKVNK-vcvxhJzYAOHjfKRZM_dX1Yb1ZxdZ5fxnO4Ogkqn3ycbnCX-QAl9UyXRHJy28_UIWZuP_dKsdTQkXGjX_r_6v6E3Rw5ip0baxUnoTj0XviXhn6JU33mqahZUZk_h29n-iDaxu6CDfqD20RAg6Nyv6N8DSaQGI4Anf6Dxd/s320/DSCN5523.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A non-avian resident of the gorge, an Iberian ibex.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SiaB1U0jDYkzRrAYy0Rfa6rqM54W5fga_PKS18_-Qrs9IeaJpTL8tVhIG40rS8bnqVo8QF5QiJo2VjKS97gpWHBRRHvz5ikCCZv6FMFCD4nAKNQEwT-DHqAZI-YsKy5_L9pPlu26kAm5zYx-xYlhBpYoPqzRClFHQQm6Y1vFSB_MWGt1ni6FHO1d/s4608/DSCN5527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SiaB1U0jDYkzRrAYy0Rfa6rqM54W5fga_PKS18_-Qrs9IeaJpTL8tVhIG40rS8bnqVo8QF5QiJo2VjKS97gpWHBRRHvz5ikCCZv6FMFCD4nAKNQEwT-DHqAZI-YsKy5_L9pPlu26kAm5zYx-xYlhBpYoPqzRClFHQQm6Y1vFSB_MWGt1ni6FHO1d/s320/DSCN5527.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A distant view of Laguna de Fuente de Piedra. At the time of our visit, most of the water had dried up (as it does every so often), concentrating a decent number of flamingos, waterfowl, and shorebirds.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTrCov3DQjwGDI4H3ICiEa_g5APCKpFChF_FUXOJUDFlLcaRY6fJoBXTruLQ6RUxWX_nlxfLzOuOR0CwBVIsLjtRHUVzY5HC3DkMGelCLrjjsxiKI8BTBHu73uuu9E_oUjKM86NGCJCpD_8tE9HAR0-X-jkBDgGo0ndBmMW0Wp3QotllJkAsl74uv/s4608/DSCN5535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTrCov3DQjwGDI4H3ICiEa_g5APCKpFChF_FUXOJUDFlLcaRY6fJoBXTruLQ6RUxWX_nlxfLzOuOR0CwBVIsLjtRHUVzY5HC3DkMGelCLrjjsxiKI8BTBHu73uuu9E_oUjKM86NGCJCpD_8tE9HAR0-X-jkBDgGo0ndBmMW0Wp3QotllJkAsl74uv/s320/DSCN5535.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-10537840901183362342023-01-04T12:41:00.006-08:002023-01-06T14:01:53.368-08:00Review of 2022<p>Well, I succeeded in posting more last year than I did in <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-of-2021.html">2021</a>, at least. However, most of the posts I made were not research-heavy informational articles about maniraptors, as I've intended this blog to focus on. Instead, I was motivated to write by the release of <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/06/prehistoric-planet.html"><i>Prehistoric Planet</i></a>, the return of <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/svp-2022.html">in-person</a> <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/tetzoocon-2022.html">conferences</a>, and a sudden urge to talk about a <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/gadget-cat-in-past-paleontology-in.html">childhood icon</a>.</p><p>If my relative silence on here reflects anything, it's probably that 2022 was a big year for me. Most conspicuously, I graduated with my PhD from the University of Bath and started a postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge. In addition, a paper I co-authored was published: spearheaded by my labmate Juan Benito Moreno, we described the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/13919/">postcranial anatomy of <i>Ichthyornis</i></a> based on 40 new specimens. I also finished drawing an <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Tree-of-Birds-923079880">infographic</a> on bird phylogeny, on which I'd been working intermittently for about two years (and planning for even longer than that), and was fortunate enough to be invited for an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYanLUWfho">interview</a> about my research and outreach by science communicator Jon Perry. Miraculously, I was able to continue updating <a href="https://new-dinosaurs.tumblr.com/">New Dinosaur Alert</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQ0Kh8vlPeY3YsYW3hHmvg">Through Time and Clades</a> fairly consistently. Between research, peer reviewing, networking, and a well of other personal projects either in progress or on the horizon, I'm fully expecting activity on this blog to remain low in the foreseeable future. There are still elements of blogging I enjoy, however, so I certainly don't intend to stop posting entirely.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh655csgWIURgPBjOHPRUAKXDNKAnfiKcpGOEBwvLfTe-Fe9PFMa_t7MNPkLTtkOVKF6fCWJW702H0EKLycmnR1yTmnBT0Msf6PUJsty4xPu15EYTpdyNAz9kM6-r9ym6PYLrK5AMT7g2zNKhHyWtg967xUdyyu-dmv0qcGCewD1Uvw1GHhZA9Lj8eE/s8325/Bird%20Tree-min.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8325" data-original-width="4500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh655csgWIURgPBjOHPRUAKXDNKAnfiKcpGOEBwvLfTe-Fe9PFMa_t7MNPkLTtkOVKF6fCWJW702H0EKLycmnR1yTmnBT0Msf6PUJsty4xPu15EYTpdyNAz9kM6-r9ym6PYLrK5AMT7g2zNKhHyWtg967xUdyyu-dmv0qcGCewD1Uvw1GHhZA9Lj8eE/w216-h400/Bird%20Tree-min.png" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My infographic on bird phylogeny, which can be viewed in detail <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Tree-of-Birds-923079880">here</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I will be making a few changes to this year's review of new maniraptoran research. First of all, I will <b>not</b> be writing a separate post going over <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20species%20review">new species</a> in detail, as I think the time and effort spent on that would be largely redundant with respect to my work on New Dinosaur Alert. Secondly, though listing studies by publication month has been convenient for me in previous years, I suspect that that format is not particularly useful to most readers. Instead, I will try out a rough phylogenetic organization of the stories here. As always, my coverage of papers about modern birds is necessarily going to be incomplete, so I put more focus on those that have more direct connections to paleontology, such as studies on anatomy, ontogeny, and higher-order phylogeny.</p><p><b>General and non-paravian maniraptors </b><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Environmental factors affecting <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/5/703">feather taphonomy</a></li><li>New alvarezsaurs <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.2036174"><i>Dzharaonyx eski</i></a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667122000325"><i>Ondogurvel alifanovi</i></a> </li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2021.2013965">Redescription</a> of <i>Parvicursor</i></li><li>New therizinosaur <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11063-5"><i>Paralitherizinosaurus japonicus</i></a></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-06910-4">Cranial biomechanics</a> of oviraptorosaurs</li><li><a href="https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/SP521-2021-181">Reproductive biology</a> of oviraptorosaurs</li><li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09544062221086529">Flapping mechanics</a> of <i>Caudipteryx</i></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895981122003327">Caenagnathids</a> from the Cerro del Pueblo Formation</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667122001252">Subadult specimen</a> of <i>Yulong</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667122002269">Tracks</a> from the Late Cretaceous of Italy identified as likely belonging to oviraptorosaurs</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDaY_v3ZtKMQVVIn4gRFWSlANxNfwEhwBWNWO9wVdeBYHui84cRucTkZyntE8WgkzRuqK_h7suoR27aCvpmyDIfTFqdVQcEEkEpB7xBmNYI_Kt5gBGnAHktmQl4Oo1xAIvam8aMQEknGxdaBIr4hldyYIp5idC7UQjhebN-tuHqJbXe1TWd9WqKX2/s2480/41598_2022_6910_Fig6_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="1757" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDaY_v3ZtKMQVVIn4gRFWSlANxNfwEhwBWNWO9wVdeBYHui84cRucTkZyntE8WgkzRuqK_h7suoR27aCvpmyDIfTFqdVQcEEkEpB7xBmNYI_Kt5gBGnAHktmQl4Oo1xAIvam8aMQEknGxdaBIr4hldyYIp5idC7UQjhebN-tuHqJbXe1TWd9WqKX2/w227-h320/41598_2022_6910_Fig6_HTML.png" width="227" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Estimated gape limits in oviraptorosaurs, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-06910-4">Meade and Ma (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>General and non-neornithean paravians</b><br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/137/1/145/6565172">Comment</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/137/1/157/6643580">response</a> on the role of wing-assisted incline running (WAIR) in the origin of avian flight<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/SP521-2021-179">Skull morphometrics</a> of Mesozoic paravians</li><li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2205476119">Body profiles</a> of Mesozoic paravians based on soft tissues</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35039-1">Soft tissues</a> of the feet in Mesozoic paravians</li><li>New dromaeosaurids <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04119-9"><i>Natovenator polydontus</i></a> and <i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24602-x">Daurlong wangi</a></i></li><li><i>Microraptor</i> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2022.2144337">ate mammals</a></li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.2010087">Maxillary evolution</a> in eudromaeosaurs</li><li><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/giant-dromaeosaurid-theropod-from-the-upper-cretaceous-turonian-bissekty-formation-of-uzbekistan-and-the-status-of-ulughbegsaurus-uzbekistanensis/4543ABAB1EC19C84405EDF66A5F53124">Giant dromaeosaurid</a> from the Bissekty Formation</li><li><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.25103">Osteology</a> of <i>Dineobellator</i> <br /></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l7rZmHcZosg5Cjd5xoHV59biLIaL7j1Eh9n3SMezdNJjBixLXy4MYM33HrIokGQNyHSu9km1ykfdqgdCmd_-MLa7bjVDjjoyVy9vpkLPUnAWbh3C2J-1r2mcQShHr0SQSryeMQ6bJMJkKmbmSOAaexMNpQzP8M2QlFMY3MQZagqxvKZZZxlqtvUT/s1652/41598_2022_24602_Fig1_HTML.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1431" data-original-width="1652" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l7rZmHcZosg5Cjd5xoHV59biLIaL7j1Eh9n3SMezdNJjBixLXy4MYM33HrIokGQNyHSu9km1ykfdqgdCmd_-MLa7bjVDjjoyVy9vpkLPUnAWbh3C2J-1r2mcQShHr0SQSryeMQ6bJMJkKmbmSOAaexMNpQzP8M2QlFMY3MQZagqxvKZZZxlqtvUT/w320-h277/41598_2022_24602_Fig1_HTML.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Daurlong wangi</i>, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24602-x">Wang et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2022.2155149">Troodontid hand</a> from the Yixian Formation</li><li><a href="https://www.lynxeds.com/product/birds-of-the-mesozoic/"><i>Birds of the Mesozoic</i></a> by Juan Benito Moreno and illustrated by Roc Olivé Pous published (I may have <a href="https://twitter.com/albertonykus/status/1610714657970438149">had a hand</a> in this one)<br /></li><li><a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/74751">Evidence of frugivory</a> in and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac089/6768673">cranial osteology</a> of <i>Jeholornis</i></li><li><a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/76086">Pectoral girdle morphology</a> of <i>Sapeornis</i> and <i>Piscivorenantiornis</i> <br /></li><li>New confuciusornithiform <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04316-6"><i>Confuciusornis shifan</i></a> <br /></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667122003172">Taphonomy</a> of a claw sheath in <i>Confuciusornis</i></li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00232-9">Ontogenetic niche shifts</a> in <i>Confuciusornis</i> <br /></li><li>New enantiornitheans <i><a href="http://www.geojournals.cn/dzxbe/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=2021627&flag=1">Beiguornis khinganensis</a></i>, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/new-bohaiornithidlike-bird-from-the-lower-cretaceous-of-china-fills-a-gap-in-enantiornithine-disparity/904F4A5175D5E6A5A641116267945BA5"><i>Musivavis amabilis</i></a>, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667122003160"><i>Yatenavis ieujensis</i></a></li><li><a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/81337">Cranial anatomy</a> of <i>Yuanchuavis</i> <br /></li><li><a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-022-01294-3">Diet</a> of longipterygids<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1398">Enantiornithean braincase</a> from the Adamantina Formation<i></i></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095383622000840">Scales</a> of <i>Gansus</i></li><li>New ichthyornithean <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05445-y"><i>Janavis finalidens</i></a> </li><li><a href="https://peerj.com/articles/13919/">Postcranial anatomy</a> of <i>Ichthyornis</i> <br /></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11692-022-09568-y">Connectivity patterns</a> of the hindlimb musculoskeletal system in diving avialans<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/4/267">hesperornithiform diversity</a></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsnY0iht4IiVOJGnnx6dm5F77JO11gOAEnUIrXAmROE-iQkACvLxA61Ofg8h4d-0lsxx8YlngjlCf2XFQoAXVtk0V0XQkchHq641xd08bptCeL40uDPrObpz9kJhnvlwiVi3VoR8ClK51q5iDyZ8HOh2JK2XhdAkTCSBiF8tt57Y84PNSVftLVYUc/s834/janavisskeletal.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="834" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsnY0iht4IiVOJGnnx6dm5F77JO11gOAEnUIrXAmROE-iQkACvLxA61Ofg8h4d-0lsxx8YlngjlCf2XFQoAXVtk0V0XQkchHq641xd08bptCeL40uDPrObpz9kJhnvlwiVi3VoR8ClK51q5iDyZ8HOh2JK2XhdAkTCSBiF8tt57Y84PNSVftLVYUc/s320/janavisskeletal.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schematic skeletal of <i>Janavis finalidens</i> with preserved bones shown, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05445-y">Benito et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>General crown birds </b><p></p><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Second edition of <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-87645-6"><i>Paleogene Fossil Birds</i></a> by Gerald Mayr published</li><li><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-142/issue-1/bboc.v142i1.2022.a3/Catalogue-of-Cuban-fossil-and-subfossil-birds/10.25226/bboc.v142i1.2022.a3.full">Catalogue</a> of fossil birds of Cuba</li><li>Survey of the avian <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.24869">uncinate bone</a></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ahe.12870">Variation</a> in avian sternal keel shape<br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21479">Functional morphology</a> of the avian pelvis</li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/2/180">Ossification</a> of the avian vertebral column</li><li>Identification of <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24882">skeletal maturity</a> in birds</li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/4/298">Bone histology</a> of large flightless birds</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595522002477">Scaling</a> of avian ear morphology</li><li>Survey of avian <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24923">paramedullary diverticula</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04982-w">Development</a> of the avian pelvis parallels its evolutionary history</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpac039/6881554">Diversification</a> of avian limb morphology</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05372-y">Environmental signal</a> in the diversification of avian skeletons</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidT6QmgPrg6q_pzE64XaQrL8jCwA23wTNQYID9FBWuJ_shonI49wQDVEy_CZU2vPUw74qPhKMm4r7C-fpzV_4eNjYVxlmSDzCcYwbQefns2lnOZQ7ShzdgBLqlhZVxSqEv_hGGfDEbtCRkPbYEafEiQXoSUgrrCHzGK-f_jvuXdC-WZDuBcpjiiwBo/s1478/avianpelvisdev.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1128" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidT6QmgPrg6q_pzE64XaQrL8jCwA23wTNQYID9FBWuJ_shonI49wQDVEy_CZU2vPUw74qPhKMm4r7C-fpzV_4eNjYVxlmSDzCcYwbQefns2lnOZQ7ShzdgBLqlhZVxSqEv_hGGfDEbtCRkPbYEafEiQXoSUgrrCHzGK-f_jvuXdC-WZDuBcpjiiwBo/s320/avianpelvisdev.png" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Developmental history of the avian pelvis compared to its evolutionary history, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04982-w">Griffin et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Special issue on avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14610248/2022/25/3">functional traits</a> </li><li>Interrelationships among <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.12966">body mass, jaw musculature, and bite force</a> in birds</li><li>Avian coracoid strength as an indicator of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13788">wing-beat propulsion</a></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.14425">Possible link</a> between avian brain size and flight mode</li><li>Flying birds <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04477-8">transition between stable and unstable states</a> via wing morphing</li><li>Role of wingbeat frequency and amplitude in avian <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2022.0168">flight power</a></li><li>Role of tail in stability and energetic cost of avian <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-27179-7">flapping flight</a></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/1/pgac023/6546201">Soaring performance</a> of giant birds (and pterosaurs)</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article-abstract/62/4/878/6638988">Correlation</a> between high wing loading and avian dive performance<br /></li><li>Diversity of avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13136">eggshell thickness indices</a></li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12918">feather function</a> in birds</li><li>Evolution of avian <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24781-7">facial bristles</a></li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13100">thermal effects</a> of plumage coloration</li><li>Contrastingly-colored ventral wings as visual <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0678">collision avoidance signals</a> in birds<br /></li><li>Ornaments are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33548-7">equally informative</a> in male and female birds</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9n95EEijtHplidqF8YK_NiOGJ7rmt5fy6TJ879FjRdQn-nCekP0Y7-R4En8nWscXUmDRalvBxQsq4r8F_nlAqA4Uj2sYgv2b-FZbYNDhMQ_HsMIBHc83GrLt9otpxHDcn10WZn06blT62Vi1rAnQAVxplCGyer_uHCRYSogax9Ct1meA6lpiHP90/s2118/41467_2022_33548_Fig1_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2118" data-original-width="2001" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9n95EEijtHplidqF8YK_NiOGJ7rmt5fy6TJ879FjRdQn-nCekP0Y7-R4En8nWscXUmDRalvBxQsq4r8F_nlAqA4Uj2sYgv2b-FZbYNDhMQ_HsMIBHc83GrLt9otpxHDcn10WZn06blT62Vi1rAnQAVxplCGyer_uHCRYSogax9Ct1meA6lpiHP90/w378-h400/41467_2022_33548_Fig1_HTML.png" width="378" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Associations between ornament elaboration and body condition or fitness in mutually ornamented bird species, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33548-7">Nolazco et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01815-x">Correlation</a> between avian neuron numbers and innovativeness</li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0270771">Problems</a> with using comparative analyses of avian brain size to test hypotheses of cognitive evolution</li><li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2116645119">Adaptive variation</a> in the upper limits of avian body temperature</li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/4/678">Genomic basis</a> for avian tactile foraging</li><li>Review of <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01230-1">genomic bases</a> for adaptation in birds</li><li>Evolution of the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0058">broken-wing display</a> in birds</li><li><a href="https://peerj.com/articles/13431/">Aggressive signaling</a> among competing bird species</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.14062">Complexity</a> of avian brood parasite–host relationships</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.13109">Effect</a> of flight efficiency on gap-crossing ability in birds from the Amazon</li><li>Riverine barriers as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.846975/full">obstacles to dispersal</a> in birds from the Amazon</li><li>Interspecific competition <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl7242">limits avian species ranges</a> in tropical mountains</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.1105">Seasonal avian species richness</a> on islands<br /></li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac080/6763608">Biome conservatism</a> in galliforms and falcons<br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0091">Macroevolutionary dynamics</a> of avian climatic niche space<br /></li><li>Changes in avian <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14972-7">range size</a> from Pleistocene climatic oscillations<br /></li><li>Post-settlement <a href="https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3506">extinction rates</a> for New Zealand birds</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000238">Phylogenetic nomenclature</a> of avian clades, including new names for the moa–tinamou clade (Dinocrypturi), the mesite–sandgrouse clade (Pteroclimesites), the putative turaco–bustard clade (Musophagotides), the phaethontimorph–aequornithean clade (Phaethoquornithes), and the suliform–pelecaniform clade (Pelecanes)</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2022.2126010">Bird</a> from the Na Duong Formation</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790322001634">Conflicting signals</a> in neoavian phylogenetics</li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/7/1167">Phylogeny</a> of neoavians based on retroelements</li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo0099">Rate of mutation accumulation</a> in neoavians<br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2056">diving</a> in neoavians<br /></li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21513">convergence</a> across nectarivorous birds</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/137/3/513/6693378">Coevolution</a> between channel-billed cuckoos and pied currawongs</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFnk9gFoeWnKrSHF5tvLf3ZQeeL9JmO5Uwmy3renyz_3mz25BrWrh-3Fn6SriCvzALDLPS_Ouv-lIdoXZGIu-N9AbFiWvSQkDXZC5hxhQ0-izCW_zXnI69AEYkC1EOXHEZAY2TJ2ANa0ZmZs6GkEtfD9dcHqcARpt2D3UIWCwE_HRYuPbx1TspBH7/s2005/rspb20222056f03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2005" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFnk9gFoeWnKrSHF5tvLf3ZQeeL9JmO5Uwmy3renyz_3mz25BrWrh-3Fn6SriCvzALDLPS_Ouv-lIdoXZGIu-N9AbFiWvSQkDXZC5hxhQ0-izCW_zXnI69AEYkC1EOXHEZAY2TJ2ANa0ZmZs6GkEtfD9dcHqcARpt2D3UIWCwE_HRYuPbx1TspBH7/w400-h339/rspb20222056f03.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distribution of diving behavior in aquatic neoavians, from <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2056">Tyler and Younger (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <b>Paleognaths </b><br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Review of the paleognath <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/2/105">fossil record</a></li><li>Review of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981122000220">putative paleognath fossils</a> from South America and Antarctica</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13665">Bone histology</a> of paleognaths</li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/2/123">Stratigraphic distribution</a> of the egg taxon <i>Psammornis</i><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/860">Reevaluation</a> of <i>Struthio asiaticus</i></li><li>Preserved <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/82849">peptides</a> in ostrich eggshell from the Liushu Formation</li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abn9580">Trade-offs</a> between heat and cold tolerance in common ostriches</li><li>Divergent benefits of <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/77170">cooperative breeding</a> for male and female common ostriches</li><li><i>Diogenornis</i>-like fossils from Argentina <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2022.2098489">reinterpreted</a> as remains of an indeterminate paleognath and a stem-penguin</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21486">Wing anatomy</a> of the greater rhea</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13733">Intraspecific variation</a> in the casque of southern cassowaries</li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266430">Phylogeny</a> of kiwi</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00912-5">Population genetic structure</a> of North Island brown kiwi</li><li>Genetic evidence for a post-glacial <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0013">population expansion</a> in eastern moa</li><li>"Tinamou egg" from the Dolores Formation <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981122001924">reinterpreted</a> as a mammal intestinal stone</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WHOd5ssjor6bMibxKCEirV5C4TU24lAcjoCGsP5HaL2Fwju4hQSswKOoX9kjRNAEy2nh8dayCiBJWuUiaBd1ChvRSUFOnl19iMf015oaB9hCFt6HPYhDHmQ0xAm7JYymPw9cspzYFF2Zzkiy5poIkr_kqw6sVG_cLRMZm0p_tnuVLTdiCt4SXD_2/s2128/cassowarycasquevariation.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="2128" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WHOd5ssjor6bMibxKCEirV5C4TU24lAcjoCGsP5HaL2Fwju4hQSswKOoX9kjRNAEy2nh8dayCiBJWuUiaBd1ChvRSUFOnl19iMf015oaB9hCFt6HPYhDHmQ0xAm7JYymPw9cspzYFF2Zzkiy5poIkr_kqw6sVG_cLRMZm0p_tnuVLTdiCt4SXD_2/w400-h183/cassowarycasquevariation.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Variation in the casque of southern cassowaries, from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13733">Green et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Galloanserans</b><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Evidence from <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2109326119">ancient protein sequences</a> presented in favor of a dromornithid (instead of megapode) identity for putative <i>Genyornis</i> eggshells</li><li><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25047">Bone histology</a> of <i>Dromornis</i></li><li><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24891">Ecomorphology</a> of the anseriform tarsometatarsus<br /></li><li>New Miocene anatid <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2022.2045285"><i>Allgoviachen tortonica</i></a></li><li>New Miocene anatid <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5168.1.3"><i>Notochen bannockburnensis</i></a></li><li>New Miocene filter-feeding, flightless swans <a href="http://www.gmnh.pref.gunma.jp/wp-content/uploads/bulletin26_1.pdf"><i>Annakacygna hajimei</i> and <i>Annakacygna yoshiiensis</i></a> (memorably deemed the "ultimate bird[s]" to ever exist by their describers)</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286011522002259">Development</a> of denticulations in domestic geese</li><li>New Miocene shelduck <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6500/2/1/11"><i>Miotadorna catrionae</i></a> (argued to be synonymous with <i>Miotadorna sanctibathansi</i> by a <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5168.1.3">later study</a>)</li><li><a href="http://www.marineornithology.org/content/get.cgi?rn=1475">Use of wings</a> by common mergansers while diving</li><li>New Pleistocene duck <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030122060132"><i>Spatula praeclypeata</i></a></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0L9ZVNNg3GjIwnQrML9HxTphmH6EXM6x9f3_KMMjEHzU4kzNW5iVBEsWAl25yhAGTIh8iQwDzRyUUBIlh5CgNlq4RV6ZjUYoqOMra6lNFYrst3sLyysEzSnEdo_6KW9S1UZSZ_ykaYkgk15KZ2RM3S-u4WIIlgqwA3gZFvge5daHxaJiEJFfAZAn2/s1040/annakacygnahajimei.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1040" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0L9ZVNNg3GjIwnQrML9HxTphmH6EXM6x9f3_KMMjEHzU4kzNW5iVBEsWAl25yhAGTIh8iQwDzRyUUBIlh5CgNlq4RV6ZjUYoqOMra6lNFYrst3sLyysEzSnEdo_6KW9S1UZSZ_ykaYkgk15KZ2RM3S-u4WIIlgqwA3gZFvge5daHxaJiEJFfAZAn2/s320/annakacygnahajimei.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeletal reconstruction of <i>Annakacygna hajimei</i>, from <a href="http://www.gmnh.pref.gunma.jp/wp-content/uploads/bulletin26_1.pdf">Matsuoka and Hasegawa (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14829-z">Endocast</a> of <i>Sylviornis</i></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000044">courtship displays</a> in galliforms</li><li><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.13883">Ecosystem engineering</a> by mound-building malleefowl</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000433">Thermoregulatory function</a> of the throat sack in helmeted guineafowl</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790322001725">Phylogeny</a> of American quails</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0393">Generation of a three-dimensional illusion</a> and a novel form of <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)02185-X">blue structural color</a> in feathers of great argus</li><li>New Pliocene phasianid <a href="http://www.ornis.hu/?download&aid=467&volume_id=43&lang=eng">"<i>Pliogallus</i>" <i>csarnotanus</i></a> ("<i>Pliogallus</i>" is almost certainly synonymous with the extant <i>Gallus</i>)</li><li>The <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2121978119">origin</a> of domestic chickens (a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2210996119">comment</a> and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213678119">response</a> to this study was published later in the year)</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13716">Development</a> of ribs and intercostal muscles in chickens</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20247-y">Kinematics</a> of walking up and down steps in common quails</li><li>New Miocene phasianid <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/osteology-and-neuroanatomy-of-a-phasianid-aves-galliformes-from-the-miocene-of-nebraska/693115C1761773ACC1F35326BD04570B"><i>Centuriavis lioae</i></a></li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinV82Jw2qkb-ojsGzq3B9NGWh-LG87WrTndZT4J3MgLIB-1pm234fLnm2eEfMPjXeQiYBx0lptnVF27XLBf9acTm43WMEoLV0H9b7poEp7YGRFKLHnwh7ZOHcZP1QHYq9hGXIY6-FDMntv0jtetVbDM48ExvvKDVr4B8-we7hne8N-5TYUo3wCd4qT/s2102/urn%20cambridge.org%20id%20binary%2020221019010856647-0154%20S0022336022000804%20S0022336022000804_fig1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1389" data-original-width="2102" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinV82Jw2qkb-ojsGzq3B9NGWh-LG87WrTndZT4J3MgLIB-1pm234fLnm2eEfMPjXeQiYBx0lptnVF27XLBf9acTm43WMEoLV0H9b7poEp7YGRFKLHnwh7ZOHcZP1QHYq9hGXIY6-FDMntv0jtetVbDM48ExvvKDVr4B8-we7hne8N-5TYUo3wCd4qT/w400-h264/urn%20cambridge.org%20id%20binary%2020221019010856647-0154%20S0022336022000804%20S0022336022000804_fig1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Centuriavis lioae</i>, from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/osteology-and-neuroanatomy-of-a-phasianid-aves-galliformes-from-the-miocene-of-nebraska/693115C1761773ACC1F35326BD04570B">Ksepka et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Miscellaneous neoavians</b><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2022.2103694">Flamingo</a> from the Kramer Beds</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/196/4/1485/6647631">Phylogeny</a> of flamingos</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)00892-6">Limited domestic introgression</a> in rock pigeons of the Outer Hebrides</li><li>Neurons of rock pigeons <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01219-2">consume less glucose</a> than those of mammals</li><li><a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5091.1.3">Taxonomy</a> of the brush cuckoo species complex</li></ul><p><b>Strisoreans </b><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/196/4/1464/6591392">Taxonomy</a> of eared nightjars</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.21482">Craniomandibular simplicity</a> in the band-winged nightjar</li><li>New Miocene owlet-nightjar <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-022-01981-6"><i>Aegotheles zealandivetus</i></a></li><li>Moonlight drives nocturnal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00397-9">vertical flight dynamics</a> in black swifts</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0675">Torpor</a> in common swifts</li><li>Model of the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2076">musculoskeletal system</a> of hummingbird wings</li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1783">sexually dimorphic traits</a> in hummingbirds</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03518-2">Plumage color diversity</a> of hummingbirds</li><li><a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/225/2/jeb243208/274119/A-heterothermic-spectrum-in-hummingbirds">Heterothermic spectrum</a> in hummingbirds</li><li>Review of <a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/522148">vocal communication</a> in hummingbirds</li><li>Intersexual social dominance mimicry drives <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0332">female polymorphism</a> in white-necked jacobins</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/33/6/1093/6686581">Sexual selection</a> for flight performance in mellisugin hummingbirds</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG4Bde0EkI9SyT-1lR7XvXZe7RPdp9JASfhDF5LyXGcNvnmVt0Am2qhlPeAmzGAkdJ4G9RWDOHrq7eVKOxiyp0-L5vZVRWCvOxC2GW7CCJkiROsGq_pVg8SF-pBvgUdW7Yn41zR6b4d3k7gXfOUzlMrpg9g3ub9aLKAZZ9jm0q34BjYLsXpfZF8xA/s1351/42003_2022_3518_Fig1_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1351" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG4Bde0EkI9SyT-1lR7XvXZe7RPdp9JASfhDF5LyXGcNvnmVt0Am2qhlPeAmzGAkdJ4G9RWDOHrq7eVKOxiyp0-L5vZVRWCvOxC2GW7CCJkiROsGq_pVg8SF-pBvgUdW7Yn41zR6b4d3k7gXfOUzlMrpg9g3ub9aLKAZZ9jm0q34BjYLsXpfZF8xA/w400-h288/42003_2022_3518_Fig1_HTML.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plumage color diversity in hummingbirds, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03518-2">Venable et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Gruiforms and charadriiforms </b><br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joa.13690">Relationship</a> between flightlessness and brain morphology in rails</li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-022-02004-0">Phylogenetic position</a> of the Zapata rail</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790322002330">Divergence times</a> of shorebirds</li><li><a href="https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/comptes-rendus-palevol/21/11">Buttonquails</a> from the Oligocene–Miocene of France</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syac078/6956909">Phylogeny</a> of skuas</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9579">Flightless molt strategies</a> of Atlantic puffins</li><li>Dark wing pigmentation <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04144-8">improves flight efficiency</a> in gulls</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDPwa4UlwM_vna_IdxUuobjnyflcAeQMwYs7UqBEN-BNFuTEmZE6jo72CE8y7c1dHlSmhQmgnEcE4C4ip7nkg3pbVmFHMMkIUc2r1HH9T8SXiyr3xZwRa0iEcfifxcxvSu8DTDxMDNz_oCXWASAsqeZJQ7nkstphQoir5UdMOUqwh3ZgeddYvSmyz/s1386/1-s2.0-S1055790322002330-ga1_lrg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1386" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDPwa4UlwM_vna_IdxUuobjnyflcAeQMwYs7UqBEN-BNFuTEmZE6jo72CE8y7c1dHlSmhQmgnEcE4C4ip7nkg3pbVmFHMMkIUc2r1HH9T8SXiyr3xZwRa0iEcfifxcxvSu8DTDxMDNz_oCXWASAsqeZJQ7nkstphQoir5UdMOUqwh3ZgeddYvSmyz/w400-h256/1-s2.0-S1055790322002330-ga1_lrg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time-scaled phylogeny of shorebirds, from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790322002330">Černý and Natale (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Phaethoquornitheans</b><br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New stem-loon <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/196/4/1431/6643590"><i>Nasidytes ypresianus</i></a></li><li>Review of the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/4/255">evolutionary and biogeographical history</a> of penguins</li><li>Comparative anatomy of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1749-4877.12689">synsacral canal</a> in penguins <br /></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21476">Illustration</a> of penguin head anatomy</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31508-9">Genomic insights</a> into penguin evolution</li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0275106">Breeding biology</a> of erect-crested penguins</li><li>Comparative anatomy of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044523122000535">compound rhamphotheca</a> in procellariiforms</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9116">Historical genetic structure</a> of short-tailed albatrosses</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01595-5">Deep diving</a> in black-browed albatrosses</li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0275102">Phylogeny</a> of the fairy prion and the fulmar prion</li><li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2212925119">Response</a> of streaked shearwaters to cyclones</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790322002846">Species delimitation</a> in <i>Puffinus</i> shearwaters</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220435">New specimens</a> of <i>Leptoptilos robustus</i></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10592-022-01466-2">Phylogeography</a> of frigatebirds</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14360">Diversification</a> of blue-eyed shags</li><li>Comparative morphology of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13734">remote-touch bill-tip organ</a> in ibises</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivavh9eRbzfBLmw3STOh8YERy3-SESYkRcP-UqCk-nXwHx-UrbASlk_BZ0t_tiHKBA0uBhDQtnTcv0GLVdIWVqK0RWFStGB-zItUFzaN2EwZpn4WUnIfBeiQvlgNz_ExzeKRndqTKxNz49zar3IiU_-zbSlFv3w0VvHkNcn77EsMsjwWFH9GOr-0qw/s4010/zlac045_fig1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2610" data-original-width="4010" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivavh9eRbzfBLmw3STOh8YERy3-SESYkRcP-UqCk-nXwHx-UrbASlk_BZ0t_tiHKBA0uBhDQtnTcv0GLVdIWVqK0RWFStGB-zItUFzaN2EwZpn4WUnIfBeiQvlgNz_ExzeKRndqTKxNz49zar3IiU_-zbSlFv3w0VvHkNcn77EsMsjwWFH9GOr-0qw/w400-h260/zlac045_fig1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Nasidytes ypresianus</i>, from <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/196/4/1431/6643590">Mayr and Kitchener (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Telluravians </b><br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New Miocene telluravian-like bird <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-022-01981-6"><i>Zealandornis relictus</i></a></li><li>Formation of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27858-5">Indo-Pacific bird diversity</a> across barriers and along elevational gradients</li><li>River network rearrangements <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abn1099">promote speciation</a> in lowland Amazonian birds</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000494">Myological variation</a> in raptors</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13742">Postcranial skeletal pneumaticity</a> in accipitrimorphs</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21449">Humeral morphometrics</a> in vultures</li><li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2022.2114080">Large condor</a> from the Luján Formation</li><li>New Miocene cathartid vulture <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.2008411"><i>Dryornis hatcheri</i></a></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716622000676">Coloration mechanisms</a> of bare skin on the heads of American vultures</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03811-0">Paleogenomics</a> of <i>Coragyps occidentalis</i> <br /></li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220135">Orbit and endocranial morphology</a> of the letter-winged kite</li><li>New Miocene gypaetine vultures <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2022.2053117"><i>Gypaetus georgii</i> and <i>Neophron lolis</i></a></li><li>New genus <a href="https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5168.1.1"><i>Cryptogyps</i></a> for "<i>Taphaetus</i>" <i>lacertosus</i>, identified as an aegypiine vulture</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04861-4">Optimization of perching maneuvers</a> by Harris's hawks</li><li><a href="https://www.paleoitalia.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/04_Pavia_et_al_2022_BSPI_612.pdf"><i>Buteo</i> hawk</a> from the Miocene of Italy</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32354-5">Avoidance of the confusion effect</a> by Swainson's hawks while hunting Mexican free-tailed bats</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeQ2wNj-zH3r_j4p4G-J0ukfufVZfVPU_ktwyco4syejKiVYBIqpPBChWuYLjVHu1RdjXa7fULVZD-fD8aoZOVfndXUSJdvjxlCvSzQeVrtFVzCIzu2QpCEoHf1Ng3TONj67_L3xQTVe5wd68JNaNgwlM2Y8nLFwqDTTQazyrGjJMzW87rpSpd2FB/s1025/rsos220135f01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1025" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeQ2wNj-zH3r_j4p4G-J0ukfufVZfVPU_ktwyco4syejKiVYBIqpPBChWuYLjVHu1RdjXa7fULVZD-fD8aoZOVfndXUSJdvjxlCvSzQeVrtFVzCIzu2QpCEoHf1Ng3TONj67_L3xQTVe5wd68JNaNgwlM2Y8nLFwqDTTQazyrGjJMzW87rpSpd2FB/s320/rsos220135f01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull and endocast of the letter-winged kite, from <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.220135">Keirnan et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New stem-owl <i><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13125">Ypresiglaux michaeldanielsi</a></i></li><li><a href="https://jco.birdscaribbean.org/index.php/jco/article/view/1283">Giant barn owl</a> from the Holocene of Guadeloupe</li><li>Role of the tail in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0710">drag minimization</a> in gliding barn owls</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-022-00562-w">Genomic basis</a> of insularity and ecological divergence in barn owls of the Canary Islands</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13097">Phylogenetic position</a> of the forest owlet</li><li>New Miocene owl <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2119217119"><i>Miosurnia diurna</i></a></li><li>New extant owl, the <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/87635/">Príncipe scops-owl (<i>Otus bikegila</i>)</a></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oa.3190">Reevaluation</a> of a putative Holocene record of the Eurasian eagle owl from Britain</li><li>Great gray owls hover to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1164">defeat an acoustic mirage</a> while hunting</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jXPeSZoQW1_OObkRGnL0TLfZOKNVJ3-x5u-cupUdSCYYnFvwB1Oeduw9MBhTc71z49wcZRddZ9xlfjS5ScDJsIwoDcGFp_SjNpUWqdIy0354XuUjQgl3tD8xuV6G-8XlftWF2B-5HlaoRAidS4SsXISk1x0rHRBxGJFHHVPvemn6Zz9GZySfH97h/s5351/pnas.2119217119fig01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5351" data-original-width="4094" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jXPeSZoQW1_OObkRGnL0TLfZOKNVJ3-x5u-cupUdSCYYnFvwB1Oeduw9MBhTc71z49wcZRddZ9xlfjS5ScDJsIwoDcGFp_SjNpUWqdIy0354XuUjQgl3tD8xuV6G-8XlftWF2B-5HlaoRAidS4SsXISk1x0rHRBxGJFHHVPvemn6Zz9GZySfH97h/s320/pnas.2119217119fig01.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Miosurnia diurna</i>, from <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2119217119">Li et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-022-00560-0">indeterminate telluravian <i>Lutavis platypelvis</i> and possible stem-courols <i>Plesiocathartes insolitipes</i>, <i>Waltonavis paraleptosomus</i>, and <i>Waltonavis danielsi</i></a></li><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13420-022-00518-4">Social diffusion of foraging techniques</a> in southern ground hornbills</li><li>Woodpeckers <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00855-7">minimize cranial shock absorption</a></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14535">drumming</a> in woodpeckers</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.221096">Correlated evolution</a> between color conspicuousness and drum speed in woodpeckers<br /></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01208-8">sweet taste perception</a> in woodpeckers</li><li>Role of cranial kinesis in <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/225/5/jeb243787/274555/Cranial-kinesis-facilitates-quick-retraction-of">retracting stuck beaks</a> of black woodpeckers during pecking</li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001751">Brain regions</a> of downy woodpeckers linked to drumming displays</li><li>New stem-falcon <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.2083515"><i>Danielsraptor phorusrhacoides</i></a><i><br /></i></li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqu12Ps6ur1xuPaerkO4Pk5ICDyp7jfRVtf0zVulgp-oZ3z0zJq_z5EJWfhvpNpIfEcouxN6GsHIjsR2VNVIjSFByBKpbbLFbRlXaQm9Ni2zb0l0WYg1CPvFw0X53tCBirbYrYbbf1_34ri3zRl1hWbGEKjSPFtmQerXkYzISzoHsVzMHQKCfc9Ij/s1039/danielsraptor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="852" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqu12Ps6ur1xuPaerkO4Pk5ICDyp7jfRVtf0zVulgp-oZ3z0zJq_z5EJWfhvpNpIfEcouxN6GsHIjsR2VNVIjSFByBKpbbLFbRlXaQm9Ni2zb0l0WYg1CPvFw0X53tCBirbYrYbbf1_34ri3zRl1hWbGEKjSPFtmQerXkYzISzoHsVzMHQKCfc9Ij/s320/danielsraptor.png" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of the holotype of <i>Danielsraptor phorusrhacoides</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.2083515">Mayr and Kitchener (2021)</a>. (The print version of the journal retroactively dates the paper to 2021, but really, the paper was first released in 2022.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14466">Biogeography</a> of psittacopassereans</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syac055/6653321">Phylogeny</a> of parrots</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.2397">Coevolution</a> of brain size and life expectancy in parrots</li><li><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.13742">Past trophic ecology</a> of kea</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352154622000249">Origin of tool use</a> in Tanimbar corellas<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05529-9">Composite tool use</a> by Tanimbar corellas</li><li>Potential case of an <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01285-4">innovation arms race</a> between sulfur-crested cockatoos and humans</li><li><a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/225/1/jeb242305/273915/Climbing-parrots-achieve-pitch-stability-using">Climbing mechanics</a> of green-cheeked conures</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0245">Tripedal locomotion</a> in rosy-faced lovebirds</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WV1Ve0OzY14A-5ee2db8Q6xq377SJqcpQriZp7jo-f9-FRIvzp21EcVW6SylFR-b2Qr-BifUicihRpY73-gw3hA5HKVPtKLL1RstBq3EbWb45Ed0BDzwzm-Y5nyiHaXSHM-da5Dwfv8C-NPfExJU1oRD3PVylewyxrwBBEFwLbmmTRwmahdILSJA/s1536/41598_2022_5529_Fig1_HTML.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1536" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WV1Ve0OzY14A-5ee2db8Q6xq377SJqcpQriZp7jo-f9-FRIvzp21EcVW6SylFR-b2Qr-BifUicihRpY73-gw3hA5HKVPtKLL1RstBq3EbWb45Ed0BDzwzm-Y5nyiHaXSHM-da5Dwfv8C-NPfExJU1oRD3PVylewyxrwBBEFwLbmmTRwmahdILSJA/w400-h208/41598_2022_5529_Fig1_HTML.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experimental setup for studying composite tool use in Tanimbar corellas, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05529-9">Osuna-Mascaró et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>New stem-passeriforms <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2022.2141629"><i>Minutornis primoscenoides</i>, <i>Psittacomimus eos</i>, ?<i>Psittacopes occidentalis</i>, and <i>Primoscens carolinae</i></a></li><li>Comparative anatomy of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13761">carpometacarpus</a> in passeriforms</li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13791">carotenoid-based plumage coloration</a> in passeriforms <br /></li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32586-5">Patterns of ultraviolet reflectance evolution</a> in passeriforms</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01714-1">Latitudinal gradients</a> in passeriform colorfulness</li><li>Correlates of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0370">aerial displays</a> in passeriforms</li><li>Drivers of <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13815">variation in cup nest size</a> in passeriforms</li><li>Macroevolutionary consequences of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syac083/6964948">nest type</a> in passeriforms</li><li>Faster evolution of song discrimination <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2021.1514">not associated</a> with faster speciation rates in passeriforms</li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.8842">mimicry</a> in juvenile tyrannidans</li><li>Dancing <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.2540">drives sexual size dimorphism</a> in manakins</li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2119671119">gene expression underlying superfast muscles</a> of manakins</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syac062/6709362">Conflicting signals</a> in manakin phylogenetics</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790322001385">Phylogeny</a> of <i>Lepidothrix</i> manakins</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.16562">Speciation</a> in <i>Pipra</i> manakins</li><li>The black-and-white becard actually consists of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ornithology/ukac047/6677526">two distantly related species</a></li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jeb.14000">exaggerated sexual traits</a> in kingbirds</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14478">Population dynamics</a> of antbirds</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/196/4/1408/6571472">Diversification</a> of <i>Willisornis</i> antbirds </li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jbi.14370">Diversification</a> of bare-eyes</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13805">Adaptations to climbing</a> in the feet of ovenbirds</li><li>Correlates of <a href="https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-022-02047-0">molecular evolutionary rates</a> in ovenbirds</li><li>New extant ovenbird, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17985-4">subantarctic rayadito (<i>Aphrastura subantarctica</i>)</a></li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9sBwhQtE1vnvyatrsNOUoUuwQUDs5bTRT9JlnygyKfbZi-wIdEnP5JwUSaBn2p8ZXe4RapLn586NjTIcXfbu-Wze6WBEiF9kBCROiBU6vfq84iAwdAcBs3LQiPJH5-rjhtqxtIf78QvaDb0dwFPnwwHqrsoXctpKz2ko04KDWAZhmCW0RePilJL9M/s2128/ece38842-fig-0002-m.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="2128" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9sBwhQtE1vnvyatrsNOUoUuwQUDs5bTRT9JlnygyKfbZi-wIdEnP5JwUSaBn2p8ZXe4RapLn586NjTIcXfbu-Wze6WBEiF9kBCROiBU6vfq84iAwdAcBs3LQiPJH5-rjhtqxtIf78QvaDb0dwFPnwwHqrsoXctpKz2ko04KDWAZhmCW0RePilJL9M/w400-h259/ece38842-fig-0002-m.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distribution of mimetic traits in juvenile tyrannidans, from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.8842">Londoño et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13998">Nest architecture</a> linked with ecological success in songbirds</li><li>Feather growth rate in songbirds <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2021.2404">explained by breeding latitude</a></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13052">Post-copulatory multimodal display</a> performed by male superb lyrebirds</li><li>Emergence of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13950">multilevel societies</a> in superb fairy-wrens</li><li>Evolutionary history of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14545">female ornamentation</a> in white-shouldered fairy-wrens</li><li>Relationship between <a href="https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-022-02041-6">geographic range size and speciation</a> in honeyeaters</li><li>New genus <a href="https://www.aviansystematics.org/uploads/texteditor/AS_1_2_PDFA.pdf"><i>Eugymnomyza</i></a> for the crow honeyeater ("<i>Gymnomyza</i>" <i>aubryana</i>)</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/71/6/1423/6608712">Diversification</a> of corvideans</li><li>The phylogeny of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-022-00499-0">maroon oriole species complex</a></li><li>Australian magpies <a href="https://afo.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2247">cooperatively remove tracking devices</a> from each other</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/196/4/1394/6547518">Phylogeography</a> of <i>Paradisaea</i> birds-of-paradise</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29707-5">Diversification</a> of corvids</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cne.25298">High associative neuron numbers</a> in corvids</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article-abstract/71/6/1453/6585345">Speciation</a> in scrub-jays</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2021.0348">Delay of gratification</a> in Eurasian jays</li><li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03364-2">Diversification</a> of nutcrackers</li><li>How consensus in Eurasian jackdaws <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00601-7">governs mass departures</a> from their roosts</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cne.25392">Brain atlas</a> of the carrion crow</li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq3356">Recursive sequence generation</a> in carrion crows</li><li>Review of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eth.13352">tool use</a> in common ravens</li></ul></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa6ziebnbfR8-Lnzt65LdqkqSKT4fatNw4GbvN_Chj_hLAVJRN3_2lebYnFIYv0aiu8c6U1Iba1f-gYxY4zfWPFJZj1qF7vjKRSWR9g_ZkG2J6dRuCImok8KrrJeCluUNcihcOxIYtPGdpQOBoQnBUWIgBpyhg2CT99kE9Mlo9kFsf26ZzRVPLhs-/s1618/syac044f2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="1618" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa6ziebnbfR8-Lnzt65LdqkqSKT4fatNw4GbvN_Chj_hLAVJRN3_2lebYnFIYv0aiu8c6U1Iba1f-gYxY4zfWPFJZj1qF7vjKRSWR9g_ZkG2J6dRuCImok8KrrJeCluUNcihcOxIYtPGdpQOBoQnBUWIgBpyhg2CT99kE9Mlo9kFsf26ZzRVPLhs-/w320-h270/syac044f2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogeny of corvideans, from <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/71/6/1423/6608712">McCullough et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790322001889">Phylogeny</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/196/4/1451/6659027">phylogeography</a> of New Zealand wattlebirds</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9223">Migratory route</a> of the Arctic warbler<br /></li><li>New extant white eyes, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01937-2">Meratus white-eye (<i>Zosterops meratusensis</i>)</a> and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13148">Wangi-wangi white-eye (<i>Zosterops paruhbesar</i>)</a></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13056">Effectiveness of camouflage</a> in Eurasian treecreepers</li><li>New recently extinct thrush <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-142/issue-4/bboc.v142i4.2022.a2/A-new-subfossil-ground-thrush-Turdidae--Geokichla-from-Mauritius/10.25226/bboc.v142i4.2022.a2.full"><i>Geokichla longitarsus</i></a></li><li>Pressure for rapid mate recognition promotes <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.14089">plumage sexual dichromatism</a> in <i>Turdus</i> thrushes</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790322002597">Phylogeny</a> of Afro-Eurasian flycatchers</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/9/msac189/6692815">Extinction risk</a> of shamas<br /></li><li>New extant Afro-Eurasian flycatcher, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01937-2">Meratus jungle flycatcher (<i>Cyornis kadayangensis</i>)</a></li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zsc.12568">Polymorphism and hybridization</a> in <i>Cyornis</i> flycatchers</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/zsc.12561">Taxonomy</a> of <i>Erithacus</i> robins</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790322001932">Taxonomy</a> of bush robins</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-article/doi/10.1093/molbev/msac278/6964684">Convergence</a> in open-habitat chats</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac081/6759114">Phylogeography</a> of the black sunbird and the olive-backed sunbird</li><li>Convergent evolution of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1734">pendent nests</a> in weaverbirds and American blackbirds</li><li>Effect of genetic architecture on <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2121752119">adaptation for host mimicry</a> by cuckoo-finches</li><li><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01838-3">Social role</a> of song in zebra finches</li><li><a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/81125/">Mitogenomics</a> of wagtails</li><li>Hand-wing index as a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/137/1/137/6623887">proxy for dispersal ability</a> in emberizoids</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14379">Biogeography</a> of <i>Arremon</i> passerellid sparrows</li><li><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1223">Niche construction</a> by brown-headed cowbirds through altering host brood size</li><li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.9152">Hybrid</a> between a rose-breasted grosbeak and a scarlet tanager</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ornithology/ukac052/6773082">Feather coloration mechanisms</a> of male painted buntings</li><li><a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpac069/6964980">Morphological convergence</a> in tanagers</li><li>Evolution of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1283">plumage coloration</a> in tanagers</li><li><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0270892">Phylogeny</a> of <i>Thraupis</i> tanagers</li><li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm5982">Comparative genomics</a> of Darwin's finches</li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790322001233">Diversification</a> of the variable seedeater species complex</li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSUQyi1LbZBCNIVXHAGuSZxJ_MvBziqrB3UTwaaH1rapvXa3p9YaxNCAl-OPAsy9FpP_JeOSXsrtUU9HTdy6vq7sdX23R0YWCYTBiHgo5kV4ZboBlIBdnzHonY2zcLsIq9tac0Td_TQvHtDyDEN-N3aQ9ZPcJ41iBOyDgk4T56-b3RNeDSUvSCLNy/s1383/tanabeak.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1383" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSUQyi1LbZBCNIVXHAGuSZxJ_MvBziqrB3UTwaaH1rapvXa3p9YaxNCAl-OPAsy9FpP_JeOSXsrtUU9HTdy6vq7sdX23R0YWCYTBiHgo5kV4ZboBlIBdnzHonY2zcLsIq9tac0Td_TQvHtDyDEN-N3aQ9ZPcJ41iBOyDgk4T56-b3RNeDSUvSCLNy/w320-h211/tanabeak.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hybrid between rose-breasted grosbeak and scarlet tanager, from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.9152">Toews et al. (2022)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-32935942594157616342022-12-19T08:04:00.016-08:002023-10-24T12:30:39.542-07:00Gadget Cat in the Past: Paleontology in Doraemon<p>If I'm not careful, I'll start a new tradition on here of <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-long-road-to-happiness-story-of.html">blogging about anime</a> in December. In this post, I'll be looking at another staple of my childhood, <i>Doraemon</i>. This time though, there is a connection to paleontology!</p><p>Most people living in predominantly English-speaking countries might not be familiar with <i>Doraemon</i>. However, it would be difficult to overstate how much of a cultural icon the title character is in East Asia (we're talking about Mickey-Mouse-levels of recognition here), and I've heard that <i>Doraemon</i> is also widely known in parts of continental Europe and Latin America. In light of that, it is downright bizarre how obscure the franchise is in most English-speaking regions by comparison.</p><p>The character Doraemon is a robotic cat from the 22nd Century who keeps a vast array of futuristic gadgets in a portable pocket dimension (note the pocket on his belly). The premise of the series is that Doraemon has traveled back in time to help a schoolboy named Nobita, who is meant to be a complete failure at almost everything. The typical formula of a <i>Doraemon</i> story involves Nobita having a problem, begging Doraemon for a gadget to solve the problem, misusing the gadget for selfish reasons, and receiving some form of comeuppance, though many other types of storylines have been explored across the franchise's long history.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWY4CGsWtlIn5FLGapRT-Ijf2SUYsZrSf3W_yfljS0Kmxq5dflI34AEZNAfbMD5xl6W_5UgvkGUKIB6FetImR0lLM7wmEdnfgDFtQz2JJPXIcSyoj3Ng7svi9eFYVP6PzKZb1R0zJJ1qN6zctTEuyMcW6F34CchMz2P3JZ_OPZwaJDo1Ehw_AKVIF/s1600/ezgif-4-a887edc01c.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWY4CGsWtlIn5FLGapRT-Ijf2SUYsZrSf3W_yfljS0Kmxq5dflI34AEZNAfbMD5xl6W_5UgvkGUKIB6FetImR0lLM7wmEdnfgDFtQz2JJPXIcSyoj3Ng7svi9eFYVP6PzKZb1R0zJJ1qN6zctTEuyMcW6F34CchMz2P3JZ_OPZwaJDo1Ehw_AKVIF/s320/ezgif-4-a887edc01c.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gadget cat himself.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><i>Doraemon</i> has spawned all manner of media over the years, but for this post I will be focusing on the works that can be considered the "core" of the franchise: <br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The original manga by Fujiko F. Fujio, which ran from 1969 until Fujio's death in 1996</li><li>The 1979 anime series that aired until 2005<br /></li><li>The 2005 anime reboot that continues to this day <br /></li></ul><p>(An earlier anime adaptation aired in 1973, but was produced by a different company from the 1979 and 2005 series, and <a href="https://lostmediawiki.com/Doraemon_(partially_found_first-adaptation_anime_series;_1973)">very little surviving footage</a> from it has been released to the public.) <br /></p><p>Given that Doraemon and his gadgets are depicted as products of future technology, it may come as no surprise that science is a common recurring theme in <i>Doraemon</i>, and it so happens that more than a few stories in the franchise have taken inspiration from paleontology. One of the earliest and best known examples is "Nobita's Dinosaur", which started as a standard-length manga chapter in 1975 before being substantially extended into a long-form manga and adapted into <i>Doraemon</i>'s first feature-length film in 1980. Since then, <i>Doraemon</i> films have been released almost annually, with most of the entries between 1980–1997 being based on volume-length stories from the manga.</p><p>In all versions of "Nobita's Dinosaur", Nobita discovers a fossilized egg that he restores to its pre-fossilization state using one of Doraemon's gadgets, and it ends up hatching into a baby <i>Futabasaurus</i>. Nobita names the baby Piisuke and takes care of him for a while, but Piisuke eventually grows too big to remain hidden, so Nobita makes the difficult decision to release the plesiosaur into the Cretaceous.</p><p>Interestingly, though <i>Futabasaurus</i> was discovered in 1968, it was not given a scientific name <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00554.x">until 2006</a>, so <i>Doraemon</i> probably introduced countless audience members to an obscure prehistoric animal that had not even been scientifically described at the time. In "Nobita's Dinosaur", it is referred to by the popularized name "Futaba Suzuki Ryu". Scientific understanding of plesiosaurs has changed a lot since "Nobita's Dinosaur" first came out: they are now known to have <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1205689">given live birth</a> instead of hatching from eggs, and they most likely could not move comfortably on land or hold their necks in a swan-like posture as Piisuke is shown doing. (Also, no one in the story points out that plesiosaurs are not dinosaurs.)</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYyv6nTa8P3pMYKflj1WjWHuS8v5FB5Kw5Encpr6wbG0RyYhlSd1baTSIeytlljHOrjghJnX6F5MGFG4Wa_Shb9fiQac_7B-CFUqs0w4dViahtL3DwkTLRI6y3ltiIiqpJUPkp6o5YCUJFsROKZ7Ktx6XK5xLHX6sgUiKm-ZUmWcRYwgs8CSjx1D-/s946/doraemon-piisuke.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="923" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYyv6nTa8P3pMYKflj1WjWHuS8v5FB5Kw5Encpr6wbG0RyYhlSd1baTSIeytlljHOrjghJnX6F5MGFG4Wa_Shb9fiQac_7B-CFUqs0w4dViahtL3DwkTLRI6y3ltiIiqpJUPkp6o5YCUJFsROKZ7Ktx6XK5xLHX6sgUiKm-ZUmWcRYwgs8CSjx1D-/s320/doraemon-piisuke.png" width="312" /></a></div><p></p><p>The film version of <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i> additionally features quite an incredible fight between a <i>Tyrannosaurus</i> and a <i>Brontosaurus</i>. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdwE37jOMp24s8u0Gkj3xB4u4yOCyMWVWrN15d4wZIwCjaelMTUzKrtnb8cmhK4uG5afvkWDgMFej6B9miLAh3OEqgOw7qYRHpnVN4C5DT3MAJZVfqAejdcLqwhc5cLkwU497ObAe-0nxyrPfhOMqEGjyBS_GhiRAR9__GFoHGHqiW8xBfgCF9fs9/s1366/doraemon-sauropodvsrex.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdwE37jOMp24s8u0Gkj3xB4u4yOCyMWVWrN15d4wZIwCjaelMTUzKrtnb8cmhK4uG5afvkWDgMFej6B9miLAh3OEqgOw7qYRHpnVN4C5DT3MAJZVfqAejdcLqwhc5cLkwU497ObAe-0nxyrPfhOMqEGjyBS_GhiRAR9__GFoHGHqiW8xBfgCF9fs9/s320/doraemon-sauropodvsrex.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>In 2006, a movie remake of <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i> was released. Mirroring the original movie's status as the first film in the franchise, this remake was the first movie to come out of the rebooted 2005 anime series. Whether by accident or by design, <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i> (2006) came out during the same year that <i>Futabasaurus</i> was formally named. For most part, minimal changes were made to the storyline in the remake, though there are some interesting visual modifications. The film still retains the inaccuracies about plesiosaur biology from the original story, but many of the other prehistoric creatures received updated designs.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XeSo1MuzzAVJs80-fgt7p2wD6sWs4-knBZ1XIyarDbUCtYsgYwr00lSXjUNTlY75oEqCMj-w61qhZlATschrF1smQGYQ0TUZQCWSZaQ2EBhqck5g_Bqi7dOln_KrGyaPiiur_OcEyYzCugR5SUXMsV_3tjG52pSwuYndqrVvJfzS4voqnLcRpSw9/s1366/doraemon-ornithomimus.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XeSo1MuzzAVJs80-fgt7p2wD6sWs4-knBZ1XIyarDbUCtYsgYwr00lSXjUNTlY75oEqCMj-w61qhZlATschrF1smQGYQ0TUZQCWSZaQ2EBhqck5g_Bqi7dOln_KrGyaPiiur_OcEyYzCugR5SUXMsV_3tjG52pSwuYndqrVvJfzS4voqnLcRpSw9/s320/doraemon-ornithomimus.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ornithomimus</i> is now shown with feathers, for example.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfKt7pMn2ay2A2LGfUAai1fUg9I-sJ_tnMJ0wEXTW_pthRDwBNFgqhPus-gPsuGlYVraE4jsDNEtEJbdkVyRX1NGvk0Y0kttJksF13jeOcq3AqceM1P--j6InLEEmbAYRVZi-Z8gVPbWCLuI7KJdAnu5Hkmo9Rw1YQ_ZBXJkV1KOr_7WinWw1CK39/s1366/doraemon-pteranodon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfKt7pMn2ay2A2LGfUAai1fUg9I-sJ_tnMJ0wEXTW_pthRDwBNFgqhPus-gPsuGlYVraE4jsDNEtEJbdkVyRX1NGvk0Y0kttJksF13jeOcq3AqceM1P--j6InLEEmbAYRVZi-Z8gVPbWCLuI7KJdAnu5Hkmo9Rw1YQ_ZBXJkV1KOr_7WinWw1CK39/s320/doraemon-pteranodon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This movie is a mixed bag as goes the scientific accuracy of its animal designs though. These <i>Pteranodon</i> still look quite old-school.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In a line added to the remake, Doraemon is unfortunately shown to be a <a href="https://albertonykus.tumblr.com/post/175274620039/what-are-bandits-and-maniac">BANDit</a>. (He's warning Nobita that the egg he revived isn't necessarily a dinosaur egg. Well, he's actually right about <i>that</i> part...)</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cPHad0pj4meBGcm0YszTGX1b6R_vZ8_QspuqxxfxjXDRRbokDbQvCvL3DZc6jxhfymiH5JMdcVKE6IVupybPBTaRw0JHP2qTiWUd1mafNwWRyXDzCzpwKIdWaf6w3bzFvxwbm-XqFmLaju6c0CbU3lBjhifm4zUoBubNdACmTlCP0KuC_ZrNLJvH/s1366/doraemon-birdegg.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cPHad0pj4meBGcm0YszTGX1b6R_vZ8_QspuqxxfxjXDRRbokDbQvCvL3DZc6jxhfymiH5JMdcVKE6IVupybPBTaRw0JHP2qTiWUd1mafNwWRyXDzCzpwKIdWaf6w3bzFvxwbm-XqFmLaju6c0CbU3lBjhifm4zUoBubNdACmTlCP0KuC_ZrNLJvH/s320/doraemon-birdegg.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Biological evolution is a topic that comes up fairly often in <i>Doraemon</i>, with Doraemon discussing the evolution of horses and elephants in the 1982 manga chapter "変身ドリンク" (approximate translation: "Transformation Drink"), and the 1983 movie <i>Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil</i> includes a sequence explaining the origin of life in the ocean as well as the
secondary adaptation to aquatic life by some land vertebrates. However, one story that centers around evolution specifically is "進化退化放射線源" (approximate translation: "Evolution-devolution Ray"), first printed in 1975. True to its name, the titular Evolution-devolution Ray is a ray gun that can "evolve" or "devolve" any organism (or even inanimate object) that it shines upon. As is <a href="https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12052-022-00179-x">regularly the case in fiction</a>, this is not a very accurate representation of evolution (particularly in implying that evolution operates along a <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoalOrientedEvolution">predetermined path</a>), but there are interesting paleontology references to be found here, too. At one point, Nobita uses the gadget to "devolve" a rat into the last common ancestor of all rodents, then the last common ancestor of mammals, then a dicynodont, and finally... a pareiasaur (presumably a stand-in for the ancestral amniote, but probably not a very appropriate one).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxKUsCHJsac7m15AoLwBrkwd98HLllmFZDdegLQnww09zddLJP98crxq1OZ5eLIfGBV3FSuu4rBoqJTCmA42TtnyHR45en7DpZpoMP3xODi8DKzobfRyF06PscYQKR5E8avanRgU815NQwW93Qw5BODNTm_T3dNxdXxXtU31BvZOjqR4KiqHuLIQQ/s967/30255f7ac13661c672f9a7dc4ea191af.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="967" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxKUsCHJsac7m15AoLwBrkwd98HLllmFZDdegLQnww09zddLJP98crxq1OZ5eLIfGBV3FSuu4rBoqJTCmA42TtnyHR45en7DpZpoMP3xODi8DKzobfRyF06PscYQKR5E8avanRgU815NQwW93Qw5BODNTm_T3dNxdXxXtU31BvZOjqR4KiqHuLIQQ/s320/30255f7ac13661c672f9a7dc4ea191af.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlVXc3yF98Dbho7j5XkDxhluniMwrEoT-XOhGuXy1HuyIVIo71m3sVIR6XtsoACDtIv4fgeWNLlYyHrVQJvLkxZEt98tFJkfOymumWd6QrQazmQI6Ee1yrETa8nj38nASlz0NBGdhUuRtTJGcfvjfKa2Ek1KEec9Z4K3EUVsQUTKpZA1iwUuNyG-F/s1106/1beb9b76f35b3f8045f6cd0a3c63a87f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="980" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlVXc3yF98Dbho7j5XkDxhluniMwrEoT-XOhGuXy1HuyIVIo71m3sVIR6XtsoACDtIv4fgeWNLlYyHrVQJvLkxZEt98tFJkfOymumWd6QrQazmQI6Ee1yrETa8nj38nASlz0NBGdhUuRtTJGcfvjfKa2Ek1KEec9Z4K3EUVsQUTKpZA1iwUuNyG-F/s320/1beb9b76f35b3f8045f6cd0a3c63a87f.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><p>Whereas this evolutionary sequence was shown faithfully in the 1979 anime series, it was changed in the reboot series' 2006 adaptation of the story, in which the rat is instead "devolved" into a <i>Estemmenosuchus</i>. Still not strictly accurate, but <i>Estemmenosuchus</i> can at least claim to be a stem member of a lineage that rats belong to.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaq46O2Rbx3PFu8qtHc0QdKsgMh4Nl3R4wK-MGrseZ58CZfkgRBW0vMz-ntRjnpvPM36aAgF09tZcplM4KpHwBQ8n7fO-0K2ot2b6y5D0eo6zjxz9kcr8yEfg76tK8gwMZ1kZRHmQbdIJcF6eIsOPJq2OVg2zlWJONnr7FS7zw8zewCF5VzSAOeHyV/s1356/doraemon-dinocephalian.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1356" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaq46O2Rbx3PFu8qtHc0QdKsgMh4Nl3R4wK-MGrseZ58CZfkgRBW0vMz-ntRjnpvPM36aAgF09tZcplM4KpHwBQ8n7fO-0K2ot2b6y5D0eo6zjxz9kcr8yEfg76tK8gwMZ1kZRHmQbdIJcF6eIsOPJq2OVg2zlWJONnr7FS7zw8zewCF5VzSAOeHyV/s320/doraemon-dinocephalian.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The episode also adds a scene where Nobita tries to "devolve" a cat to deal with the "devolved" rat, only to end up with a second <i>Estemmenosuchus</i>. Nobita realizes that since rats and cats are both mammals, they would have shared a common ancestor at that point in their evolutionary history. A surprisingly complex concept for a children's show, especially articulated by a character normally portrayed as not very bright! Unfortunately, when the same story was adapted again in 2018*, it went back to showing pareiasaurs as being ancestral to mammals.</p><p>*If it weren't evident already, the <i>Doraemon</i> anime is fond of adapting the same story more than once. It's probably one of the ways in which the franchise has maintained its longevity.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wiSb_dHuXGn53aywsYVFg_lKmFBk9-TBtEgsATmpZlxUrViWr3gbZwNc8VCawt9vYtO4L9LnYvjhGg4tNSHybY-C1tfNI0vsaigH5ga7v6O6Dc3R1XEKUlHN4EHaE7VUMGhn-S_NPJjdYZz7tZypY-jhjWVeUbOaVpC1Nd1EhVT6q-p6Cpg2GPMg/s1356/doraemon-twodinocephalians.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1356" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wiSb_dHuXGn53aywsYVFg_lKmFBk9-TBtEgsATmpZlxUrViWr3gbZwNc8VCawt9vYtO4L9LnYvjhGg4tNSHybY-C1tfNI0vsaigH5ga7v6O6Dc3R1XEKUlHN4EHaE7VUMGhn-S_NPJjdYZz7tZypY-jhjWVeUbOaVpC1Nd1EhVT6q-p6Cpg2GPMg/s320/doraemon-twodinocephalians.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The 2006 version of this story adds another scene where a sparrow is "devolved" into a non-avialan theropod. Doraemon even mentions that birds evolved from dinosaurs. Character development...? Well, this episode actually aired before <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i> (2006) was released. Read on, however...</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lsYauUAsjWDiZ-24lkBmCKXPU5Q-R7Gq-dW9wURrz9gldAZbdOwxnUj4ejYySTc_NV9mJxAymS574Yc7Ib-uabWXqgU2kv_cPKN_G3pJXByD7ZpTjadz5BxocO4EZlkiO4WLZiTA-riRlvgjjTH9lbcNsyhgqa_8YLyIGsEgcEyuLUDEwOUYeszf/s1356/doraemon-sparrowdevolved.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1356" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lsYauUAsjWDiZ-24lkBmCKXPU5Q-R7Gq-dW9wURrz9gldAZbdOwxnUj4ejYySTc_NV9mJxAymS574Yc7Ib-uabWXqgU2kv_cPKN_G3pJXByD7ZpTjadz5BxocO4EZlkiO4WLZiTA-riRlvgjjTH9lbcNsyhgqa_8YLyIGsEgcEyuLUDEwOUYeszf/s320/doraemon-sparrowdevolved.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>When Nobita finds some marine fossils near his home in the 1977 manga chapter "大むかし漂流記" (approximate translation: "Prehistoric Castaway Story"), he comes to the conclusion that fishes and mollusks originated on land before colonizing the ocean. Doraemon informs him that this was not the case; instead, the fossils formed at a time when the area that would become Tokyo was underwater. The two visit the Cretaceous Period to see for themselves, and they run into prehistoric fishes and an ichthyosaur (a mosasaur in some anime adaptations) before getting stranded on the back of what is apparently an <i>Archelon</i>... with teeth.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKL0BTNF5xAp-9WUnGnRlY3yz55f_v6FrFYhdVjLIwXs003ELMx3EPL2WXj0el6SndUDVbfjxZNwYqi7SX3YSOUcHt9Zm85aukWggWwtZTTlYI9cwT9Qzx3MHsXUKV2b_JeFRB-QgvNu_pHMY3q5D--MNjCx8yJHPOPPviYFIFaA4oByMHN1icsCa/s960/doraemon-ancientfishes.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="960" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKL0BTNF5xAp-9WUnGnRlY3yz55f_v6FrFYhdVjLIwXs003ELMx3EPL2WXj0el6SndUDVbfjxZNwYqi7SX3YSOUcHt9Zm85aukWggWwtZTTlYI9cwT9Qzx3MHsXUKV2b_JeFRB-QgvNu_pHMY3q5D--MNjCx8yJHPOPPviYFIFaA4oByMHN1icsCa/s320/doraemon-ancientfishes.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These fishes look more characteristic of the Paleozoic than of the Mesozoic though.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVqiCfhI3nKS1hzwaqSr4c3m5_75n6LL5PJnzTvWD_fyj30iGBiYjPCwAGaphBXa9vUGbfbBagcDA4PZJTspjBzGri8y0S6iBhO0SHYkUjx1MCetzv1TZvVjmnFqtafYyBpFKjRJERSYsfvWsuewXI0egzWWoJpBULO4Umz3_MolhK6XBMzMHOISA/s964/doraemon-archelon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="964" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVqiCfhI3nKS1hzwaqSr4c3m5_75n6LL5PJnzTvWD_fyj30iGBiYjPCwAGaphBXa9vUGbfbBagcDA4PZJTspjBzGri8y0S6iBhO0SHYkUjx1MCetzv1TZvVjmnFqtafYyBpFKjRJERSYsfvWsuewXI0egzWWoJpBULO4Umz3_MolhK6XBMzMHOISA/s320/doraemon-archelon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Archelon</i> attack!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>More recently extinct life also gets some representation in <i>Doraemon</i>. The 1978 manga chapter "モアよドードーよ、永遠に" (approximate translation: "Moa and Dodos Forever") has Doraemon and Nobita using time travel to try and save certain animals from extinction, including giant moa, dodos, and passenger pigeons. An interesting addition to the lineup were black wildebeest, which are no longer considered threatened now, but were nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th Century.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdXR2v-grViHlWiLpeO4zjvkhioNpoDLccm8Ff-3K2ssukWmx3ZSj4sMaxiR3lcbLBH0JY-a6fR21-g5EvoE6cOg2E0G8NSptkBWioG2K0sWY0rEwgP_Nl7wH0f55pFCYrbaAMhcHST9NCTO_PJl5rshtCtUPmc8zV-UZmNSWCyJxgLGGH_xP-vxAf/s988/doraemon-extinct.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="988" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdXR2v-grViHlWiLpeO4zjvkhioNpoDLccm8Ff-3K2ssukWmx3ZSj4sMaxiR3lcbLBH0JY-a6fR21-g5EvoE6cOg2E0G8NSptkBWioG2K0sWY0rEwgP_Nl7wH0f55pFCYrbaAMhcHST9NCTO_PJl5rshtCtUPmc8zV-UZmNSWCyJxgLGGH_xP-vxAf/s320/doraemon-extinct.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doraemon is off trying to catch the wildebeest.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>This story inspired the 2012 Doraemon movie <i>Nobita and the Island of Miracles</i>, which additionally featured several other extinct Cenozoic animals, including relatively unknown taxa such as <i>Paraceratherium</i>, <i>Chalicotherium</i>, and <i>Ceratogaulus</i>. (Sadly, I also think it is one of the worst <i>Doraemon</i> movies I've ever seen and cannot recommend it in good conscience.)</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-C36KpJCjUJj6T9L2Jh9tplehABtVyYKzdBQNiINWc9NdMQY7HaCnXlQ1yHe5kyCv-89gry7tK0YLRyagEsrJn6hDZKXXaqopb52woSZ1CWG1qEJ9jLld-Hei8r48o6QzTPA5CTRTSQJt91WNSYbC30D4BV2FHWcZn9Yl1uA3sGmwnSHI_m3_ERTi/s500/1347153-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="500" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-C36KpJCjUJj6T9L2Jh9tplehABtVyYKzdBQNiINWc9NdMQY7HaCnXlQ1yHe5kyCv-89gry7tK0YLRyagEsrJn6hDZKXXaqopb52woSZ1CWG1qEJ9jLld-Hei8r48o6QzTPA5CTRTSQJt91WNSYbC30D4BV2FHWcZn9Yl1uA3sGmwnSHI_m3_ERTi/s320/1347153-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Promotional image for <i>Nobita and the Island of Miracles</i> showing some of the main characters and extinct animals appearing in the movie.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Popping back into the Mesozoic, there's the 1981 manga chapter "恐竜さん日本へどうぞ" (approximate translation: "Dinosaurs, Please Come to Japan"). In this story, Nobita is upset about the lack of dinosaur fossils in Japan, so he and Doraemon visit the Mesozoic of China and feed various dinosaurs (and a pterosaur) tablets that compel them to travel to Nobita's house—or where it will be tens of millions of years in the future, at least. The two then remember that Japan was mostly underwater during the Mesozoic and are horrified by the thought that they've consigned the dinosaurs to a watery grave. Fortunately, the tablets work by being broken in half, with one piece left in the location one intends others to visit, and they lose their effect if the halves left in place are moved. Nobita's mother tidying up his room removed their effect, so all the dinosaurs turned back before they reached the ocean.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAwvp5_vYgbh6k1jl-D-xDVo8ca-tJ0-txeeKIhLXZOlefOBnkiDB7GvauEIyJdEkWaevCPWh4gHM4fEwjnPfAkpb5RF75ve7Z-pVfUfjnrbQfZAWGccK5zIccs9v_ysmTmRM0_e3wxfYn7Gd4FLjuM5tnoPQBrKbcaP7bNlITpec3CiI0LgMjf3g/s1402/9fb69eb4f4f245f175a36ad47da0cfb6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="955" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAwvp5_vYgbh6k1jl-D-xDVo8ca-tJ0-txeeKIhLXZOlefOBnkiDB7GvauEIyJdEkWaevCPWh4gHM4fEwjnPfAkpb5RF75ve7Z-pVfUfjnrbQfZAWGccK5zIccs9v_ysmTmRM0_e3wxfYn7Gd4FLjuM5tnoPQBrKbcaP7bNlITpec3CiI0LgMjf3g/s320/9fb69eb4f4f245f175a36ad47da0cfb6.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first dinosaurs that Doraemon and Nobita seek out are <i>Tsintaosaurus</i> and <i>Tuojiangosaurus</i>. (That's an interesting choice of crest shape for the <i>Tsintaosaurus</i> and I'm not sure what it's based on.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeoNyARiM0wiZcnDy1a1ZDQNwJgGvys0CO_gEQl3P6rEknE-t0eGoSen6v4sgMawUZQrI8N-8t_AbtG3a0N-_Vi8YlAhrlZMtvIAIN2nha2rdsTKLO6nWEdzQ4gAzshcx3gP39ioXFH2TNXruJjT8xBwoiLXNoVLpf0Q2zH-9PWKy4HYCvJ4USo12/s1082/bfd17c76515b981bf7ac28398781e09d.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="980" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeoNyARiM0wiZcnDy1a1ZDQNwJgGvys0CO_gEQl3P6rEknE-t0eGoSen6v4sgMawUZQrI8N-8t_AbtG3a0N-_Vi8YlAhrlZMtvIAIN2nha2rdsTKLO6nWEdzQ4gAzshcx3gP39ioXFH2TNXruJjT8xBwoiLXNoVLpf0Q2zH-9PWKy4HYCvJ4USo12/s320/bfd17c76515b981bf7ac28398781e09d.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dsungaripterus</i> and <i>Yangchuanosaurus</i> join the party.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLVMtxzPI6wQguid-h3XQDnY4tA_FuPW8rpVIJNYecCeYhCVl2vXlf8C4a86hkMRX0pkFKAvxSIxGNXfzVQXNYUAGiQmSq3jD0xSGbYqMO7r5m5R401d7lg4Nr1goAvthZN3o-ezeF_xO8EQYuo_JCFNRBVoF2Tgn-Pz7K1oWoPivYA3cznSF_oI3/s1960/doraemon-mamenchisaurus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="1960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLVMtxzPI6wQguid-h3XQDnY4tA_FuPW8rpVIJNYecCeYhCVl2vXlf8C4a86hkMRX0pkFKAvxSIxGNXfzVQXNYUAGiQmSq3jD0xSGbYqMO7r5m5R401d7lg4Nr1goAvthZN3o-ezeF_xO8EQYuo_JCFNRBVoF2Tgn-Pz7K1oWoPivYA3cznSF_oI3/s320/doraemon-mamenchisaurus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The protagonists in awe of <i>Mamenchisaurus</i>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>There is a curious case of anachronism in this story, as not only do Nobita and Doraemon find all of these different Mesozoic reptiles in the same time period, but they are also specifically stated to have traveled to the Early Cretaceous. In reality, the only one of the aforementioned genera they would've been likely to encounter at this time would be <i>Dsungaripterus</i>, with <i>Tsintaosaurus</i> being from the Late Cretaceous and the remaining taxa being from the Late Jurassic. Nobita actually points this out at the beginning of their adventure, to which Doraemon responds that species can have time ranges beyond those indicated by their fossil record. Although Doraemon is proven right in the story, individual vertebrate species persisting for tens of millions of years is generally not very plausible based on our current understanding.<br /></p><p>Nobita would probably be happy to find out that many Mesozoic dinosaur fossils are now known from Japan. In the anime reboot's 2006 adaptation of this chapter, the line that Japan lacks dinosaur fossils is not said, and Nobita is instead simply envious of how spectacular the Chinese dinosaurs are (at least if Chinese subtitles are to be believed). The episode also adds an <i>Oviraptor</i> to the list of dinosaurs that Nobita and Doraemon come across, though it does not receive an invitation to Japan. It is portrayed with feathers, but is in need of wings.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygf6sKj6idIyPQ8dnCFzflxhcHBK_fLZjrqpN2N7OXQWntR9B6Jlyppi-qoKu6EO5woOXaqs4V2Y6G9J5qavbl7SeB4C7qJAZLi4r0gzMu9U2Aialum-TefN-1e_Ut0GQMSB-h93S_8b79NaghOKh-8J1ncWAClwIHCowof-gjWHhoUYsyGLTW7TX/s1366/doraemon-oviraptor2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygf6sKj6idIyPQ8dnCFzflxhcHBK_fLZjrqpN2N7OXQWntR9B6Jlyppi-qoKu6EO5woOXaqs4V2Y6G9J5qavbl7SeB4C7qJAZLi4r0gzMu9U2Aialum-TefN-1e_Ut0GQMSB-h93S_8b79NaghOKh-8J1ncWAClwIHCowof-gjWHhoUYsyGLTW7TX/s320/doraemon-oviraptor2.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Furthermore, the episode takes the time to showcase some more recent Chinese dinosaur discoveries, such as <i>Dilong</i> and <i>Microraptor</i>, though these taxa don't appear in the flesh, so to speak. (The Chinese subtitles here misidentify <i>Microraptor</i> as <i>Archaeopteryx</i>, but it is said to be <i>Microraptor</i> in the original Japanese dialogue.)</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-iDbDmTMs4pPi95F5Q0OdHsmXw6pROIwhS5yDIsBSnyoaQaER4NzCgPg0M4jSz3q5o4hTVD_2_fy-gJBbtL-6Au2tCSiwd_3hnlgF13t7Zpab7x9nc5OvUKeM7tM0DtMTeDA7V5wM7bNzjDrx8auN57T6vFKpAQGxbnEwBxVeKBo7W7u9dd8zHy3/s2732/doraemon-jehol.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="2732" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-iDbDmTMs4pPi95F5Q0OdHsmXw6pROIwhS5yDIsBSnyoaQaER4NzCgPg0M4jSz3q5o4hTVD_2_fy-gJBbtL-6Au2tCSiwd_3hnlgF13t7Zpab7x9nc5OvUKeM7tM0DtMTeDA7V5wM7bNzjDrx8auN57T6vFKpAQGxbnEwBxVeKBo7W7u9dd8zHy3/s320/doraemon-jehol.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Fujio evidently paid attention to recent scientific ideas of his time, as shown by the 1987 Doraemon movie <i>Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs</i>. In this film, Nobita and his friends meet an underground civilization of sapient dinosaurs directly based on Dale Russell's <a href="https://tetzoo.com/blog/2021/8/30/dinosauroid-at-nearly-40-years-old">dinosauroid</a>, a thought experiment that was first published in 1982. The dinosauroids in the movie even identify <i>Stenonychosaurus</i> as their Cretaceous ancestor. A bolide impact is also depicted as the cause of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, a hypothesis that was still being actively debated in the 1980s.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkhULP0g1FEaw23GjJygP82p3Mh3iitCNp1XfOBe3b15MozgI_izi_4QVYIxYPFAsvQe9shyu98PM061zaNN-_paxhTn48PwBnCl264qwZ-mxCeAxALFW-fDotEKqTTetVuLNXsaofEDDIbojH1wOTTURNFCRmBpmQSQpQgzQIHZHwFCCDaO9mKbv/s1024/doraemon-dinosauroid.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkhULP0g1FEaw23GjJygP82p3Mh3iitCNp1XfOBe3b15MozgI_izi_4QVYIxYPFAsvQe9shyu98PM061zaNN-_paxhTn48PwBnCl264qwZ-mxCeAxALFW-fDotEKqTTetVuLNXsaofEDDIbojH1wOTTURNFCRmBpmQSQpQgzQIHZHwFCCDaO9mKbv/s320/doraemon-dinosauroid.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The next <i>Doraemon</i> movie to address prehistory came in 1989 with <i>Nobita and the Birth of Japan</i>, in which Nobita and his friends all independently choose to run away from home. After running afoul of property ownership laws, they decide to travel back 70,000 years to the Late Pleistocene, when humans (and property laws) were not yet present in Japan. As their adventure unfolds, they learn about the dispersal of humans around the world and the glacial periods of ice ages, among other topics. This movie got a remake in 2016, which I happen to think is really solid and may actually be one of my favorite <i>Doraemon</i> movies.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSL4s4WagnkWuxoCt30fQNyVZ3pX223hpiFDBgSS5Of31cvBWXPIoZPizH34lEovlKeNhYFWRIXD5Bdy-9i0Tr8wC6p7xbJqe2bLUy4nlsQaOMvqnHtg1xScxo9BtWPdPo6N1FpAGM0-BXyJZGzfPoZQ79zObgr5eLY9PetnloPz95YRlM-IJUUtH/s1366/doraemon-humandispersal.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSL4s4WagnkWuxoCt30fQNyVZ3pX223hpiFDBgSS5Of31cvBWXPIoZPizH34lEovlKeNhYFWRIXD5Bdy-9i0Tr8wC6p7xbJqe2bLUy4nlsQaOMvqnHtg1xScxo9BtWPdPo6N1FpAGM0-BXyJZGzfPoZQ79zObgr5eLY9PetnloPz95YRlM-IJUUtH/s320/doraemon-humandispersal.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A visualization of human dispersal across the globe. (This scene comes from the 2016 remake.)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Naturally, the main characters also run into some Pleistocene fauna. They marvel at the abundance of crested ibises, which were very rare in Japan when the original movie was released, and locally extinct in the wild by the time of the remake. In addition, they get on the wrong side of a woolly rhinoceros and a crocodile, though the remake has them encounter a bison and a giant salamander instead. This change may have been a deliberate effort to avoid anachronisms; rhinos and crocodylians are known from the Pleistocene of Japan, but don't appear to have survived into the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618211001753">Late Pleistocene</a> in the region. However, a Pleistocene giant salamander large enough to see children as prey is, to my knowledge, fictitious.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeU_V7Tu3zjIVwJyHvNehHIaLFTCYIsmSDuGV-BJ3FGaSfbSapZoGQfrnpBuuHqb28MVA0vhxK6kabLKX2fz9pOARlVhxAV3MR5YbD4w0AhzETXmYTOLu9yd9_XuqYwbX4gDTNLNKJDohGOtetQxm0lDmOfAJZB1u_4u_kwg5RL6XeFeOMBvSEc9e/s1366/doraemon-salamander.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeU_V7Tu3zjIVwJyHvNehHIaLFTCYIsmSDuGV-BJ3FGaSfbSapZoGQfrnpBuuHqb28MVA0vhxK6kabLKX2fz9pOARlVhxAV3MR5YbD4w0AhzETXmYTOLu9yd9_XuqYwbX4gDTNLNKJDohGOtetQxm0lDmOfAJZB1u_4u_kwg5RL6XeFeOMBvSEc9e/s320/doraemon-salamander.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You might not be able to get a sense of the scale in this shot, but this salamander is very big.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The 1992 movie <i>Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds</i> also features some notable appearances from extinct animals. In this one, Nobita and his friends find another hidden civilization, this time started by sky people living in the clouds. The sky people are shown to have established a sanctuary for species thought extinct by the people on the ground, including thylacines, <i>Glyptodon</i>, and <i>Phorusrhacos</i> (which is depicted with classic <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170213222506/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/palaeoart-memes-and-the-unspoken-status-quo-in-palaeontological-popularization/">Burian-esque coloration</a>).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6ySAlAMsfE60XfhE_acnPX50tfhEVD0ygVNDSuNbiy5pPWYWCp-uEJFYYNbIahWzE5RAHifm_5Ohc0L0Fbro81Afge9KF1xAmyIMJp5krREWt4PWmp__F4PXi778ySI6cQvnuxCl55huzkqwg0KYHu7SQRNVuz3bnnIfYg3r7K0_fsktO4UhKSGx/s1024/doraemon-phorusrhacos.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6ySAlAMsfE60XfhE_acnPX50tfhEVD0ygVNDSuNbiy5pPWYWCp-uEJFYYNbIahWzE5RAHifm_5Ohc0L0Fbro81Afge9KF1xAmyIMJp5krREWt4PWmp__F4PXi778ySI6cQvnuxCl55huzkqwg0KYHu7SQRNVuz3bnnIfYg3r7K0_fsktO4UhKSGx/s320/doraemon-phorusrhacos.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The entry coming up next is one in which Doraemon does not appear at all. Instead, it stars his younger sister, <a href="https://doraemon.fandom.com/wiki/Dorami">Dorami</a>. (Yes, they are siblings even though they're robots. The lore is that their motor oil came from the same canister.) Dorami is a recurring character in the main <i>Doraemon</i> series, but she's also taken center stage in a few spin-off short films. One of these is <i>Dorami-chan: Hello, Dynosis Kids!!</i>, which was made as a pre-movie short accompanying the <i>Doraemon</i> film of 1993 (<i>Nobita and the Tin Labyrinth</i>). "Dynosis" is presumably a play on the word "dinosaur", though I don't know why it's translated that way.</p><p>Dorami spends most of her time in the 22nd Century, looking after Nobita's great-great grandson, Sewashi. To settle an argument among Sewashi and his friends about whether birds evolved from dinosaurs (guess that still won't be common knowledge in the 22nd Century!), Dorami takes them to the Cretaceous. As far as I'm aware, this is the oldest work in the <i>Doraemon</i> franchise to acknowledge the dinosaurian origin of birds. When the film was made, birds being dinosaurs was gaining mainstream scientific acceptance, but feathers in non-avialan dinosaurs were still unknown, so the filmmakers apparently decided to illustrate bird origins using… <i>Maiasaura</i>. After all, it cared for its young, "just like birds"! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu-LKSVBa1GQIo2FKONBIWfkK1fdGInadoi6F-znR4585fo3_K_rctxSc3WTlAoj7Nt7FOwg4-I7bd3zk6YOlWdkNm6NO6UZ5EDAMVAXCUuOGV2s0k6GBCGCAYQNXk_IvbXYIYFbzChK_18CKFAa8ZmkcwJTTWT5tNpCxeamQaSl3ivICrTrQ2nXD/s1366/dorami-nestguarding.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu-LKSVBa1GQIo2FKONBIWfkK1fdGInadoi6F-znR4585fo3_K_rctxSc3WTlAoj7Nt7FOwg4-I7bd3zk6YOlWdkNm6NO6UZ5EDAMVAXCUuOGV2s0k6GBCGCAYQNXk_IvbXYIYFbzChK_18CKFAa8ZmkcwJTTWT5tNpCxeamQaSl3ivICrTrQ2nXD/s320/dorami-nestguarding.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>This short includes a sequence in which a hadrosaurid is killed by a <i>Tyrannosaurus</i> while browsing on flowers at night, in what I suspect is almost certainly a homage to Phil Tippett's 1984 short film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlaXIRTjNfo"><i>Prehistoric Beast</i></a>!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9-DcFTekG7hMUOzIrnV8XbADYbnejK8LUAenxEVF9-NILYIray0GUY0YjUxwI_9oGXeVFPx64aeQlPOFsuJHUW-5kXR_WOPIErUJkgh_ZPLuof3z5YuCq6DPs41Dz0oeHdkTSrR5IDnjxJ3Kp2EGZb5Hj9HS72fq_BPERFQNZXuUc-RgCrTGu5qm/s1366/dorami-prehistoricbeast.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9-DcFTekG7hMUOzIrnV8XbADYbnejK8LUAenxEVF9-NILYIray0GUY0YjUxwI_9oGXeVFPx64aeQlPOFsuJHUW-5kXR_WOPIErUJkgh_ZPLuof3z5YuCq6DPs41Dz0oeHdkTSrR5IDnjxJ3Kp2EGZb5Hj9HS72fq_BPERFQNZXuUc-RgCrTGu5qm/s320/dorami-prehistoricbeast.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Like in <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i>, <i>Tyrannosaurus</i> fights a sauropod here, though this time the sauropod is said to be an "<i>Ultrasauros</i>".
Despite updated dinosaur designs, there are clear parallels in the
fight choreography. (Ironically, the nostril position of the sauropod in
the 1980 movie is more in line with what is typically thought likely
today.) <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfhLQEUkYJkQjE3k3G3knJoMIHccJMOWylYkObhw-Mj3KfDPAsWZIIgLNURpoe1rQ24upOd0e4AGOGpdr_WveauCji6BEJUIMbn68-vEU2_-W058pkvlYGc8TK5EJMaLkOLua9Azs9B95Ny2q_pEMDu5pujgcbAGrpMGHgdCWXUO5TY73OFwHmH_V/s1366/dorami-sauropodvsrex.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfhLQEUkYJkQjE3k3G3knJoMIHccJMOWylYkObhw-Mj3KfDPAsWZIIgLNURpoe1rQ24upOd0e4AGOGpdr_WveauCji6BEJUIMbn68-vEU2_-W058pkvlYGc8TK5EJMaLkOLua9Azs9B95Ny2q_pEMDu5pujgcbAGrpMGHgdCWXUO5TY73OFwHmH_V/s320/dorami-sauropodvsrex.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Paleontology and deep time got another nod in the 1995 <i>Doraemon</i> movie <i>Nobita's Diary on the Creation of the World</i>. To help Nobita with his summer homework, Doraemon brings out a gadget that allows one to create and design their own universe. Nobita's project ends up closely paralleling the history of our universe and the Earth, originating its own dinosaurs, humans, and even paleontologists. (Yep, Doraemon has gadgets that can just casually create new universes, complete with sapient life forms...) A similar plot was previously used for the 1973 manga chapter "地球製造法" (approximate translation: "Making the Earth").</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncxDRpLdncayzNHYhMeyMWGwJgj1TRJeChYFwZzULzx-3wEbYnXmE3fnSv6CHodJ7usl9jYtiHuajHygeo62P7_RmcZ5aetb-q85-1URplP83Q1R5lIlZ2of5LTYrODklRypXMFaIYRUOA-LIBFQ36eIcRc4pIR_g4uN7vRcOJ-cWCMUAX1LFPaso/s1024/doraemon-eusthenopteron.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncxDRpLdncayzNHYhMeyMWGwJgj1TRJeChYFwZzULzx-3wEbYnXmE3fnSv6CHodJ7usl9jYtiHuajHygeo62P7_RmcZ5aetb-q85-1URplP83Q1R5lIlZ2of5LTYrODklRypXMFaIYRUOA-LIBFQ36eIcRc4pIR_g4uN7vRcOJ-cWCMUAX1LFPaso/s320/doraemon-eusthenopteron.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nobita is eager to see dinosaurs and humans on his planet, so Doraemon helps him fish up a <i>Eusthenopteron</i> and accelerates its evolution. The Evolution-devolution Ray makes a return here.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>So far, I've mostly brought up the ongoing anime reboot series to discuss its remakes of older <i>Doraemon</i> stories. However, it also contains completely new stories with no counterpart in the manga. One that provides an interesting look at how much the franchise has kept up with the march of science is the 2017 episode "雪と恐竜" (approximate translation: "Snow and Dinosaurs"). Doraemon takes Nobita and his friends on yet another Cretaceous trip, this time to the region that will become Alaska. The kids are surprised to find Mesozoic dinosaurs in the snow, and they see the usual suspects from the Prince Creek Formation, including <i>Edmontosaurus</i>, <i>Pachyrhinosaurus</i>, and troodontids.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4jXuLO6mrHIj21mAZl-I6XWkFcMLjivdDFvbJCB9Nee6x5PK6cEU5H_DVgUl_iO7YEu9SoHZioKrI4vxR_RAeGeG2cqHqZ0XjAoC37a5Z6BjLML3r7D1nLd1LTA5CNXHfZQQHGgYFr_V_4kNuX6iCIT3NFzr9RxB_moIFQiUJDh-sPvjORbSvVsz/s1366/doraemon-polarhadro.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4jXuLO6mrHIj21mAZl-I6XWkFcMLjivdDFvbJCB9Nee6x5PK6cEU5H_DVgUl_iO7YEu9SoHZioKrI4vxR_RAeGeG2cqHqZ0XjAoC37a5Z6BjLML3r7D1nLd1LTA5CNXHfZQQHGgYFr_V_4kNuX6iCIT3NFzr9RxB_moIFQiUJDh-sPvjORbSvVsz/s320/doraemon-polarhadro.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>They also help a baby feathered theropod reunite with its parent, which turns out to be a tyrannosaurid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MgoaTc5JeSdrkMN3sW1_NDMoB7JpUaMD6nz_ZT7487xolqIxemnssGtmUqE_eu8SJlLGM6328hQXKLcsMm1-oy3A4ZgoiVM5bv5jMl-kAo7-IQPPQisxkQ05AfgWx7BPpg2Hq0TIwjiF4GDSXCQQtRlIHQksYCUPMQrC0G30fmBaEBkMI4ODGMU-/s1366/doraemon-tyrannosaurchick.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MgoaTc5JeSdrkMN3sW1_NDMoB7JpUaMD6nz_ZT7487xolqIxemnssGtmUqE_eu8SJlLGM6328hQXKLcsMm1-oy3A4ZgoiVM5bv5jMl-kAo7-IQPPQisxkQ05AfgWx7BPpg2Hq0TIwjiF4GDSXCQQtRlIHQksYCUPMQrC0G30fmBaEBkMI4ODGMU-/s320/doraemon-tyrannosaurchick.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The children are baffled by all the feathered dinosaurs they keep coming across, so Doraemon references Mesozoic avialan diversity and explains to them that birds are a surviving lineage of dinosaurs! Doraemon is no longer a BANDit.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKrceDnlzABjoPchxVx5DaFLQVwhVP8rT_EP6XMl_VI6odXBW7LgsfJKT_OEZBralgUDZd4StrsKjxkTV8FlhEy0ig64ytJot--ToE58fWflbeBRWI4l5E4KMYOiHLa5uE8mr2WfZhDLWlPMRWGmLeBpv8weKhtipgqnZOEgEkxP6Scm2Wj2LcpQn/s1366/doraemon-avialans.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKrceDnlzABjoPchxVx5DaFLQVwhVP8rT_EP6XMl_VI6odXBW7LgsfJKT_OEZBralgUDZd4StrsKjxkTV8FlhEy0ig64ytJot--ToE58fWflbeBRWI4l5E4KMYOiHLa5uE8mr2WfZhDLWlPMRWGmLeBpv8weKhtipgqnZOEgEkxP6Scm2Wj2LcpQn/s320/doraemon-avialans.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The attention to scientific detail continues in the 2020 <i>Doraemon</i> movie, <i>Nobita's New Dinosaur</i>. Although it shares similarities with and could be considered a spiritual successor to <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i>, it is overall another original story not based on the manga. Like in <i>Nobita's Dinosaur</i>, the movie starts with Nobita reviving a fossilized egg and incubating it. In this case, it's a double-yolked egg that hatches into two feathered theropods belonging to a species unknown to science.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWvVZVSBliyJhW-GAjvymADltn3jN1UZeqr_rZMVd2vPdQSKJNrsaSyfOsJ45n-1-VsSBDPwCpBJ1wUWz4LLCewq0YDsQ8ocTp1KOMP1G69cZ3nRgvL-5r16zRWXYVH-OXvwkBUt8vDSaBpESdxlOMAsk8JGaxOzNAbMlcmHCv-RcHL9963Zxiq6f/s2938/FMVa6NlVUAUiuFZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2938" data-original-width="2080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWvVZVSBliyJhW-GAjvymADltn3jN1UZeqr_rZMVd2vPdQSKJNrsaSyfOsJ45n-1-VsSBDPwCpBJ1wUWz4LLCewq0YDsQ8ocTp1KOMP1G69cZ3nRgvL-5r16zRWXYVH-OXvwkBUt8vDSaBpESdxlOMAsk8JGaxOzNAbMlcmHCv-RcHL9963Zxiq6f/s320/FMVa6NlVUAUiuFZ.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52_UX7Wn5xklgosYACHkl0gMEsSdb-sijX5GgknkEvJfTFsU9c-dNWP_TMBjXXe48YsKOLti26thAeXKToepGS6ml8rfHXK9Zx7AMJBnBkNACEGdCsBs-k_kKz_XUMk4t8mRFyuj3N2oUqug507QtXPMHL976RPwoxsgqgor5e7GxickCBBsPFKqe/s1366/doraemon-japandinos.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52_UX7Wn5xklgosYACHkl0gMEsSdb-sijX5GgknkEvJfTFsU9c-dNWP_TMBjXXe48YsKOLti26thAeXKToepGS6ml8rfHXK9Zx7AMJBnBkNACEGdCsBs-k_kKz_XUMk4t8mRFyuj3N2oUqug507QtXPMHL976RPwoxsgqgor5e7GxickCBBsPFKqe/s320/doraemon-japandinos.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of the first lines in the movie. Things have changed a lot since "Dinosaurs, Please Come to Japan"!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>One of the feathered dinosaurs that Nobita raises is (<b>SPOILERS</b>) revealed to be the ancestor of modern birds that survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. It must be said that this is not accurate to the real-world timeline of bird evolution, given that modern-type birds <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/03/catch-falling-star-meet-asteriornis.html">had already appeared</a> before the Cretaceous ended. However, I have to give the movie props for integrating the dinosaurian origin of birds into the storyline, and having Nobita’s desire to see a living dinosaur essentially answered by "actually, dinosaurs did not go extinct" is certainly appropriate for a modernized take on the same premise as <i>Nobita’s Dinosaur</i>. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPjtxSOQD_37uCYSgtpm-BVIod1VvdGZj6yIZXgj4d4tIkx6KERMs6EiytvSOK3jcH-rYzW8s6dnoxN43i8MtPyiy3_GwQFyXfN4GOfIQkFxQas8eQAaj1L_E2OmUSn7eU9R8kC42merjMIS-z5zpn76Y5IuVLLxvbil-bSQR0Wg3Sa6Lws1N1Sak/s1366/doraemon-feathered.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPjtxSOQD_37uCYSgtpm-BVIod1VvdGZj6yIZXgj4d4tIkx6KERMs6EiytvSOK3jcH-rYzW8s6dnoxN43i8MtPyiy3_GwQFyXfN4GOfIQkFxQas8eQAaj1L_E2OmUSn7eU9R8kC42merjMIS-z5zpn76Y5IuVLLxvbil-bSQR0Wg3Sa6Lws1N1Sak/s320/doraemon-feathered.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something I didn’t expect was how big Nobita’s feathered dinosaurs turned out to be. Based on the movie poster (and the evolutionary history of actual birds), I thought they’d remain shoulder pets for the entire film, but they end up growing big enough for a child to ride. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The designs of the other prehistoric animals in the movie are actually pretty good, for the most part, especially by mainstream film standards. (Your mileage may vary on the CGI.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Z4cQanXCKyWaJZCyN1I11ZjLfQhIgy7vdMVCCjtseCEV6b0OQY_pP7CsSL2OOi-DlfMf8G5sW5CxstunVzxp2YtCQvxpzGe51aljEViZ8Nlkf39z3Rpn5VsThVjZQqJ6X5kkDGiv-h12ieTxVsIDyKX6EzHx6omXHOSbdIk34AkzuODOwqs1ZEyp/s1366/doraemon-stegosaur.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Z4cQanXCKyWaJZCyN1I11ZjLfQhIgy7vdMVCCjtseCEV6b0OQY_pP7CsSL2OOi-DlfMf8G5sW5CxstunVzxp2YtCQvxpzGe51aljEViZ8Nlkf39z3Rpn5VsThVjZQqJ6X5kkDGiv-h12ieTxVsIDyKX6EzHx6omXHOSbdIk34AkzuODOwqs1ZEyp/s320/doraemon-stegosaur.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stegosaurs in the Late Cretaceous? Well... that's a plot point, actually.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysSYGySfaBTb9bWZjIGr_MUlRJpdWQzMoZddc1zpl71UIOh_Y5SyBTlwrREqpAYmlOfU2hjnzQNEi4HNz3iaZHlR-8aCNnJdJ9_BaGFXUrLLdg69R7wt_TU708DhNbS21wtdVO2bK643qSQXmZPrhLDckIkPUg1BrR5SdpjQQscEzzfVfYModzlVZ/s1366/doraemon-lambeotape.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysSYGySfaBTb9bWZjIGr_MUlRJpdWQzMoZddc1zpl71UIOh_Y5SyBTlwrREqpAYmlOfU2hjnzQNEi4HNz3iaZHlR-8aCNnJdJ9_BaGFXUrLLdg69R7wt_TU708DhNbS21wtdVO2bK643qSQXmZPrhLDckIkPUg1BrR5SdpjQQscEzzfVfYModzlVZ/s320/doraemon-lambeotape.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapejarid pterosaurs (which could use larger keratinous extensions to their crests) and <i>Olorotitan</i>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiuyp2jKyaHAPW3PAyXOArLjiEiKS2Bj5DgwaITdzvoubkrwGXLpxzY5Nut5rmCoITo2gC5bD1ajhx6pvZVHTdS0OMDLel29oo4b0wYvW7-YoA80810VS241eJIA_849K_Mb7RHkIvktNoKV1TMzm7084X_XNkBrF3W2NbxveLLsMgf5O3tNbPW1D/s1366/doraemon-oviraptor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiuyp2jKyaHAPW3PAyXOArLjiEiKS2Bj5DgwaITdzvoubkrwGXLpxzY5Nut5rmCoITo2gC5bD1ajhx6pvZVHTdS0OMDLel29oo4b0wYvW7-YoA80810VS241eJIA_849K_Mb7RHkIvktNoKV1TMzm7084X_XNkBrF3W2NbxveLLsMgf5O3tNbPW1D/s320/doraemon-oviraptor.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mesozoic pennaraptorans in this film have wing feathers now (even if they still have naked hands).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SCdl_VBVoLAi2nBNpzx6t78gkFObvHGL1ncnutIFLyknQ8rUeJiBshOqoxzxwxQ586FNSJfSvLZ6sCpgTzugP5eyyz-H84eaCOAD0ie9c9GPjjUruhEVuNyxUcfS-zLZPvDiYVSIxWyvxdYxUIC1EsjWrc4gLteMdOGpW1N5-S9G4SsUS_umKHWu/s1366/doraemon-alvarezsaur.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SCdl_VBVoLAi2nBNpzx6t78gkFObvHGL1ncnutIFLyknQ8rUeJiBshOqoxzxwxQ586FNSJfSvLZ6sCpgTzugP5eyyz-H84eaCOAD0ie9c9GPjjUruhEVuNyxUcfS-zLZPvDiYVSIxWyvxdYxUIC1EsjWrc4gLteMdOGpW1N5-S9G4SsUS_umKHWu/s320/doraemon-alvarezsaur.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was particularly excited to see this alvarezsaur make an appearance! (They’re obscured in this image, but in more distant shots it clearly has alvarezsaurid forelimbs.)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>They evidently copied the <i>Sinoceratops</i> from the <i>Jurassic World</i> series (complete with the unlikely holes in the parietal fenestrae) though, oops.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkS7Lz3svAnwZwu6FQpoTPiDA5mVU0yQFpxiB-n2_hYN9T8190YTPme6HykaELEdGE99aOuoSqMi2TlG9qiklDxD2yYWvOdiXmOHWygoOZRfHnpapiGdLB_e_vJPo-MhYf_JQQOh3KUosMEuMadbRh8TI28CR-cR4sj-OKdNWGMRt_2t6gC7Y_WXb/s1366/doraemon-ceratops.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkS7Lz3svAnwZwu6FQpoTPiDA5mVU0yQFpxiB-n2_hYN9T8190YTPme6HykaELEdGE99aOuoSqMi2TlG9qiklDxD2yYWvOdiXmOHWygoOZRfHnpapiGdLB_e_vJPo-MhYf_JQQOh3KUosMEuMadbRh8TI28CR-cR4sj-OKdNWGMRt_2t6gC7Y_WXb/s320/doraemon-ceratops.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>By far the most fanciful prehistoric creature design in the movie is this ginormous azhdarchid-inspired pterosaur. <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OaY9eIB3c_Ra08OaThmJ-x6ohmhNCK7AsPYG7BXDb0eytbwOzXzIfAG64lRrz-oDNqkwgHZcfCP0nmH-wkFw3KnqUYm4e5NC4fcECFaDflqNGAmwAJRfz2siEWiaWoAdQdVjfGKw8x0xDZVBfy9IaVcmt0yko4ZUjI1QObUMQQNzLQttyAUvmG11/s1366/doraemon-pterosaur.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OaY9eIB3c_Ra08OaThmJ-x6ohmhNCK7AsPYG7BXDb0eytbwOzXzIfAG64lRrz-oDNqkwgHZcfCP0nmH-wkFw3KnqUYm4e5NC4fcECFaDflqNGAmwAJRfz2siEWiaWoAdQdVjfGKw8x0xDZVBfy9IaVcmt0yko4ZUjI1QObUMQQNzLQttyAUvmG11/s320/doraemon-pterosaur.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>The tracks it leaves behind are clearly based on <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2009.1161">real pterosaur tracks</a>, however! The filmmakers did their homework. <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbaJLbOQm1_5qL9TV7CU13vtOr63PuR5GRrrPnYQmEPb1oaCiVGD7GarwCOzpunQxLDMB0p0EZVsoL3SQ-CDQ16QPF_f55BivI0amjQPUlqm8z87TST9x1-5RvJMzZxiPKQQcGAbhcuctqj9fCtghcPNzN03feYKNRWE4e8Z-0Y2-ye0NlPoSHY-M/s1366/doraemon-pterotracks.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbaJLbOQm1_5qL9TV7CU13vtOr63PuR5GRrrPnYQmEPb1oaCiVGD7GarwCOzpunQxLDMB0p0EZVsoL3SQ-CDQ16QPF_f55BivI0amjQPUlqm8z87TST9x1-5RvJMzZxiPKQQcGAbhcuctqj9fCtghcPNzN03feYKNRWE4e8Z-0Y2-ye0NlPoSHY-M/s320/doraemon-pterotracks.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>They even use the up-to-date figure of 66 million years ago for the end
of the Cretaceous, unlike some other recent dinosaur movies that shall
not be named. <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YuZXq2DRArNY54E0AQuEo05VklkkVwX4cInCTDCHr_3llZn8BZLbNTkMwx6Y2h4L5KykdAhsRBF6hQWhxc54HIaai5R2XD6Rxv0FH-dkZYxSMfdEswsGuwbHdNAmS4p8tfJxs2NnEEZ-rZMegTymQFTs_H5HmDM5fA58vOtjo5IcUflo36VHZqta/s1366/doraemon-66ma.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YuZXq2DRArNY54E0AQuEo05VklkkVwX4cInCTDCHr_3llZn8BZLbNTkMwx6Y2h4L5KykdAhsRBF6hQWhxc54HIaai5R2XD6Rxv0FH-dkZYxSMfdEswsGuwbHdNAmS4p8tfJxs2NnEEZ-rZMegTymQFTs_H5HmDM5fA58vOtjo5IcUflo36VHZqta/s320/doraemon-66ma.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>This is not a complete list of paleontology references in <i>Doraemon</i> by any means, but I think it will have to do as a highlights reel. I have, however, tried to compile a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cw0868aclFSqGUmmhGmEO1GY0_RYBaFvkm79oFbDMm0/">catalogue</a> of <i>Doraemon</i> manga chapters and episodes related to paleontology elsewhere. It is meant to be reasonably comprehensive, so even fairly minor references to extinct or prehistoric life are included. Being such a long-running franchise with somewhat spotty online availability, <i>Doraemon</i> contains numerous works that I have not seen myself, so I have no doubt that there are some relevant entries I have forgotten about or missed. If you notice any errors or omissions, let me know!</p><p>Now hypothetically, let's say an English speaker's curiosity in <i>Doraemon</i> has been piqued. How would they be able to experience the franchise if they don't understand Japanese (nor any of the other languages that the series has been widely released in)? Well... it's certainly not impossible to do so in many cases, but it can be tricky.</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Most of the manga chapters (including the volume-length stories that the earlier movies were based on) have been released in English... but only on Kindle... and on top of that, only in North America.</li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/product/4092270119/">Two</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/product/409227033X/">series</a> containing a smaller selection of manga chapters (including "Moa and Dodos Forever" and the short version of "Nobita's Dinosaur") have been released in bilingual (English–Japanese) format, and are available as hardcopies.</li><li>A short-lived English dub of the 2005 reboot series aired in the USA between 2014–2015. It has not been officially released on home media or streaming services, but can be found archived online. It should be noted that this dub contains numerous edits meant to "Americanize" the content.</li><li>A different short-lived English dub of the 2005 reboot series aired in the UK between 2015–2016. It includes some episodes that were not adapted for the American dub (and vice versa). It also contains far fewer edits to the original material. However, it has not been released on home media either and <a href="https://lostmediawiki.com/Doraemon_%2705_(partially_found_British_dub_of_anime_series;_2015)">many of the episodes are currently lost</a>, which I find surprising given how recently it was on air.</li><li>Two of the movies, <i>Stand by Me Doraemon</i> and <i>Stand by Me Doraemon 2</i>, are currently on American and British Netflix with English dubs and subtitling available. These two movies are unusual among the <i>Doraemon</i> films in that they use a 3D-animated art style and have narratives compiled from some of the best-known slice-of-life chapters from the manga, instead of the usual "Doraemon and friends go on a long adventure" storyline.</li><li>Fanmade English subtitles for the remaining <i>Doraemon</i> movies and a select number of episodes from both the 1979 and 2005 series are out there... if you know where to look. Be warned that the quality of the translations and subtitling can be... highly variable.</li></ul><p>So... good luck! If nothing else, I hope this was an interesting look at a media giant that ironically gets little attention in English-speaking spaces. Considering how frequently paleontology has come up in <i>Doraemon</i>, it's probably only a matter of time before the franchise revisits the subject again. I think we can expect Doraemon to continue inspiring young paleontology enthusiasts around the world for a long time to come.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHAhl0TPQhagTJDWdpGhSF92svhAvBSDJBcQT5aYRbRkaRFV0Rlvwc2Rhc8-qUj5xVw-HTM3AoKHQXoFu2ZHPjlMYtjM_1PAD5WXf-alDxgEZZfiPBY-4RNItcM00_yCsWMlsZjd5CPNrCg_5JshWG_CPpqO2_E0rYjQ9I5HpOMSDlc8zRGxVvT8z/s1366/doraemon-jpnendcredits.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHAhl0TPQhagTJDWdpGhSF92svhAvBSDJBcQT5aYRbRkaRFV0Rlvwc2Rhc8-qUj5xVw-HTM3AoKHQXoFu2ZHPjlMYtjM_1PAD5WXf-alDxgEZZfiPBY-4RNItcM00_yCsWMlsZjd5CPNrCg_5JshWG_CPpqO2_E0rYjQ9I5HpOMSDlc8zRGxVvT8z/s320/doraemon-jpnendcredits.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This image is here just because I really love the end credits artwork for <i>Nobita and the Birth of Japan</i> (2016).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-86769947359647087782022-12-11T08:14:00.001-08:002022-12-11T08:14:42.988-08:00TetZooCon 2022<p><a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/12/svp-2022.html">SVP</a> was not the only event to return to in-person gatherings this year. For one, 2022 also marked the reestablishment of a physical meeting for TetZooCon. To accommodate its ever-growing list of attendees, this year the convention moved to a new setting (for the <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2017/10/tetzoocon-2017.html">second time</a> in its history), Bush House at King's College London. The venue itself was excellent, though I should mention that I found locating affordable nearby accommodation challenging-to-impossible, and based on comments I'd seen leading up to the convention, I was not the only attendee who encountered that problem. Everything worked out in the end though, at least for me. That's a note to make for next year: book things as early as possible!<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbOFaX9qrmGhNQg45KgyWwKOR4ADX6jGMvVmdQnNeglHnaE8HFkvPymMOURt2m5tg8SFAATNt0JIbxOwplJrhUjsG4eXgMc7zCwUPwcdE8gxSBE-9ilzOHGPnnan_eTHPI6GuyhfYN3PS8yxd4p_9z9gxY-TzBe15aH7CwGRwr4tN6df-2ZSbEn8g/s4032/IMG_2453.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbOFaX9qrmGhNQg45KgyWwKOR4ADX6jGMvVmdQnNeglHnaE8HFkvPymMOURt2m5tg8SFAATNt0JIbxOwplJrhUjsG4eXgMc7zCwUPwcdE8gxSBE-9ilzOHGPnnan_eTHPI6GuyhfYN3PS8yxd4p_9z9gxY-TzBe15aH7CwGRwr4tN6df-2ZSbEn8g/s320/IMG_2453.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even years after we stopped updating <a href="https://time.tetzoo.com/">TetZoo Time</a>, it was nice to see it remembered at TetZooCon.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>As usual for TetZooCon, I enjoyed all the talks I attended, but I thought the multiple panel discussions covering a range of topics were particularly fun. Three panel discussions were held this year: one where the authors of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150709011516/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/all-yesterdays-book-and-launch-event/"><i>All Yesterdays</i></a> (John Conway, Memo Kösemen, and Darren Naish) reflected on the ten years since the book's publication, one focused on pterosaurs (with Natalia Jagielska, Liz Martin-Silverstone, Mark Witton, and John Conway), and one on designing fictional aliens (with Gert van Dijk, Jennifer Colbourne, Joschua Knüppe, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Dougal Dixon, and Memo Kösemen).<br /></p><p>This year, I participated in the paleoart workshop, which consisted of several activities: Chris Manias soliciting the audience for ideas on how to design a paleoart exhibition, Mark Witton encouraging us to restore <i>Tanystropheus</i> based on his skeletal diagram of the animal, and Rhys Griffin giving a presentation on 3D-scanning the Crystal Palace dinosaur statues. Already being familiar with Witton's thoughts on the ecology of <i>Tanystropheus</i> (at least, his thoughts <a href="http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-lifestyle-of-tanystropheus-part-1.html">circa</a> <a href="http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-lifestyle-of-tanystropheus-part-2.html">2015</a>), I chose to go with a more whimsical take on his prompt.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipf5lcPpl3kFkRHWtxLed6Be2PDCJIOzl1JZmgH7TXQrC6I01sV5CCf746WnuNAGPkCsYFPjN6mjG1wuuVx1X_3FNfPEUpJMyExuwSHcH1tP4oSURvx0CcL5Qhcx2OGcX5HlNxAjVN2dXKc7BXYp9d-fcQwnSFa5_V90wjR6MdZR8Ak9Aro31d0oE_/s2661/IMG_E2516.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2661" data-original-width="2224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipf5lcPpl3kFkRHWtxLed6Be2PDCJIOzl1JZmgH7TXQrC6I01sV5CCf746WnuNAGPkCsYFPjN6mjG1wuuVx1X_3FNfPEUpJMyExuwSHcH1tP4oSURvx0CcL5Qhcx2OGcX5HlNxAjVN2dXKc7BXYp9d-fcQwnSFa5_V90wjR6MdZR8Ak9Aro31d0oE_/s320/IMG_E2516.JPG" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I lamented this at the <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/10/tetzoocon-2019.html">last in-person TetZooCon</a>, but after years of doing digital art, I find myself increasingly unaccustomed to drawing with pencil and paper...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>We also saw the return of the notoriously difficult TetZooCon trivia quiz. <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2018/10/tetzoocon-2018.html">Once again</a>, I wondered whether this year's increased attendance would dash my chances of performing as well on the quiz as I had historically. Much to my surprise, nope... first place!<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF65yOiV1EsYx72PWyhK5UtJJe7UzS6djWvZqKvirKlPgo8nwOdFh5erGjow5R4VxVytiFl1lDm0TyTfCqwlQUAoYJ_t7l7zYX5LMYYRqoGtbHjK78IOHp479xxW9xPb02NfRqiZniR-4o14DhYGjp3VuDqgku2QdF_VrBOa8ParBrtvvG1UFt5i0S/s2198/IMG_E2455.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="2198" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF65yOiV1EsYx72PWyhK5UtJJe7UzS6djWvZqKvirKlPgo8nwOdFh5erGjow5R4VxVytiFl1lDm0TyTfCqwlQUAoYJ_t7l7zYX5LMYYRqoGtbHjK78IOHp479xxW9xPb02NfRqiZniR-4o14DhYGjp3VuDqgku2QdF_VrBOa8ParBrtvvG1UFt5i0S/s320/IMG_E2455.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it okay to take (let alone win) the TetZooCon quiz if you're a potential quiz answer? My friend Emilio Río Rodríguez and I <a href="https://twitter.com/eriorguez/status/1599468107696742400">both</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/albertonykus/status/1599453526966816771">wondered</a>. (I was not the <i>correct</i> answer to the quiz question.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Even though there was a vast selection of fantastic quiz prizes to pick from, the choice for me was obvious, thanks to Natee Himmapaan donating a print of their incredible rendition of the <i>Mononykus</i> from <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/06/prehistoric-planet.html"><i>Prehistoric Planet</i></a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYkDP52ns2dT2VFr-YrUKJnVUyYlQerWvQUG0XZK_Yi_3W2V931jpUobLQrzairVyn0-hAm04tHhMf0u1C2oylHsQ-mx7PHtkenKs4aqyE_tDXzI8PoWSW_HC2ufHT2Vi4TRBFFS4sP17VzDZfOsmdzcs4914-BQuD5DtiNhT3mmP80DlkAAydYQNJ/s4032/IMG_E2461.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYkDP52ns2dT2VFr-YrUKJnVUyYlQerWvQUG0XZK_Yi_3W2V931jpUobLQrzairVyn0-hAm04tHhMf0u1C2oylHsQ-mx7PHtkenKs4aqyE_tDXzI8PoWSW_HC2ufHT2Vi4TRBFFS4sP17VzDZfOsmdzcs4914-BQuD5DtiNhT3mmP80DlkAAydYQNJ/s320/IMG_E2461.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Natee was even kind enough to show me the original illustration! With digital art, I'm used to working on a big canvas that is shrunk down to display the completed work. Natee's finely detailed art is remarkable in how it retains its high quality when enlarged as a print, despite its small physical size.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWp3Leg8kvuxIVa20eiavHLO72QMCrfp7RHaDyNfNxERX0GaiMw-jHi7yiWF-zx4dbdCX2oP9LUN6xdvjtZywjTMqgrupGLZd6QpFpv5_FFnBxHLc6C6f4rSew1gWP-yn8N7n6HX7Vbfskf4o6Qb4u_T45o6-ZrUweeOu9iZZZ9lM4ITXrq7tG7iAM/s4032/IMG_2463.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWp3Leg8kvuxIVa20eiavHLO72QMCrfp7RHaDyNfNxERX0GaiMw-jHi7yiWF-zx4dbdCX2oP9LUN6xdvjtZywjTMqgrupGLZd6QpFpv5_FFnBxHLc6C6f4rSew1gWP-yn8N7n6HX7Vbfskf4o6Qb4u_T45o6-ZrUweeOu9iZZZ9lM4ITXrq7tG7iAM/s320/IMG_2463.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special thanks as well to Darren Naish for holding the sketchbook.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I'm normally very frugal about spending money at conferences and conventions, but I knew I also had to get a print of Joanna Kobierska's <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/bluefluffydinosaur/art/Asteriornis-935824799">depiction</a> of <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/03/catch-falling-star-meet-asteriornis.html"><i>Asteriornis</i></a>!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmG05yRDUUHaJPbHFWyf7OjUJ2LTvBEN6quCzVe7EK4l_Ywryo2VbRxu6f-I7UUjkCU5uA1c634edrg2KYG3MB035JF2LyMoEiK5aXIMuYCzAKTds03q1NthbASDImI54w2itT10Q4vYCL392zzf1WCorgjnRY88LfstVTJ4w8tr4Nl0GP1XPrDD5/s4032/IMG_2491.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmG05yRDUUHaJPbHFWyf7OjUJ2LTvBEN6quCzVe7EK4l_Ywryo2VbRxu6f-I7UUjkCU5uA1c634edrg2KYG3MB035JF2LyMoEiK5aXIMuYCzAKTds03q1NthbASDImI54w2itT10Q4vYCL392zzf1WCorgjnRY88LfstVTJ4w8tr4Nl0GP1XPrDD5/s320/IMG_2491.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>The type specimen of <i>Asteriornis</i> was recently returned to the Maastricht Natural History Museum (along with the type specimen of the newly named <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05445-y"><i>Janavis</i></a>), so TetZooCon happened just in time for those of us at the Field Palaeobiology Lab to include Kobierska's print in a farewell photoshoot we did for the fossil!<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVeRB1xvqSk7PCMi_1XR3OgmHZlDhgf8GaqzRUV0qMvEJCpPJMy2RbwtOeXOBJDuu82axNj2V9jfecvRNKwQCUoRFndYE41A7qi6FB7qvD7fZ0GUNdzP9RUs_4aw1MCfYWzfV9vsC5T9QlT1da7GpTyICRvteeW_e5s3XpbjdDnzGYeHlDdt43Dfl/s764/IOSIE7802.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="764" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVeRB1xvqSk7PCMi_1XR3OgmHZlDhgf8GaqzRUV0qMvEJCpPJMy2RbwtOeXOBJDuu82axNj2V9jfecvRNKwQCUoRFndYE41A7qi6FB7qvD7fZ0GUNdzP9RUs_4aw1MCfYWzfV9vsC5T9QlT1da7GpTyICRvteeW_e5s3XpbjdDnzGYeHlDdt43Dfl/s320/IOSIE7802.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Asteriornis</i> with a selection of the artwork it has inspired. Clockwise from bottom: works by <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/bluefluffydinosaur/art/Asteriornis-935824799">Joanna Kobierska</a>, <a href="https://www.phillipmk.com/">Phillip Krzeminski</a>, <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/anatotitan/art/Living-Color-893749051">David Orr</a>, <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Queen-Asteriornis-and-Miserable-Ichthyornis-901416843">myself</a>, Katrina van Grouw, and <a href="https://www.rothmanillustration.com/work-subject-area-selections#/paleontology/">Michael Rothman</a>, with a life-sized 3D print of the skull in the center painted by Juan Benito Moreno.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The day after the main event, some of us embarked on a field trip to see the <a href="https://cpdinosaurs.org/">Crystal Palace Dinosaurs</a> (and other prehistoric animals). Even though I've lived in the UK for over six years at this point (how?!), I'd never had the chance to visit these historic statues, so I was excited to join. I'm glad I did. The weather was nice (other than a brief period of light rain), there were <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S123510392">lots of birds</a> to see, and Darren provided a highly informative guided tour going over the history of the statues and the animals they were based on.</p><p>As discussed by Mark Witton and Ellinor Michel in their talk at TetZooCon, the <i>Xiphodon</i>
statue in the foreground below had been moved from its original location
and presumed lost. During the preparation of their book, <a href="http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2022/04/introducing-art-and-science-of-crystal.html"><i>The Art and Science of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs</i></a>, Michel rediscovered the statue, which had long been misidentified as a "<i>Megaloceros</i> fawn".</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDk3WfAlf2_k00RTmVOv1PW-DupGTyQCpWvRfFzRZqXTnGi5PGzCFiDPIChG1ncIp9BqghHB0wGPsCPd84_V7OS0m3hnpNDB3kVZga52fb6VZi526UW2Td_7Zu_UJQtZF7I8gLq2S_9rLMF1vbpBu9DgJndIfHZoH6H4ecO4zDzeGKDM32JPlzAXh/s4608/DSCN5464.JPG"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDk3WfAlf2_k00RTmVOv1PW-DupGTyQCpWvRfFzRZqXTnGi5PGzCFiDPIChG1ncIp9BqghHB0wGPsCPd84_V7OS0m3hnpNDB3kVZga52fb6VZi526UW2Td_7Zu_UJQtZF7I8gLq2S_9rLMF1vbpBu9DgJndIfHZoH6H4ecO4zDzeGKDM32JPlzAXh/s320/DSCN5464.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Of course, I needed to get at least one photo of the classic <i>Iguanodon</i> statues (though they were modeled after fossils <a href="http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-science-of-crystal-palace-dinosaurs_30.html">no longer classified as <i>Iguanodon</i></a>).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggp1CMImcJo6wMU0pX7FFE0xtLZQ933VKCp2fOEPGRFlSDLSXGSYDN6ho4SJItP7IHAtAYewLeJWlLcNlcRGbD7Vf9yaRt8C_zKb65bcBA0hczReHKR_37aJkUFmpujb-qTTwA0AktK3fLT9QHHtlzwl2V5sjbBu6n1UK-Sq5t7OXT2T8BXvOPYdvR/s4608/DSCN5484.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggp1CMImcJo6wMU0pX7FFE0xtLZQ933VKCp2fOEPGRFlSDLSXGSYDN6ho4SJItP7IHAtAYewLeJWlLcNlcRGbD7Vf9yaRt8C_zKb65bcBA0hczReHKR_37aJkUFmpujb-qTTwA0AktK3fLT9QHHtlzwl2V5sjbBu6n1UK-Sq5t7OXT2T8BXvOPYdvR/s320/DSCN5484.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>A living theropod perched on top of a classic interpretation of an extinct theropod. It might be hard to get more poetic than that.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4dQNnYwXPleNAjjl7Ieu0dDFhGIQ_y30J7l4Gl_rD-GEbJaS80ZhaSJhDPBe2MiFCViJBm1RHuGu2eQx6ECUPr7wyx_Mu0kN-IDn6LsQYOSTRcnOLjxMQPJ-fFt8lDsNy95HI5-LtsrILbq1yrCfjD4P-Negovq0DVHgfJsqjhhaAStq9WB9Nwe8/s4608/DSCN5489.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4dQNnYwXPleNAjjl7Ieu0dDFhGIQ_y30J7l4Gl_rD-GEbJaS80ZhaSJhDPBe2MiFCViJBm1RHuGu2eQx6ECUPr7wyx_Mu0kN-IDn6LsQYOSTRcnOLjxMQPJ-fFt8lDsNy95HI5-LtsrILbq1yrCfjD4P-Negovq0DVHgfJsqjhhaAStq9WB9Nwe8/s320/DSCN5489.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-52765354827426275492022-12-08T12:46:00.001-08:002022-12-09T16:55:02.770-08:00SVP 2022<p>In-person conferences?! What are those? After two years of online conferencing, this year's SVP convened in Toronto, Canada (while still maintaining a parallel virtual platform). Right off the bat, the conference organizers should be commended for establishing a masking mandate: though some attendees reported testing positive for COVID-19 during and after the event, this policy appears to have been largely effective in limiting the spread of the virus.</p><p>I certainly had a great time. The welcome reception this year was held at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), which I was excited to visit as I'd never been there before. The first to greet us at the museum was a mounted cast of the titanosaur <i>Futalognkosaurus</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDUGKuaVluOYRvR1AspxFNgQ23d6_0TZyQxhCF_ZQuUvTp0Zvaqh26f9n-eia2wI85uWSW39Ci0LAnhMxmQ7Bph2CgsNxAf55V7u22UZxkoFYLTooWc8hxgpdEjU1zVRCBmw4-W7o1BZYGJ61CHxgNZbuQE4GmO5uOoJoDG0G7fW4QD4xCLqt7q0r/s4608/DSCN5404.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDUGKuaVluOYRvR1AspxFNgQ23d6_0TZyQxhCF_ZQuUvTp0Zvaqh26f9n-eia2wI85uWSW39Ci0LAnhMxmQ7Bph2CgsNxAf55V7u22UZxkoFYLTooWc8hxgpdEjU1zVRCBmw4-W7o1BZYGJ61CHxgNZbuQE4GmO5uOoJoDG0G7fW4QD4xCLqt7q0r/s320/DSCN5404.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Dinosaur-wise, one of the star attractions of the ROM is the holotype specimen of <i>Parasaurolophus</i>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAe3Fe0Sd_eb4U1MiU9pxcK814hjVnQ8ZeUMTlHYuB6DuAK7lY_z3xTRNNqdAm7fbSpbKgdvm0tnUegOAMf3pHRTtXE0i593Cjt9z7p4uIwlnbJUUhgVb5cDHIru-HE6hEuIaKiyPUE_L_4XiNaYklzU3XGWEQD-RGIxB3StQAa5MFKVtCRMryHHrg/s4608/DSCN5411.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAe3Fe0Sd_eb4U1MiU9pxcK814hjVnQ8ZeUMTlHYuB6DuAK7lY_z3xTRNNqdAm7fbSpbKgdvm0tnUegOAMf3pHRTtXE0i593Cjt9z7p4uIwlnbJUUhgVb5cDHIru-HE6hEuIaKiyPUE_L_4XiNaYklzU3XGWEQD-RGIxB3StQAa5MFKVtCRMryHHrg/s320/DSCN5411.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>However, the skull displayed with the <i>Parasaurolophus</i> holotype is a cast. To see the original skull, one has to visit the museum collections. I managed to join a behind-the-scenes tour where we got to do just that!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsMh2jQawMnJHlpXTrdTE9oCf7h5k3Se79r1CNOgo7aaZVvkOAXTg09hKQMMuX-lrvN0OabqB9xc3F35h7GaXQ9eT0U2oAUAvL1iUTGYUPWeUZOX9mDbkD0AKOYAhSjO6wniF9_wWTpuQzahpuiBektnJQN9ELr2tOTsBMajnlfwKoXtCJfiBTPMZ/s4608/DSCN5436.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsMh2jQawMnJHlpXTrdTE9oCf7h5k3Se79r1CNOgo7aaZVvkOAXTg09hKQMMuX-lrvN0OabqB9xc3F35h7GaXQ9eT0U2oAUAvL1iUTGYUPWeUZOX9mDbkD0AKOYAhSjO6wniF9_wWTpuQzahpuiBektnJQN9ELr2tOTsBMajnlfwKoXtCJfiBTPMZ/w320-h240/DSCN5436.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><i>Parasaurolophus</i> is not the only one here. The ROM houses holotype specimens of many hadrosaurids.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tf76_F0rOBaT94Gy6Oexo37uXTUZXWdBUgzZhPjw2V46tc_6RPMdk5RIcr2IjqDuIhCjbhQNB90hvac6OZSa6EJgZdji51Ek1OiclZjPHeEJxr-ELsZByAULnj4Vrk7XMRFp1SZH5mJi3HhtMexcmClNVo2-GuAKMrmKCleMQhSlJcztTBXFj3Oi/s4608/DSCN5434.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tf76_F0rOBaT94Gy6Oexo37uXTUZXWdBUgzZhPjw2V46tc_6RPMdk5RIcr2IjqDuIhCjbhQNB90hvac6OZSa6EJgZdji51Ek1OiclZjPHeEJxr-ELsZByAULnj4Vrk7XMRFp1SZH5mJi3HhtMexcmClNVo2-GuAKMrmKCleMQhSlJcztTBXFj3Oi/s320/DSCN5434.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The museum is not bad when it comes to extant dinosaurs either, for it has quite a nice exhibit of taxidermied birds. This potoo caught my eye. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCsn0VwkNOsc6rf2C_sdTH-JWfXHda3OBjCrlkrtQpjuJZOFVxLrku4AHewqBgLYQ2dtILyX0WmZj-CQBcGkXrhzuKIWKldb9ozMYUx-sWDEkTa2J31uqcc3SknMJZE50yneCGilSEKiXbE3Ib0UXNiEyKxT9Mc2gtwkzJoUr6fjJyAqiP4lfX3qf/s4608/DSCN5444.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCsn0VwkNOsc6rf2C_sdTH-JWfXHda3OBjCrlkrtQpjuJZOFVxLrku4AHewqBgLYQ2dtILyX0WmZj-CQBcGkXrhzuKIWKldb9ozMYUx-sWDEkTa2J31uqcc3SknMJZE50yneCGilSEKiXbE3Ib0UXNiEyKxT9Mc2gtwkzJoUr6fjJyAqiP4lfX3qf/s320/DSCN5444.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'm not really a stranger to presenting at SVP anymore, but seeing some of my labmates present their first in-person SVP talks was pretty special. The <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/10/svp-2019.html">last time</a> SVP happened in person, my supervisor and one of my labmates were the only other members of our lab to attend. This time, members of the lab gave nearly half of the talks in the bird session (and our supervisor didn't even come this year)! Speaking of which, the bird talks took place on the afternoon of the last day of the conference, and my talk was one of the last talks in the session, so I'm very grateful to everyone who stuck around to attend it. I won't lie: I've grown a bit weary of presenting on my PhD research at this point, and I'm looking forward to having something fresh to talk about the next time SVP rolls around. However, the feedback I received was all very positive. Most unexpected were the comments from a young fan who came up afterward to tell me that my comics helped inspire their interest in paleontology! That's a treasured memory I won't be forgetting for a long time.<br /></p><p>As always, there were numerous fascinating presentations at SVP. I was especially excited to see Chris Torres's talk on a nearly complete skull of <i>Vegavis</i>. However, perhaps the most surprising breakout stars were small(-ish) ornithischians: I thought Cary Woodruff's talk on pachycephalosaur vertebrae, Clint Boyd's talk on a new specimen of <i>Thescelosaurus</i>, and Zakaria Hannebaum's talk on the taphonomy of <i>Orodromeus</i> were all extremely interesting.</p><p>The return to in-person conferencing meant seeing friends I hadn't seen in person for a long time (or even ever). My friend John D'Angelo took the chance to show me an illustration he'd made in celebration of me <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2022/04/delays-and-updates.html">passing my PhD viva</a>. He'd sent me a scan of it before, but getting to see the original was a real treat.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4N0jw6BtVLW_xeux2FFrgnRfXFNi3i2KOGmfKdqQl0fRaZPNDyJCZ7Vzji7-JdxYPiTJcRdelyakpIFEMcnsMtUQfcUvTQMd5uuwZf4lwQBDsNFVGZHH5DNtritzXBd-4NnVS79Zl7mroXxcJ5IgQpR-CvHrYZBCeYnvsUPJZiBe7jmWmRtaz291/s2312/IMG_2361.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="2312" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4N0jw6BtVLW_xeux2FFrgnRfXFNi3i2KOGmfKdqQl0fRaZPNDyJCZ7Vzji7-JdxYPiTJcRdelyakpIFEMcnsMtUQfcUvTQMd5uuwZf4lwQBDsNFVGZHH5DNtritzXBd-4NnVS79Zl7mroXxcJ5IgQpR-CvHrYZBCeYnvsUPJZiBe7jmWmRtaz291/s320/IMG_2361.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>One friend who I'd known online but had never met up with before was <a href="https://twitter.com/IlariPatila">Ilari Pätilä</a>, a paleoartist and fellow fossil bird enthusiast. To commemorate the occasion, he presented me with his wonderful depiction of an adzebill.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_9XEGcyRdf6Kd0I4Arj5NI1q8cgjdEWzv7LCB32Z-5NuXSQiNxuP91oS474HwlLCjKcULQ8JH3MLeCgZaIVZ_kyS43fljzvnLmku2nphweoQUBK0toSstnx0-HhGQZVCNlcqdXTqMRYn8V2tAnUr9vrZYutRfl2zZ1ae_c9KHSlDRqv5xCUJdsOM/s2921/IMG_E2384.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2921" data-original-width="2055" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_9XEGcyRdf6Kd0I4Arj5NI1q8cgjdEWzv7LCB32Z-5NuXSQiNxuP91oS474HwlLCjKcULQ8JH3MLeCgZaIVZ_kyS43fljzvnLmku2nphweoQUBK0toSstnx0-HhGQZVCNlcqdXTqMRYn8V2tAnUr9vrZYutRfl2zZ1ae_c9KHSlDRqv5xCUJdsOM/s320/IMG_E2384.JPG" width="225" /></a></div><p>It was also a pleasure to meet the mysterious artist known mostly as <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/stygimolochspinifer">"StygimolochSpinifer"</a> or <a href="https://perpetualartistsblock.tumblr.com/">"Perpetualartistsblock"</a> for the first time. I've long been a fan of his artwork, and we ended up having some great conversations. He even gifted me with one of his sketches after I completed my talk!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBszwwoVD4Dcb2xt80Zz5r3rEOgFTsquMOKeIdu7bEWJnpN2sltwBZ6byedJwCPGVPvqPMXz-hqJuNy8HTJn8XsH9l6tyf5YMfFQXIqI-M0b98pECrKagf3xzPHZrki3-UQzxGI53Nnz7a9r2DdJKG_WltWf7iC7-GA2KIDsBexaBX0I05FgE3GbmI/s2058/IMG_E2378.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="2058" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBszwwoVD4Dcb2xt80Zz5r3rEOgFTsquMOKeIdu7bEWJnpN2sltwBZ6byedJwCPGVPvqPMXz-hqJuNy8HTJn8XsH9l6tyf5YMfFQXIqI-M0b98pECrKagf3xzPHZrki3-UQzxGI53Nnz7a9r2DdJKG_WltWf7iC7-GA2KIDsBexaBX0I05FgE3GbmI/s320/IMG_E2378.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>I had some time to kill on the day after the conference ended, so I spent the morning visiting the nearby Ripley's Aquarium of Canada with Darren Naish. <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589416855294607360">Darren</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589605210724663296">took</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589608332461240326">many</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589612612509003777">more</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589911440634564609">photos</a> than I did, but below is a picture I got of a peacock mantis shrimp. Most memorable to me were probably the lampreys; I don't remember having seen any live specimens before. Afterward, Darren and I went for a walk on the Toronto waterfront in search of urban wildlife. I particularly appreciated seeing <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589693466140762112">long-tailed ducks</a>, though we also spotted <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589695679798349824">double-crested cormorants</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1589697118167781376">black-capped chickadees</a>, and other North American species that I've missed very much.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztI5TKr17wgk0OZfJeHAf4YK9Z3QD2HwZ7mEJYVCga-0ib6r2M-Chbrof7FUU07bTbwAkjx-CZzH7l710MxxfyONfWFpdG6ghsuDzBXBzLoGQ1nHTRXL1By2-J0hVVyZpAWWYQrSg9KPdJBt5THx8EME1dEw5F-6CMHrVY4C-exPIPnzZ855Q5n1b/s4608/DSCN5459.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztI5TKr17wgk0OZfJeHAf4YK9Z3QD2HwZ7mEJYVCga-0ib6r2M-Chbrof7FUU07bTbwAkjx-CZzH7l710MxxfyONfWFpdG6ghsuDzBXBzLoGQ1nHTRXL1By2-J0hVVyZpAWWYQrSg9KPdJBt5THx8EME1dEw5F-6CMHrVY4C-exPIPnzZ855Q5n1b/s320/DSCN5459.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>What more can I say? SVP was great, and I hope to see everyone again next year!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEg_D2VxlGE3khCtgbLjgBezJQ--zk0lg-9qPz54jt4fTcmnunKh3SSJUaC2_1zE1L9lW-MOhLHJ-Fp8ldXPqRIbwRkoRLUXKKQj76xRAyoyVBxFY57u5DAf2Jgf5aLZJIiNqAO-gp-i3QtDrGjiCXJ0K3-PdJHSrPsGtjNsOCXKXH4W-2dekfehN/s1536/nextyear-comp.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1366" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEg_D2VxlGE3khCtgbLjgBezJQ--zk0lg-9qPz54jt4fTcmnunKh3SSJUaC2_1zE1L9lW-MOhLHJ-Fp8ldXPqRIbwRkoRLUXKKQj76xRAyoyVBxFY57u5DAf2Jgf5aLZJIiNqAO-gp-i3QtDrGjiCXJ0K3-PdJHSrPsGtjNsOCXKXH4W-2dekfehN/w356-h400/nextyear-comp.png" width="356" /></a></div>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-49224387341338605252022-06-12T05:30:00.004-07:002022-06-19T08:36:04.706-07:00Prehistoric Planet<p><a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/prehistoric-planet-stunning-new-series-depicts-dinosaurs-never">The</a> <a href="https://dinodadreviews.com/2022/05/30/prehistoric-planet/">talk</a> <a href="https://dinointhedugout.home.blog/2022/05/31/they-spared-no-expense/">of</a> <a href="https://archosaurophilia.blogspot.com/2022/05/prehistoric-planet-review-and-hopes-for.html">the</a> <a href="https://chasmosaurs.com/2022/06/05/prehistoric-planet-a-modern-vision-of-the-past/">town</a> (or at least of the online paleontology community) lately has been <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, a new documentary series now available for streaming on Apple TV+. This show has been eagerly anticipated ever since it was first publicly <a href="https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/apple-orders-jon-favreau-cgi-dinosaur-series-bbc-studios-1203208652/">revealed</a> in 2019 to have been in production, not least because paleontology documentaries have been thin on the ground in the last decade. The dearth of content has been especially true regarding series that portray prehistoric life as though it had been filmed in the wild, a premise popularized by <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i> in 1999.<br /></p><p>Despite the inevitable comparisons to <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i>, however, <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> borrows more from recent BBC documentaries that focus on the modern biosphere, such as <i>The Blue Planet</i>, <i>Planet Earth</i>, and their sequels. Regular viewers of nature documentaries will likely notice stylistic choices and even specific film sequences in these shows that inspired elements of <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> (including its title). Unlike <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i>, the series is organized by habitat, with each episode being composed of several vignettes that take place in multiple locations, instead of revolving around an extended narrative about one specific individual animal or ecosystem. In addition, all of the segments in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> are set within a fairly narrow window of geologic time (the Maastrichtian Age of the Late Cretaceous), not spread across the entire Mesozoic.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxAi8b3LM1Qq7LPHDUZNcixth3_Eik2yWbT_Bm19rGPEfEBdbMC_aDJcoTLmgdXSkGjN5ROm6Xg3RogF4HIOslYva2TKP90-us_ppLdLyCldk2WUqMvVmn2Ool0p5PjCGbhjQdfTE0pERjdn8MG8Hmm2OtZso7yyQC01YwAhtD_77tz1O996tYY9T/s3840/ATV_Prehistoric_Planet_key_art_16x9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxAi8b3LM1Qq7LPHDUZNcixth3_Eik2yWbT_Bm19rGPEfEBdbMC_aDJcoTLmgdXSkGjN5ROm6Xg3RogF4HIOslYva2TKP90-us_ppLdLyCldk2WUqMvVmn2Ool0p5PjCGbhjQdfTE0pERjdn8MG8Hmm2OtZso7yyQC01YwAhtD_77tz1O996tYY9T/w400-h225/ATV_Prehistoric_Planet_key_art_16x9.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Now that the show has been released, it appears that most responses to <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> have been overwhelmingly positive, and the acclaim is well deserved in my book. The considerable advances in both technology and paleontological science since <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i> are more than evident throughout the series, and others have already commented repeatedly on the spectacular visual effects as well as the naturalistic, scientifically plausible depictions of extinct animals. Instead of heaping on more of the same (albeit justified) general praise, I'd like to take a closer look specifically at the show's portrayals of maniraptoran dinosaurs. This is a maniraptoran blog, after all.</p><p>There is quite a bit to cover, for maniraptors are featured extensively in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>. Most exciting to me was the fact that there is a whole <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0856EwWjaCk">segment</a> dedicated to an alvarezsaurid, namely <i>Mononykus</i> from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia! This sequence has to rank among my favorites in the show, not only because I am extremely biased in favor of alvarezsaurids, but also because I was very impressed by how much scientific knowledge about <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/05/making-sense-of-alvarezsaurid.html">alvarezsaurid biology</a> it incorporated. <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2413.1.1/0">Traveling for long distances on foraging excursions?</a> <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7941">Sensitive hearing for detecting prey?</a> <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/function-in-the-stunted-forelimbs-of-mononykus-olecranus-theropoda-a-dinosaurian-anteater/6823FD1CA0FDE6F376621C52A014BF1A">Using the specialized thumb claw as an excavation tool?</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667108000943">Feeding on wood-dwelling termites instead of mound-building ones?</a> Whereas some segments of <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> revolve around behaviors widespread in modern animals that were transplanted onto select prehistoric species as (generally reasonable) speculation, almost everything <i>Mononykus</i> is shown doing was based directly on research into alvarezsaurid anatomy, function, and ecology.<br /></p><p>What's more, this depiction of <i>Mononykus</i> appears to have resonated strongly with audiences. From what I've seen, it's probably fair to consider <i>Mononykus</i> one of the breakout stars of <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, with even executive producers <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8xyqhuz3Wg&t=1257s">Jon Favreau</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbNZhVM8ICw&t=163s">Mike Gunton</a> identifying it as one of their favorite dinosaurs in the series. Alvarezsaurids have made a surprisingly large number of documentary appearances considering their relative obscurity (BBC's <i>Chased by Dinosaurs</i> in 2002 and Discovery Channel's <i>Dinosaur Planet</i> in 2003 come to mind), but none of those previous shows spent much time highlighting what makes these dinosaurs strange and interesting. Thanks to <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>'s approach, it seems that <i>Mononykus</i> is well on its way to becoming a household dinosaur name, and I couldn't be happier about that.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuh61aZdcqatHoJUkGc749bpYkWiaVzV4dfWn1EU7FfivRjpjqv4vgy9_YLwbE9XJEzqUzh1QBoNC2rHF4tJ4uXqu5jVS64xxcMllz2JxcmfTOAqJml_Yzn_kAhRMi7R3389SwbR9Av2ArVg8UQIkDj4GZrtkXtA3ENt0Fztj1IzLMI74gitiVDbx/s1366/php-mononykus.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuh61aZdcqatHoJUkGc749bpYkWiaVzV4dfWn1EU7FfivRjpjqv4vgy9_YLwbE9XJEzqUzh1QBoNC2rHF4tJ4uXqu5jVS64xxcMllz2JxcmfTOAqJml_Yzn_kAhRMi7R3389SwbR9Av2ArVg8UQIkDj4GZrtkXtA3ENt0Fztj1IzLMI74gitiVDbx/w400-h225/php-mononykus.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paleoartist Ilari Pätilä has <a href="https://twitter.com/IlariPatila/status/1529183981224308737">proposed</a> calling the <i>Mononykus</i> from <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> "Dolores", after a character from the Disney film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encanto_(film)"><i>Encanto</i></a> who has the power of super-sensitive hearing. I approve, though the production team behind <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1532074647159595008">reportedly</a> has their own internal nickname for her.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Therizinosaurs are represented in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> by the largest of them all, <i>Therizinosaurus</i>. Another maniraptor known from the Nemegt Formation, <i>Therizinosaurus</i> first appears in the background visiting a watering hole alongside other Nemegt dinosaurs (including <i>Mononykus</i>), but is not acknowledged by the narration at this point. A later scene, however, features a group of juvenile <i>Therizinosaurus</i> as its protagonists. This segment has the distinction of being, to my knowledge, the only one in the series for which visual elements were neither given away in promotional material nor publicly described by reviewers who'd seen the show early, which made it especially enjoyable to watch for the first time.<br /></p><p>The way in which the <i>Therizinosaurus</i> are shown using their <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1310711110">beaks</a> and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2014.0497">claws</a> for feeding is supported by published research on therizinosaurs, as is their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1463-6395.2007.00311.x">precocial nature</a>. Their attempt to reach a bees' nest for honey by climbing with their beaks, claws, and flaps of their forelimbs is more speculative, but well within the realm of possibility. It is furthermore a fun potential nod to a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130917043845/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/07/21/history-of-treeclimbing-dinosaurs/">discredited hypothesis</a> that therizinosaurs might have had arboreal ancestors, while at the same time showing that most flightless Mesozoic theropods probably <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0022292">weren't particularly good climbers</a> (which might not have stopped some from occasionally trying to climb anyway).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtOIvAF-piEjAHelu_U95iDjyoHUg6_omurpJSKlNxaCLrsxJ7qqELNgrZSSxoeVD_fMSjJar0Sr7v6ckN-XBgNpkAZN2K8uC3t9UMW8xMbnT85ygJP6gme0Na6N_UkW-vkWMHQvfccKIR-ESXkmsvj_9Mm_2WybjlO5OEqeAr1u3mG6kjk9ZqYQ8/s1366/php-therizinosaurusjuv.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtOIvAF-piEjAHelu_U95iDjyoHUg6_omurpJSKlNxaCLrsxJ7qqELNgrZSSxoeVD_fMSjJar0Sr7v6ckN-XBgNpkAZN2K8uC3t9UMW8xMbnT85ygJP6gme0Na6N_UkW-vkWMHQvfccKIR-ESXkmsvj_9Mm_2WybjlO5OEqeAr1u3mG6kjk9ZqYQ8/w400-h225/php-therizinosaurusjuv.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A juvenile <i>Therizinosaurus</i> has a go at wing-(and-beak-and-claw-)assisted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1dekSaGhlc">incline climbing</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Despite their efforts, the young <i>Therizinosaurus</i> are quickly dissuaded by bee stings. They are eventually rewarded, however, when an adult <i>Therizinosaurus</i> shows up. Undeterred by the bees, it knocks the nest to the ground with a single swat from one of its clawed hands, and leaves behind enough leftovers for the youngsters to savor. This was a great way to convey the power and majesty of the adult <i>Therizinosaurus</i> without placing it in a stereotypically violent scenario. There is a minor error in the narration for this sequence: the adult is mistakenly described as 30 ft <i>tall</i> instead of 30 ft long. That being said, lead scientific consultant Darren Naish has <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1531886774334652417">pointed out</a> that it is not inconceivable for a large <i>Therizinosaurus</i> to have been able to rear to heights approaching 30 ft.</p><p>Oviraptorosaurs appear in the form of the tall-crested <i>Corythoraptor</i> from the Nanxiong Formation of China. They do not play a major role beyond serving as would-be prey for the tyrannosaurid <i>Qianzhousaurus</i>, but they have a lovely design that makes it clear that just as much research and care went into their depiction as for those of the other computer-generated creatures in the show. In fact, the segment that they appear in is perhaps among the most aesthetically pleasing and atmospheric in the entire series. It was also neat to see the <i>Corythoraptor</i> feeding on ginkgo fruits and using their wings for balance while running, in a manner similar to ostriches. (As an aside: I'm not a stickler for the pronunciation of scientific names, but as someone who knows Mandarin, hearing narrator Sir David Attenborough pronounce <i>Qianzhousaurus</i> correctly was a plus.) </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4SNkhIdZ70kZ7Q0a9inOKftnAhdJI_FdM0CBLt5J5qxAHAFa9JcFxvuI6U0Zg9ErDrDqOePmu7ND0Ahqe9qQ2o4A7qaL1Bu4MQczJXnv_GrXrR4JIs2wP4Of_hl_6xeCPANl0eEfTJUDABqBBe20jPQ3C7NheMHpnIzMYN8LltIr5Adz8CW5f7Y1/s1366/php-corythoraptor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4SNkhIdZ70kZ7Q0a9inOKftnAhdJI_FdM0CBLt5J5qxAHAFa9JcFxvuI6U0Zg9ErDrDqOePmu7ND0Ahqe9qQ2o4A7qaL1Bu4MQczJXnv_GrXrR4JIs2wP4Of_hl_6xeCPANl0eEfTJUDABqBBe20jPQ3C7NheMHpnIzMYN8LltIr5Adz8CW5f7Y1/w400-h225/php-corythoraptor.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A flock of foraging <i>Corythoraptor</i> makes for pretty dinosaurs in a pretty forest.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The function of feathers in flightless maniraptors is spotlighted dramatically in one of two segments starring the dromaeosaurid <i>Velociraptor</i>. Strictly speaking, the "<i>Velociraptor</i>" in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> were <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1529363061068513282">based on</a> indeterminate velociraptorines from Maastrichtian fossil deposits, with <i>Velociraptor</i> proper having only been found in the Djadochta Formation and possibly the Wulansuhai Formation, which are generally considered Campanian in age. As others have <a href="https://theropoda.blogspot.com/2022/05/recensione-di-prehistoric-planet_25.html">noted</a>, however, there is enough ambiguity in the dating of Late Cretaceous rock units from central Asia that the Djadochta and Nemegt Formations may in fact have been laid down in different environments that <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjes-2020-0148">coexisted</a> at approximately the same time. In any case, the presence of <i>Velociraptor</i>-like dromaeosaurids in the Maastrichtian of central Asia is readily justifiable.</p><p><i>Velociraptor</i> is introduced with a pair of them trying to prey on an unspecified lizard, which is in turn feeding on carrion flies drawn in by some dozing <i>Tarbosaurus</i> (an obvious homage to footage of agamid lizards hunting for flies near lions, as shown on BBC's <i>Africa</i> in 2013). Where <i>Velociraptor </i>truly gets to shine though is in its second appearance, which depicts a trio stalking azhdarchid pterosaurs on a sheer cliff face, perhaps partly inspired by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018212000946">fossil evidence</a> that <i>Velociraptor</i> at least fed on azhdarchids occasionally. The <i>Velociraptor</i> are portrayed as agile hunters, using wing-assisted locomotion to boost their jumps, control descents, and even survive dangerous falls on difficult terrain. These maneuvers are reminiscent not only of locomotor strategies seen in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq9TCb_xQ_A">modern birds</a>, but also observations of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrwy1fb7DrQ">polar bears</a> and especially <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgDHvl1wD20">snow leopards</a> hunting on cliffsides. Somewhat surprisingly, the famous <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028964">"raptor prey restraint"</a> model (which proposes that dromaeosaurids used their wings to stabilize themselves while restraining prey with their feet) is not explicitly shown in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, though this may have been deliberate given that the bloodier aspects of predation are noticeably downplayed in the imagery of this series.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfNYnVCzlsH4OpRzeBmHMx6kp9hRCTXF0Z12lDVMwqSRlpSiCTwbG6M87L2cC3124NBGKD-fb0ZaeoaR85hI-vwMQ0zwNTWEv39Ccpnr7N_tJQhbfJrAvGbD_g_hWeeg5TjeXqtcByHn9z_TI7qFr9Upge7y9l1dt7cQBjmrQCurC55dJOOG958D5/s1366/php-velociraptor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfNYnVCzlsH4OpRzeBmHMx6kp9hRCTXF0Z12lDVMwqSRlpSiCTwbG6M87L2cC3124NBGKD-fb0ZaeoaR85hI-vwMQ0zwNTWEv39Ccpnr7N_tJQhbfJrAvGbD_g_hWeeg5TjeXqtcByHn9z_TI7qFr9Upge7y9l1dt7cQBjmrQCurC55dJOOG958D5/w400-h225/php-velociraptor.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This may not be the version that mainstream popular culture is most familiar with, but <i>Velociraptor</i> was undoubtedly a skilled predator.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Another dromaeosaurid that shows up is an unspecified polar species, presumably based on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634%282000%29020%5B0675%3ATTFTPC%5D2.0.CO%3B2">dromaeosaurid teeth</a> from the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska. A group of these dromaeosaurids is featured cooperating to hunt hadrosaurids larger than themselves. Dromaeosaurids being shown bringing down unrealistically large prey items is a long-standing <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Breaking-the-Curse-II-152443972">pet peeve</a> of mine, but here the predator–prey relationship is portrayed much more believably: it is stated that the polar dromaeosaurids are targeting juvenile hadrosaurids rather than adults, and the one they eventually feed on is not directly killed by them, instead dying from being swept away in its panic by a fast-flowing river.<br /></p><p>Even in depicting an animal known only from fragmentary remains, <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> draws heavily from fossil evidence. The polar dromaeosaurids have a frond of tail feathers restricted to the back half of the tail and with two especially elongate feathers at its tip, probably inspired by the tail feathering found in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1213780">one specimen</a> of <i>Microraptor</i>. One is also shown sleeping in a curled-up pose, based on the posture preserved in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02898">two</a> <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045203">specimens</a> of the troodontid <i>Mei</i>, and leaving functionally two-toed tracks in the snow, based on actual fossil <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-007-0310-7">trackways</a> made by dromaeosaurids.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKe7083BEO07f5_hd9KkfdMpFBqWf4KVDklXfma4lds8sF50dkrYZEenaGYD6cmT6tmQYlJQ8QQrRyY8Y5dL7NHEoHbmkB8Vok7auAd3I4bFuDsoo4-DIWYOGOYlRshPcT4mE0DvYo0zbDqMyfwga80Ah61bEvOUl2oEMsGdWszF8LnDOYCmq1xL-/s1366/php-arcticdromie.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKe7083BEO07f5_hd9KkfdMpFBqWf4KVDklXfma4lds8sF50dkrYZEenaGYD6cmT6tmQYlJQ8QQrRyY8Y5dL7NHEoHbmkB8Vok7auAd3I4bFuDsoo4-DIWYOGOYlRshPcT4mE0DvYo0zbDqMyfwga80Ah61bEvOUl2oEMsGdWszF8LnDOYCmq1xL-/w400-h225/php-arcticdromie.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A soundly sleeping polar dromaeosaurid.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Two separate but thematically similar segments portray possible interactions Mesozoic paravians might have had with wildfires, modeled after interesting behaviors exhibited by modern birds. One features a third dromaeosaurid taxon, <i>Atrociraptor</i> from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Canada, picking up a burning stick to fumigate its feathers, in an allusion to similar activities that have been documented in <a href="https://twitter.com/Ivo_Jacobs_/status/1530682561495719940">corvids</a>. In another, an unspecified troodontid (presumably a member of the taxonomic tangle that is the Late Cretaceous troodontids of North America) actively spreads burning vegetation to drive prey into the open, as has been reported for some Australian <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-ethnobiology/volume-37/issue-4/0278-0771-37.4.700/Intentional-Fire-Spreading-by-Firehawk-Raptors-in-Northern-Australia/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700.full">kites and falcons</a>. These scenarios are speculative, and it seems unlikely that direct evidence for them could ever be ascertained from the fossil record, but dromaeosaurids and troodontids were probably versatile predators with relative brain-to-body ratios within the range of (albeit not exceptionally large relative to) those seen in modern birds, so it's certainly not out of the question that they could have practiced such behaviors.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5bnj0G_O3KYTMWO3wg2gY7cl8cc71b4Xk5EwiiEnupUIXHfpwJIWAtX8tSyQ3ZqCUx6NMZy62NDgnOtIOc7guqyRDaCvMhzezqsQACLmtu_JohjdS_ojZcu8Onj6vkh8pVboHy97ORSv0CXJyUwJnkG9lIxnTJXLWDu2Xb0YpCRsdc4aCcmKzqzZ/s1366/php-atrociraptor.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5bnj0G_O3KYTMWO3wg2gY7cl8cc71b4Xk5EwiiEnupUIXHfpwJIWAtX8tSyQ3ZqCUx6NMZy62NDgnOtIOc7guqyRDaCvMhzezqsQACLmtu_JohjdS_ojZcu8Onj6vkh8pVboHy97ORSv0CXJyUwJnkG9lIxnTJXLWDu2Xb0YpCRsdc4aCcmKzqzZ/w400-h225/php-atrociraptor.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An <i>Atrociraptor</i> reaps the rewards of a forest fire.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>There is one major group of maniraptors that gets the short end of the stick in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, however, and it's avialans. They are not completely absent: enantiornitheans show up in a few scenes and various bird-like forms are sometimes visible as set-dressing in the background or in wide shots, but they never feature as protagonists in the individual segments nor even as the focus of any close-ups. In fact, if I had any notable criticism of the series, it would be the apparent neglect of the smaller tetrapods in Late Cretaceous ecosystems. Only a single mammal species appears on the show, unmentioned and unnamed, and its sole role is to be killed by the aforementioned troodontid. It also nearly beggars belief that a time-traveling documentary crew would film a whole episode on freshwater habitats in the Maastrichtian and fail to include any footage of crocodyliforms or turtles.</p><p>In practice, of course, resources to create and animate digital models of prehistoric life for a series like this are limited, so it is understandable that the production team prioritized particularly strange and spectacular fauna over more "mundane-looking" ones. I would contend though there likely is substantial audience interest in learning about the origins of modern animals, which increased spotlight on taxa more closely related to extant forms would have provided opportunities for. Furthermore, the Mesozoic diversity and disparity of "microvertebrates" is regularly underappreciated. Leaving aside recent Maastrichtian avialan discoveries like <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/03/catch-falling-star-meet-asteriornis.html"><i>Asteriornis</i></a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2945-x"><i>Falcatakely</i></a>, which were almost certainly published too late to be incorporated into the show, it probably would not have been difficult to come up with engaging storylines featuring the bizarre, island-dwelling <i>Balaur</i> or enantiornithean nesting colonies (both of which, as a bonus, have been the focus of Darren's <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/1032/">own</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-012-0917-1">research</a>).</p><p>Even without adding or replacing any of the existing narratives in <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, I would have liked to see at least some split-second close-ups of the enantiornitheans, considering that the team had evidently gone to the trouble of making digital models for them. Such "incidental" shots are a regular component of modern wildlife documentaries and probably would have made the ecosystems portrayed feel even more vibrant and immersive. As it is, the show already spends time (and occasionally narration) on shots of crustaceans, fishes, fungi, plants, and other organisms in "non-starring" roles, not to mention an entire segment on ammonoids (arguably one of the highlights of the entire series), so I have no doubt that a few extra seconds of microvertebrate footage could have been used to great effect.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvO5pji_9nrQUqP3amuGKcHVXuOTl2-k7D2p2WCwEGNwzWNG3YxfumBZWdlJnZwOadRrY0WHJAPuDO8mdYbtHCxw15TlsWB5B-hNaafgNUI3f0DZsQEcqYBi-Dq4o56ifVpBpuhFgtnBIlZO4Top9pJoQLSMTEhDGvnhg9cxHS_YSr3EqytPwAbaZO/s1366/php-enant.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvO5pji_9nrQUqP3amuGKcHVXuOTl2-k7D2p2WCwEGNwzWNG3YxfumBZWdlJnZwOadRrY0WHJAPuDO8mdYbtHCxw15TlsWB5B-hNaafgNUI3f0DZsQEcqYBi-Dq4o56ifVpBpuhFgtnBIlZO4Top9pJoQLSMTEhDGvnhg9cxHS_YSr3EqytPwAbaZO/w400-h225/php-enant.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably the closest we get to an in-focus shot of an enantiornithean on <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>: one is perched in the upper right corner here as the giant ornithomimosaur <i>Deinocheirus</i> prepares to use its tree as a scratching post.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Another concern about <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> I've seen from some viewers is that it generally does not clarify which aspects are speculation and which are based on direct evidence. This is not a new discussion regarding paleontology documentaries of this sort; very similar <a href="https://benton.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/files/2019/08/2003scienceWWD.pdf">arguments</a> were had with respect to <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i>. To their credit, <i>Walking with Dinosaurs</i> and its sequel series <i>Walking with Beasts</i> had tie-in websites with <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20010913224910/http://www0.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs/sci_focus/index.shtml">extensive</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041230050056/http://www.bbc.co.uk/beasts/evidence/">sections</a> explaining the scientific backing behind their creative decisions, and the former also had a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Dinosaurs-Evidence-They-Know/dp/0563537434/">companion book</a> on the same subject (co-authored by Darren, as it happens). <i>Prehistoric Planet</i>, meanwhile, currently has 5-minute videos (available for free on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx-VtE7KiW8zKg7VkRGBV5gguBncOPe-a">Apple TV YouTube channel</a>) accompanying each episode that feature interviews with paleontologists and delve into the science behind the series. These "Uncovered" videos, as they are called, are quite good for what they are, but each of them focuses only on a single narrow topic (e.g., <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcRxwi0x5ig">how we know <i>Velociraptor</i> had feathers</a>), leaving a great majority of what is shown in the episodes unaddressed. The production of additional "Uncovered" videos is allegedly <a href="https://twitter.com/TetZoo/status/1532074296268705793">being considered</a>, and I very much hope that it comes to pass. If anything, a lack of transparency does a disservice to the tremendous amount of thought and research that clearly went into this show.</p><p>These critical comments, however, do not undermine the excellence that <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> has achieved. The series is outstanding in nearly every way possible, setting a new and extremely high standard for works of this genre, and the fact that my biggest issues largely amount to a desire for more is very much a testament to its success. Given the positive reception so far, I feel hopeful that we will eventually see future seasons of <i>Prehistoric Planet</i> and, with luck, maybe even a whole new age of paleontology-inspired media.<br /></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-45422359078310183102022-04-01T11:19:00.005-07:002022-04-01T16:18:35.395-07:00Delays and Updates<p>I should know by now that announcing one's plans almost guarantees that they won't happen, but here we are. I'd <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-long-road-to-happiness-story-of.html">mentioned</a> that I'd already decided on what to write for the annual April 1st post this year; however, the way things have transpired, other projects and events have demanded enough of my attention to prevent me from writing it. Maybe I'll write it up within the next month, or (arguably more likely) maybe I'll save it for next year... we'll see. In the meantime, perhaps you can consider the <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-long-road-to-happiness-story-of.html"><i>Story of Perrine</i> review</a> a retroactive make-up post for today.<br /></p><p>Most of the projects that I've been working on instead are not at a stage where they can be discussed in detail. However, one major announcement I can make is that within the last two weeks, both my labmate Juan Benito Moreno and I passed our PhD vivas (with no corrections requested of either of us), making us the first PhDs to fledge from the <a href="https://www.fieldpalaeo.com/">Field Palaeobiology Research Group</a>. I suppose I really am Dr. Claw now...<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEhoY1TK_H8wtiW7LPyKbUSYujtxw9tJs_5lcH90NUZyAk4Vo_foHfigAMoVC1nGQCIAIVAon0X-9U187FOaVE6aUqA8PTBYL05lL-Ltbnc9WRxVXeZAL8fCCy8GXKap4f7B11veV64qECFFOsPxxlUMIDAPBRT2DMICdx0tlJAGPc4Y4Hpqe1k6U1/s1008/fieldgrads.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="583" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEhoY1TK_H8wtiW7LPyKbUSYujtxw9tJs_5lcH90NUZyAk4Vo_foHfigAMoVC1nGQCIAIVAon0X-9U187FOaVE6aUqA8PTBYL05lL-Ltbnc9WRxVXeZAL8fCCy8GXKap4f7B11veV64qECFFOsPxxlUMIDAPBRT2DMICdx0tlJAGPc4Y4Hpqe1k6U1/s320/fieldgrads.png" width="185" /></a></div>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-27939129362064147112022-01-22T17:05:00.005-08:002022-03-29T12:56:50.689-07:00New (Extinct) Maniraptors of 2021<p>By my count, 42 new species of extinct maniraptors were named in 2021, which is about par for the course these days. Let's take a quick look at these new taxa and other nomenclatural proposals.<br /></p><p><b>Alvarezsaurs</b><br />New alvarezsaurs have been described at a fairly steady trickle in recent years, and 2021 gave us <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.2000976"><i>Khulsanurus</i></a>, known from a partial skeleton from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. It was discovered at the same locality as <i>Parvicursor</i>, but can be distinguished based on vertebral anatomy.<br /></p><p><b>Oviraptorosaurs</b><br />No new oviraptorosaur species were described last year; in fact, they may have <i>lost</i> a member. A <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0254564">new specimen</a> of <i>Elmisaurus</i> preserves overlapping material nearly identical to <i>Nomingia</i>, lending credence to the hypothesis that the two are synonymous (in which case the name <i>Elmisaurus</i> would take priority).<br /></p><p><b>Non-ornithothoracean Paravians</b><br />2021 was a good year for dromaeosaurids, with the velociraptorines <a href="https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7251"><i>Shri</i></a> (formerly known by the nickname "Ichabodcraniosaurus") and <a href="https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7286"><i>Kuru</i></a> (formerly known by the nickname "Airakoraptor") both described based on partial skeletons from the Barun Goyot Formation. Less completely known are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1028334X21070047"><i>Kansaignathus</i></a> (based on a partial jaw and possibly teeth from the Late Cretaceous Yalovach Formation of Tajikistan), <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121003712"><i>Vectiraptor</i></a> (based on partial vertebrae from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the United Kingdom), and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1375"><i>Ypupiara</i></a>
(an unenlagiine based on jaw fragments from the Late Cretaceous Serra
da Galga Formation* of Brazil). Tragically, the type specimen of <i>Ypupiara</i> was among the fossils lost in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_Brazil#2018_fire">2018 fire</a> that destroyed the main building of the National Museum of Brazil.<br /></p><p>*<i>Ypupiara</i> was described as being from the Marília Formation. However, it was recently <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gj.3987">proposed</a> that the classic Marília Formation should be split into the separate Marília and Serra da Galga Formations.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizPc1Vwgp9_F9cUWGzSIsSBB3I2DUV6bTtPyUT63Le0JaURm1j-JW2cmMeyqKHJcw_oTEKSx5YyGrNWBK_MEzOhN1joNnJz3BZwdbHlT57wLSfIqZqvsntb0oYWHZk6DFQ68uCPzFcudG49QStyBpe2nxm9YwgdzUFMnB3aXgHLnBg25nu1a7kPzGz=s575" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="575" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizPc1Vwgp9_F9cUWGzSIsSBB3I2DUV6bTtPyUT63Le0JaURm1j-JW2cmMeyqKHJcw_oTEKSx5YyGrNWBK_MEzOhN1joNnJz3BZwdbHlT57wLSfIqZqvsntb0oYWHZk6DFQ68uCPzFcudG49QStyBpe2nxm9YwgdzUFMnB3aXgHLnBg25nu1a7kPzGz=w400-h315" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Shri</i>, from <a href="https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7251">Turner et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Troodontids, on the other hand, got <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121003001"><i>Papiliovenator</i></a> from the Late Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of China, known from a partial skeleton including a nearly complete skull. Its name translates (I think quite adorably) into "butterfly hunter", not based on any inference about its ecology, but on the "butterfly-like" shape of its dorsal vertebrae. There was also <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-83745-5"><i>Tamarro</i></a> from the Late Cretaceous Talarn Formation of Spain, known from a partial metatarsal. Meanwhile, a detailed <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2020-0145">reassessment</a> of small theropods from the Dinosaur Park Formation concluded that <i>Latenivenatrix</i> cannot be reliably distinguished from <i>Stenonychosaurus</i>, and that the two should be (re-)synonymized.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH1xwQpnb2_BcJyQGyyxiz1SnT9cLHfpGIa7CMKAkXBk_NeH6lF0tulZ3molJqZm7c7h6H2KhIDGosKpFC1wNsFRNzes5dLFCyWvaI1Rtk3ZIeoQDHt2L71dDWuQA9rDicRAScyZf8da8s2s_xBOwzVW8BimdYQQUY_p1P4clvI_NBQZnYpSUFwirJ=s3583" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2164" data-original-width="3583" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH1xwQpnb2_BcJyQGyyxiz1SnT9cLHfpGIa7CMKAkXBk_NeH6lF0tulZ3molJqZm7c7h6H2KhIDGosKpFC1wNsFRNzes5dLFCyWvaI1Rtk3ZIeoQDHt2L71dDWuQA9rDicRAScyZf8da8s2s_xBOwzVW8BimdYQQUY_p1P4clvI_NBQZnYpSUFwirJ=w400-h241" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of <i>Papiliovenator</i>, from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121003001">Pei et al. (2022)</a>. (The paper was released as an advance online publication in 2021.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Last year also saw the description of a new <i>Jeholornis</i>-like avialan, <a href="http://dzhtb.cgs.cn/gbc/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=20210903&flag=1"><i>Neimengornis</i></a>, from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China. It appears to be known from an essentially complete skeleton. However, there have already been <a href="http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2021/11/neimengornis-chimaera-yuanchuavis-is.html">suggestions</a> that the type specimen is likely a chimera.<br /></p><p><b>Enantiornitheans</b><br />As is often the case, the Jiufotang Formation also contributed some new enantiornitheans in 2021, two to be precise. One of these was <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13588"><i>Brevirostruavis</i></a>, which is notable for preserving an elongated hyoid, suggesting that it may have used its tongue for handling food. Although the original description compares this condition to that seen in hummingbirds and woodpeckers, the hyoid elongation seen in <i>Brevirostruavis</i> does not look to my eye quite as extreme as that of those crown birds. My guess would be that <i>Brevirostruavis</i> might have used its tongue to help pick up food and manipulate it within its mouth, but did not use a feeding strategy that involved protruding the tongue very far beyond its snout.</p><p>The other new Jiufotang enantiornithean was <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01158-1"><i>Yuanchuavis</i></a>, which preserves a set of eight tail feathers forming a fan-like array. This contrasts with the typical condition seen in most other enantiornitheans (which tended to either <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/06/whats-deal-with-enantiornithean-tails.html">lack large tail feathers or have only a single pair of them</a>), but resembles that of <i>Chiappeavis</i>. Unlike <i>Chiappeavis</i>, the central pair of tail feathers in <i>Yuanchuavis</i> was particularly elongate.</p><p>Personally, I think one of the most scientifically important new maniraptors to be named last year was <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/new-remarkably-preserved-enantiornithine-bird-from-the-upper-cretaceous-qiupa-formation-of-henan-central-china-and-convergent-evolution-between-enantiornithines-and-modern-birds/B611CE94232B2F6B4A9C53F0CCC9AC8A"><i>Yuornis</i></a> from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of China. It is based on a partial skeleton with an essentially complete skull preserved in three dimensions, a rarity for avialan fossils. It is also one of the few enantiornitheans known to have had entirely toothless jaws.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikO3UjsDhAFvcG4194jp--CrYSVfd-R6ruX74d_o3XbQtAUe-zq6LV9H3tMzXLdh1JtbXF5qJzdAoCfSTaX5UjcylqH1L7TG8B2pmVrRyEx3sbbCEEr_oT8XpgMD722QPx3RGr7BH-abk1sOUBhWMzrMn58hXszUdmgP_R6HvIh36tyoE8JkWaB5VD=s3112" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2143" data-original-width="3112" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikO3UjsDhAFvcG4194jp--CrYSVfd-R6ruX74d_o3XbQtAUe-zq6LV9H3tMzXLdh1JtbXF5qJzdAoCfSTaX5UjcylqH1L7TG8B2pmVrRyEx3sbbCEEr_oT8XpgMD722QPx3RGr7BH-abk1sOUBhWMzrMn58hXszUdmgP_R6HvIh36tyoE8JkWaB5VD=w400-h275" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Yuornis</i>, from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/new-remarkably-preserved-enantiornithine-bird-from-the-upper-cretaceous-qiupa-formation-of-henan-central-china-and-convergent-evolution-between-enantiornithines-and-modern-birds/B611CE94232B2F6B4A9C53F0CCC9AC8A">Xu et al. (2021)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A fourth enantiornithean to come out of 2021 was <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.654156/full"><i>Fortipesavis</i></a>, known from a foot preserved in Late Cretaceous <a href="http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-ugly-truth-behind-oculudentavis.html">Burmese amber</a> that had been previously described in 2019.<br /></p><p><b>Non-neornithean Euornitheans</b><br />Two non-neornithean euornitheans were named in 2021 based primarily on cranial material, these being <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jse.12823"><i>Brevidentavis</i> and <i>Meemannavis</i></a> from the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of China. The type specimen of <i>Brevidentavis</i> was <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/12/what-good-is-less-than-half-beak.html">previously reported</a> as the skull of <i>Gansus</i>, but a more likely candidate for an actual <i>Gansus</i> skull was described in the new paper. The lower jaw of <i>Brevidentavis</i> exhibits unusually short, blunt teeth set in a groove (instead of in sockets), whereas <i>Meemannavis</i> has a toothless lower jaw.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkl7LX1kyTZhnOsAHMkpxgQpCivnoToti21mCUbPNEiUTZCOJI2Uu4Jh8Zjfgv2X4DMp2PWP5f6oSL-YdEClVsdBGabblWTdRURWA36B6UkiTo7GGC6NtlKOkZM0FWbevMM6ACWOWbtilpG3X8hDDKUQNUOL1HosEW8VW3tN46Rp8CNjcGPP4CuhE_=s1297" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1297" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkl7LX1kyTZhnOsAHMkpxgQpCivnoToti21mCUbPNEiUTZCOJI2Uu4Jh8Zjfgv2X4DMp2PWP5f6oSL-YdEClVsdBGabblWTdRURWA36B6UkiTo7GGC6NtlKOkZM0FWbevMM6ACWOWbtilpG3X8hDDKUQNUOL1HosEW8VW3tN46Rp8CNjcGPP4CuhE_=w400-h315" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Brevidentavis</i>, from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jse.12823">O'Connor et al. (in press)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One Mesozoic avialan named last year that was <i>not</i> discovered in Asia was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.1988623"><i>Kaririavis</i></a> from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil. Based on a partial foot, it was unusual for a Cretaceous euornithean in being particularly small (around the size of a sparrow) and in that its one preserved toe claw was large and strongly curved.<br /></p><p><b>Paleognaths</b><br />Perhaps one of the biggest overhauls in dinosaur systematics in 2021 was the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/138/4/ukab048/6338403">reinterpretation</a> of geranoidids, eogruids, and ergilornithids as stem-ostriches instead of gruiforms. Although a close relationship between ergilornithids and ostriches had been suggested in the 1950s and contemplated <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app006502019.html">more recently</a> in light of further data on fossil paleognaths, anatomical information from newly described eogruid and ergilornithid specimens seems to strongly bolster this hypothesis. In their revision of these birds' affinities, the authors additionally resurrected the genus <i>Proergilornis</i>, which had been previously synonymized with <i>Ergilornis</i>, and suggested that it was less closely related to extant ostriches than ergilornithids proper.</p><p>A new fossil paleognath was also described last year, the kiwi <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.1916011"><i>Apteryx littoralis</i></a>, based on a tarsometatarsus from the Pleistocene of New Zealand. Kiwi fossils are rarely found, and this species is the first one known from the early Pleistocene.<br /></p><p><b>Galloanserans</b><br />A couple of extinct total-group anseriforms were named in 2021. One of these was the small presbyornithid <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030121030138"><i>Bumbalavis</i></a> from the Eocene Naran-Bulak Formation of Mongolia. (Meanwhile, the type specimen of "<i>Presbyornis</i>" <i>mongoliensis</i> from the same locality was reinterpreted as a stem-mirandornithean similar to <i>Juncitarsus</i>.) The other was the stiff-tailed duck <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699521000802"><i>Manuherikia primadividua</i></a> from the Miocene Bannockburn Formation of New Zealand, the fourth species to be named in the genus <i>Manuherikia</i>. It appears to be stratigraphically separated from the older <i>M. lacustrina</i>.</p><p>Two small, early total-group galliforms were described from the Naran-Bulak Formation last year as well, these being <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030121040158"><i>Bumbanipodius</i> and <i>Bumbanortyx</i></a>.</p><p><b>Strisoreans</b><br />New fossil members of Strisores don't get described every day, or every year for that matter. (The last one I recall was <i>Cypseloramphus</i> from 2016.) That's why I was excited to see the publication of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.1392"><i>Archaeodromus</i></a> from the Eocene London Clay Formation of the United Kingdom, known from a partial skeleton. This new taxon is a member of Archaeotrogonidae (formerly thought to be a group of stem-trogons, as their name suggests, later reevaluated as strisoreans), and not only provides new anatomical information on this group, but also suggests that they may be stem-nightjars. The absence of clear examples of Eocene stem-nightjars had been a conspicuous gap in the known fossil record of Strisores, so the common but enigmatic archaeotrogonids filling that space seems like a tantalizing possibility. It would also imply that my <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/08/shining-light-on-nightbird-evolution-my.html">earlier hypothesis</a> that the putative archaeotrogonid <i>Hassiavis</i> was a stem-owlet-nightjar is probably wrong, but that's the way science goes sometimes.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY-dMwfnRwf82NH57kaDhUmfrm3jT0htgQnhKUQZLUOzwkRWlV2tgXu4oNnhbS6ZJkV-lEF_y1znQU0_7KpalYEZrxsBr4x_BvsUhlLKocvUiZ8I76qsiEBh-R1r8XF7WRAhF3tO3OtCJrR0CMX-v3VW9eSTOVAlt1n-7e5QOLgwb3QGPoejrZ6udp=s2128" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="2128" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY-dMwfnRwf82NH57kaDhUmfrm3jT0htgQnhKUQZLUOzwkRWlV2tgXu4oNnhbS6ZJkV-lEF_y1znQU0_7KpalYEZrxsBr4x_BvsUhlLKocvUiZ8I76qsiEBh-R1r8XF7WRAhF3tO3OtCJrR0CMX-v3VW9eSTOVAlt1n-7e5QOLgwb3QGPoejrZ6udp=w400-h244" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoulder and forelimb bones of <i>Archaeodromus</i>, from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.1392">Mayr (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Gruiforms</b><br />The Naran-Bulak Formation gave us two more new fossil birds in 2021, the possible gruiforms <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030121040158"><i>Bumbanipes</i> and <i>Bumbaniralla</i></a>. <i>Bumbanipes</i> appears to have been a specialized swimming form with morphological similarities to the limpkin (<i>Aramus guarauna</i>) and finfoots, whereas <i>Bumbaniralla</i> resembles messelornithids. Additional new entrants in the extinct gruiform department were the crane-like <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01891-z"><i>Palaeogeranos</i></a>, based on a coracoid from the Oligocene of France, and the recently extinct rail <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6500/1/4/32"><i>Gallirallus astolfoi</i></a>, based on a tarsometatarsus from the island of Rapa Iti in French Polynesia. Recent revisions in the generic assignment of recent rails have restricted the genus <i>Gallirallus</i> to the weka (<i>G. australis</i>) and sometimes the New Caledonian rail (<i>G. lafresnayanus</i>), in which case it wouldn't surprise me if <i>G. astolfoi</i> was transferred to a different genus in the future, perhaps <i>Hypotaenidia</i>. In fact, reassignment to <i>Hypotaenidia</i> was proposed last year for another recently extinct rail, the Chatham rail ("<i>Cabalus</i>" <i>modestus</i>), in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/138/4/ukab042/6322858">one study</a> on rail phylogeny. <br /></p><p><b>Charadriiforms</b><br />No new extinct charadriiforms were named in 2021, but a <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-141/issue-2/bboc.v141i2.2021.a4/Taxonomic-implications-of-the-original-illustrations-of-Prosobonia-from-Tahiti/10.25226/bboc.v141i2.2021.a4.full">study</a> on the original illustrations used to describe the Moorea sandpiper (<i>Prosobonia ellisi</i>) supported synonymizing it with the Tahiti sandpiper (<i>P. leucoptera</i>).</p><p><b>Natatoreans</b><br />There has still been no formal proposal to name the clade uniting Phaethontimorphae and Aequornithes, but last year the name <a href="https://vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/61728/">Feraequornithes</a> was coined for the group including most aequornitheans other than loons. As it happens, all of the extinct members of the "waterbird clade" that were named in 2021 belong to Feraequornithes.<br /></p><p>The excellent fossil record of total-group penguins continued to provide, with new taxa in the form of the giant <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.1953047"><i>Kairuku waewaeroa</i></a>, based on a partial skeleton from the Oligocene Glen Massey Formation of New Zealand, and the smaller <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11035897.2021.1900385"><i>Marambiornopsis</i></a>, based on a tarsometatarsus from the Eocene Submeseta Formation of Antarctica. Perhaps more surprising was the description of a new fossil petrel based on a well-preserved skeleton, <a href="https://www.revistas.usp.br/paz/article/view/175865"><i>Procellaria altirostris</i></a> from the Pliocene Tangahoe Formation of New Zealand.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilfQJmX-3wH9lgKFer5IFD8E45N-Us7N0TqgCEOZt3S30-9Aj6E04c1l2ox-sF-RQJzonFkqN0PRK5NjlWzOdioBn4BAiOBmhnY0o4BQ3Ph-QvjTgh7dmqSU0cg3Qc1Q71jN6dZ7atZegmbl54MDumTF2nt9NBbHV9eEDu2mRqtuVerwpf5J-nHhWH=s2274" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2274" data-original-width="2067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilfQJmX-3wH9lgKFer5IFD8E45N-Us7N0TqgCEOZt3S30-9Aj6E04c1l2ox-sF-RQJzonFkqN0PRK5NjlWzOdioBn4BAiOBmhnY0o4BQ3Ph-QvjTgh7dmqSU0cg3Qc1Q71jN6dZ7atZegmbl54MDumTF2nt9NBbHV9eEDu2mRqtuVerwpf5J-nHhWH=w364-h400" width="364" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Procellaria altirostris</i>, from <a href="https://www.revistas.usp.br/paz/article/view/175865">Tennyson and Tomotani (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Among pelecanimorphs, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.1903910"><i>Eopelecanus</i></a> was described as the oldest known stem-pelican based on a tibiotarsus from the Eocene Birket Qarun Formation of Egypt, whereas a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/new-late-eocene-and-oligocene-plotopterid-fossils-from-washington-state-usa-with-a-revision-of-tonsala-buchanani-aves-plotopteridae/EC8BA073236D4B511D0B316C81377BE0">revision</a> of plotopterid specimens from the Paleogene of Washington State resulted in "<i>Tonsala</i>" <i>buchanani</i> being reassigned to <i>Klallamornis</i>. <br /></p><p><b>Telluravians</b><br />Although not as many new raptors were named last year as there were in <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/01/new-extinct-maniraptors-of-2020.html">2020</a>, they were still pretty well represented. Arguably the most exciting was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1966777"><i>Archaehierax</i></a>, known from a partial skeleton from the Oligocene Namba Formation of Australia. It was nearly as big as the wedge-tailed eagle (<i>Aquila audax</i>, the largest bird of prey in Australia today), and phylogenetic analyses (which have otherwise almost never been done on fossil accipitrimorphs!) suggest that it was a crown accipitrid, but not especially closely related to any living species.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaJbK7LAQOATVCWeZJxC1yb9A_nwBMhvLEMgHhfQRBbW0fqiSWRPAIzd8pTUrsMGlkibnjUHYFlMDXVnbiTZslperzc-ybSeV08XRHS9C-xPq_Tm1dz8B4PO7xJbm94Rsmiayepw1sh7pp_T-0sb_V-WSVEQSZKef9TQmnuN6V-CynRUPC3SczuM6f=s1683" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1683" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaJbK7LAQOATVCWeZJxC1yb9A_nwBMhvLEMgHhfQRBbW0fqiSWRPAIzd8pTUrsMGlkibnjUHYFlMDXVnbiTZslperzc-ybSeV08XRHS9C-xPq_Tm1dz8B4PO7xJbm94Rsmiayepw1sh7pp_T-0sb_V-WSVEQSZKef9TQmnuN6V-CynRUPC3SczuM6f=s320" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tarsometatarsus of <i>Archaehierax</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1966777">Mather et al. (in press)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The other new fossil accipitrids of 2021 were also quite large species, <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app009332021.html"><i>Buteo dondasi</i></a> from the Pliocene Chapadmalal Formation of Argentina and <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-141/issue-3/bboc.v141i3.2021.a3/A-new-fossil-raptor-Accipitridae--Buteogallus-from-Quaternary-cave/10.25226/bboc.v141i3.2021.a3.full"><i>Buteogallus irpus</i></a> from the Pleistocene of the Dominican Republic and Cuba. <i>B. irpus</i> is notably based on specimens formerly assigned to <i>Titanohierax</i> (now restricted to fossils from the Bahamas) and "<i>Amplibuteo</i>" <i>woodwardi</i> (now restricted to fossils from the United States). Its description further suggested sinking members of the genus <i>Amplibuteo</i> into <i>Buteogallus</i>, which had been <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4780.1.1">foreshadowed</a> in previous papers. Another new raptor was the owl <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2021.1995869"><i>Margarobyas abronensis</i></a> from the Pleistocene of Cuba, a close relative of the poorly-known bare-legged owl (<i>M. lawrencii</i>) that still lives in Cuba today.</p><p>Among coraciimorphs, there was <i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80479-8">Ueekenkcoracias</a></i> from the Huitrera Formation of Argentina, based on a partial hindlimb. It was described as a stem-member of the group uniting ground rollers and rollers, in which case it would be the first representative of this clade known from South America. However, a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-021-00504-0">later study</a> argued that <i>Ueekenkcoracias</i> more closely resembles the enigmatic Eocene bird <i>Palaeopsittacus</i>, in which case it may not be a telluravian at all. Probably less controversial are the three Pleistocene woodpeckers described from the La Brea tar pits (listed in order of decreasing body size), <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12549-020-00444-1"><i>Breacopus</i>, <i>Melanerpes shawi</i>, and <i>Bitumenpicus</i></a>.</p><p>The London Clay Formation had a good year as far as new fossil birds were concerned, with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-020-00541-8"><i>Tynskya waltonensis</i></a> revealing new details about <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/04/not-hawks-not-owls-and-maybe-not-even.html">messelasturid</a> morphology, though the phylogenetic affinities of these parrot-like birds remain mysterious. Perhaps even more remarkable was the psittacopedid <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2020.1862930"><i>Parapsittacopes</i></a>, known from a very well-preserved partial skeleton that sheds new light on the anatomy of these stem-passeriforms. It further adds to the already impressive <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/02/finches-before-there-were-finches.html">ecological diversity</a> of psittacopedids, exhibiting a slightly widened beak that may have allowed it to feed on fruits and flying insects.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQTn113ViZm722yXBSjBpRIl5pwvcC6-dFOTwhtKly29ocbulTGIKNQ1yuCrB2O6T3Z2RRns5jVsh5BQy1IDOddjaVx51EzYsmIAMuOp9dpBIDt_9Z-zYfirpD-vet3JO53RjQKUlyxu9ioYQwoQ1qpChp8AZUjlzGGi27-HvoXDeN_PKxqgD8rfzb=s4095" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2144" data-original-width="4095" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQTn113ViZm722yXBSjBpRIl5pwvcC6-dFOTwhtKly29ocbulTGIKNQ1yuCrB2O6T3Z2RRns5jVsh5BQy1IDOddjaVx51EzYsmIAMuOp9dpBIDt_9Z-zYfirpD-vet3JO53RjQKUlyxu9ioYQwoQ1qpChp8AZUjlzGGi27-HvoXDeN_PKxqgD8rfzb=w400-h210" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of the holotype of <i>Parapsittacopes</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2020.1862930">Mayr (2020)</a>. (The print version of the journal retroactively dates the paper to 2020, but really, the paper was first released in 2021.)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Last but not least, a few fossil crown passeriforms were also described in 2021, the possible suboscine <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0"><i>Crosnoornis</i></a>, based on a nearly complete skeleton from the Oligocene of Poland, and the magpie <a href="https://rnhm.org/upload/bnhmp-21103.pdf"><i>Pica praepica</i></a> from the Pleistocene of Bulgaria.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgenaZO7SaHXyP4bRT10kgydZazETUTLYLBXjjaW00EVEtqQ3SCwVHVDRXtpBbZ4f9K4I-jt042vN1G1xakLgmeCgXA8wXbglwzWR5daTtIUCB4r9EESWz9BPTgZ42aF8wJzwOKYtfI-L4AtnnWN4WPGHyNdc6tCWNUG_jvrJCU3s6Iorl5y_o_RLrG=s2168" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2168" data-original-width="1770" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgenaZO7SaHXyP4bRT10kgydZazETUTLYLBXjjaW00EVEtqQ3SCwVHVDRXtpBbZ4f9K4I-jt042vN1G1xakLgmeCgXA8wXbglwzWR5daTtIUCB4r9EESWz9BPTgZ42aF8wJzwOKYtfI-L4AtnnWN4WPGHyNdc6tCWNUG_jvrJCU3s6Iorl5y_o_RLrG=w326-h400" width="326" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Type specimen of <i>Crosnoornis</i>, from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0">Bochenski et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-30095779388094346702022-01-01T18:09:00.009-08:002022-01-01T20:37:27.113-08:00Review of 2021<p>It appears that I've set a new record for an all-time low in annual post count on this blog (beating out <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-of-2020.html">last year</a>). The main reason for this is pretty clear: 2021 was the year that I was supposed to turn in my PhD thesis. As of the time of writing, the deed has been done, so the main task left before I can earn my degree is to pass my viva (which will presumably be held within the next few months). I still need to do a fair amount of work to prepare my final thesis chapter for publication, not to mention think about what I'll do after I graduate, but the most grueling part of the PhD might just be behind me. Does that mean I'll resume a (more) regular posting schedule here? Well, I'd like to, but I'm making no promises...</p><p>However, writing up my thesis did not completely halt my other activities (which was a good thing... I think). On the academic side of things, I attended and presented at a few (virtual) conferences and co-authored a <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/65066">paper</a> on online science outreach. I also received the immense honor of consulting for the educational studio <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsXVk37bltHxD1rDPwtNM8Q">Kurzgesagt</a> on several of their projects, including a poster depicting the <a href="https://shop-us.kurzgesagt.org/collections/all-kurzgesagt-products/products/evolution-poster">tree of life</a>, a poster about the <a href="https://shop-us.kurzgesagt.org/collections/ancient-worlds/products/dino-infographic-poster">last non-avialan dinosaurs</a>, a video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaQJbozY_Is">paleoartistic depictions</a> of extinct animals, and their <a href="https://shop-us.kurzgesagt.org/collections/12-022-calendar/products/12-022-human-era-calendar">calendar</a> for 2022 (which features prehistoric life). The research team at Kurzgesagt was an absolute pleasure to work with, and I came away from each project feeling like they made a very dedicated and honest effort to consider all of my feedback.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmdvmq5xrhmMBCULOJ_3ixKIp0hEm2BdMKNf4HTtwvfine5Lm3Rs_PAt8fNOp4UTHP935Oz6EbwDwCqZBp1nGM4F0u0PrWqYfYSqDb3qkczNi4ZC9o4jaePgEdql5EE4Dr3AQatp_VaFEH0JL3ZmfTyBWkV8ZzOERoivngnzbwqpWfGosmyJ82Kqyq=s2048" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmdvmq5xrhmMBCULOJ_3ixKIp0hEm2BdMKNf4HTtwvfine5Lm3Rs_PAt8fNOp4UTHP935Oz6EbwDwCqZBp1nGM4F0u0PrWqYfYSqDb3qkczNi4ZC9o4jaePgEdql5EE4Dr3AQatp_VaFEH0JL3ZmfTyBWkV8ZzOERoivngnzbwqpWfGosmyJ82Kqyq=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kurzgesagt's "Map of Evolution" poster depicting the tree of life. This was the first project that I worked with them on and I'm very pleased with the final result.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>My friend Joan Turmelle and I have continued to run our YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQ0Kh8vlPeY3YsYW3hHmvg/featured">Through Time and Clades</a>. Our biggest accomplishment so far, I think, is that we have completed both of the long-form lecture series that we set out to make: Joan's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh6-LEFuNb4klU-P8ascsyRdPnYK9YLJe">"Humanity, a Prologue"</a> (covering human origins) and my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh6-LEFuNb4lkesLbV5GFVMohaoZEiYk0">"Dinosaurs, the Second Chapter"</a> (covering crown bird evolution), with plans to release annual updates incorporating new research from our respective fields. Although I'd be the first to say that my videos are far from ideal in some ways (for example, I know that the multi-hour length of some episodes can be a real deterrent), don't let it be said that I haven't <i>tried</i> to make information on the evolutionary history of Cenozoic birds available in a reasonably accessible and comprehensive manner. We are also working on a companion website that will present the material from our lecture series in what we hope will be a more approachable format for some, though that is in early stages still. Another pleasant surprise for our channel last year was that we received an invitation to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDpv1Q37VxY">participate</a> in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLomaaRl17MJ7sl2rEUkV9QD8H_ZlGsCNP">Paleo Rewind</a>, an annual collaboration among paleontology-focused YouTube creators to recap the year in paleontological discoveries.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_frqJORHJjgYMraSWLSekng6BA6rf0owQZZU4hi9cuzJ6sc7dPOTyQbt5puCUD5s_bqRlaQSGull-0J3vevygryfAeP6jHnfd1m_pOEiG6-OVtGdU5NQOWdFi1EkavKcH994QPXz8kUIs0wY3kthl7CBWiWRqgEnmdYK1HLn0BHohzNKR-zFP2O_6=s3600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="3600" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_frqJORHJjgYMraSWLSekng6BA6rf0owQZZU4hi9cuzJ6sc7dPOTyQbt5puCUD5s_bqRlaQSGull-0J3vevygryfAeP6jHnfd1m_pOEiG6-OVtGdU5NQOWdFi1EkavKcH994QPXz8kUIs0wY3kthl7CBWiWRqgEnmdYK1HLn0BHohzNKR-zFP2O_6=w400-h135" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A collage of title slides from my YouTube series <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh6-LEFuNb4lkesLbV5GFVMohaoZEiYk0">"Dinosaurs, the Second Chapter"</a>, in which Joan and I discussed the origins, evolution, and diversity of crown-group birds.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Astonishingly, I was even able to start a <i>new</i> personal project last year! That was the blog <a href="https://new-dinosaurs.tumblr.com/">New Dinosaur Alert</a>, on which I write a brief post for each new genus or species of dinosaur described (<i>including</i> extant birds). Despite everything else going on, I've managed to stay on top of that blog for the most part, so I intend to continue it in the foreseeable future.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpM2vvbNtgxFL8J395Dewe4YBZjSG40XNOa9HlbsVB44BPq_f7isSm_Vks89LQLOVAirUx9iohICeLowyz4aTrRlGUROzad4x5gtSPuOlROrPvScX11XwnkGLhIbWubqfd9-w7o0MnmNub5GeW6sgasQdrbcYgAVIl1qhMMZEKvTbGSt03ZXTyVROm=s1500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpM2vvbNtgxFL8J395Dewe4YBZjSG40XNOa9HlbsVB44BPq_f7isSm_Vks89LQLOVAirUx9iohICeLowyz4aTrRlGUROzad4x5gtSPuOlROrPvScX11XwnkGLhIbWubqfd9-w7o0MnmNub5GeW6sgasQdrbcYgAVIl1qhMMZEKvTbGSt03ZXTyVROm=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I picked <i>Velociraptor</i> as the primary basis of the logo for New Dinosaur Alert, I did not know that the first Mesozoic dinosaur to be described in 2021 would be the velociraptorine dromaeosaurid <i>Shri devi</i>. That was a happy coincidence!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Lastly, I didn't expect to enjoy <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-long-road-to-happiness-story-of.html">rewatching a show</a> from my childhood as much as I did, but I'm glad that I was inspired to do so.<br /></p><p>... And that's more than enough about me. Let's take a look at what 2021 had to offer in the world of maniraptoran research. As always, my coverage of papers about modern birds is necessarily going to be incomplete, so I put more focus on those that have more direct connections to paleontology, such as studies on anatomy, ontogeny, and higher-order phylogeny.<br /></p><p>In January, oilbirds were found to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79280-4">disperse seeds</a> across longer average distances than megafauna. A <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/2/47">specimen</a> of <i>Pachystruthio</i> from the Nihewan Formation was described. The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2020.1848855">skull morphology</a> of phorusrhacids and the <a href="https://esj-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1440-1703.12200">language-like capabilities</a> of Japanese tits were reviewed. New studies came out on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13382">hindlimb musculature</a> of <i>Nothronychus</i>, the evolution of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X20301013">tooth shape</a> in avialans and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.2804">coloration and song</a> in American warblers, and the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6004/2/1/1">neoavians</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/70/5/976/6123758">shearwaters</a>. Newly-named maniraptors included the dromaeosaurid <a href="https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7251"><i>Shri devi</i></a>, the Pliocene petrel <a href="https://www.revistas.usp.br/paz/article/view/175865"><i>Procellaria altirostris</i></a>, the Eocene possible stem-coracioid <i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80479-8">Ueekenkcoracias tambussiae</a></i>, the Pleistocene woodpeckers <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12549-020-00444-1"><i>Bitumenpicus minimus</i>, <i>Breacopus garretti</i>, and <i>Melanerpes shawi</i></a>, and the psittacopedid <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2020.1862930"><i>Parapsittacopes bergdahli</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyoubAW6ZWhmvoCSaUnI1VmsgEOVCMqqL_HJQkBQgN1hjQrchdK2GW6hO3VK3t-1vNQDSmka1SH_w3VDQyibI5QD1GPXzh4-HTGEN5xqCibpHEDsuxItCwFKnuSzFbl9spHtuJN9IePWQ8ym4CvIXwTCjo8MQ9j8otQ3uZFMOhEV8YsdbHJ8F-zpi9=s4095" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2144" data-original-width="4095" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyoubAW6ZWhmvoCSaUnI1VmsgEOVCMqqL_HJQkBQgN1hjQrchdK2GW6hO3VK3t-1vNQDSmka1SH_w3VDQyibI5QD1GPXzh4-HTGEN5xqCibpHEDsuxItCwFKnuSzFbl9spHtuJN9IePWQ8ym4CvIXwTCjo8MQ9j8otQ3uZFMOhEV8YsdbHJ8F-zpi9=w400-h210" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of the holotype of <i>Parapsittacopes bergdahli</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2020.1862930">Mayr (2020)</a>. (The print version of the journal retroactively dates the paper to 2020, but really, the paper was first released in 2021.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In February, southern giant petrels were reported <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02810-x">preying on</a> Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses. Purported gastroliths in <i>Bohaiornis</i> were <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.635727/full">reinterpreted</a> as mineral precipitate (as had been <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2018/05/did-confuciusornis-really-eat-fish.html">previously suggested</a>). The <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12860-021-00350-0">mineralization</a> of avian eggshells was reviewed. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895981121000912">tinamou egg</a> from the Dolores Formation was described. <i>Macrornis</i> was <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/macrornis-tanaupus-seeley-1866-an-enigmatic-giant-bird-from-the-upper-eocene-of-england/644A645383E9E2BD2B5DD1654AE3FD30">redescribed</a> as a possible phorusrhacid (though a dubious taxon). Male superb lyrebirds were found to <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00210-4">mimic</a> the sounds of mobbing flocks during courtship. New studies came out on the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.3105">evolution</a> of disparity in Mesozoic avialans, the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/10/e2019865118">diversification</a> of avialans, <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dvdy.318">atavisms</a> in the avian hindlimb, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.7266">structure</a> of kiwi eggshells, the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/2/90">phylogenetic position</a> of <i>Brontornis</i> (favoring galloanseran affinities), recent <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1945">extinctions</a> of eastern North American birds, the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321000245">galliforms</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044523121000097">potoos</a>, the ontogeny of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.573411/full">locomotion</a> in chukars and <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24609">hindlimb muscle mass</a> in Cabot's tragopans, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944200621000155">skeletal pneumaticity</a> in cuckoos, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321000397">biogeography</a> of rails, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joa.13403">cranial anatomy</a> of <i>Spheniscus urbinai</i>, the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v660/p171-187/">offshore behavior</a> of Whenua Hou diving petrels, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14183">relationship</a> between male-biased sexual selection and speciation in passeriforms, and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eth.13139">use of alarm calls</a> in yellow warblers. Newly-named maniraptors included the Oligocene passeriform <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0"><i>Crosnoornis nargizia</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIO9i9IExQj6xchMjHOq-CLBOsYxHYPJzT82uzy4_rIQxp46r6uS2rdY9pezy31BeXLySDsSTeswaL4VaI2sm-s4uf4tFQoSGNF8E9ZOXXlwtjeQE43irdir2nuLU6ESGZHnrVBM_t0Q3Ic1g2uMWoNdLIavDCqQjmnuIIxC9C1i1z22B7mgK4UfO9=s2146" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2146" data-original-width="1504" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIO9i9IExQj6xchMjHOq-CLBOsYxHYPJzT82uzy4_rIQxp46r6uS2rdY9pezy31BeXLySDsSTeswaL4VaI2sm-s4uf4tFQoSGNF8E9ZOXXlwtjeQE43irdir2nuLU6ESGZHnrVBM_t0Q3Ic1g2uMWoNdLIavDCqQjmnuIIxC9C1i1z22B7mgK4UfO9=w280-h400" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Displaying male superb lyrebird and spectrograms comparing the sounds of a mobbing flock to a lyrebird's mimicry thereof, from <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2821%2900210-4">Dalziell et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In March, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0760">phylogenetic position</a> of <i>Nesotrochis</i> was evaluated based on ancient DNA, recovering it as a stem-flufftail. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959437X21000332">regionalization</a> of avian integument was reviewed. <a href="http://www.vertpala.ac.cn/EN/abstract/abstract1325.shtml">Soft tissues</a> were reported from an ostrich from the Liushu Formation. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121000653"><i>Vegavis</i></a> and <a href="http://www.vertpala.ac.cn/EN/10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.210304"><i>Columba congi</i></a> were redescribed. The name <a href="https://vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/61728/">Feraequornithes</a> was coined for the clade uniting most aequornitheans other than loons. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618221001828">raven skull</a> from the Pleistocene of China was described. New studies came out on the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/10855/">pelvic musculature</a> of maniraptors, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566712100077X">tail anatomy</a> of alvarezsaurs, the forelimb musculature of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13418"><i>Nothronychus</i></a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01868-y">aquatic birds</a>, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00211-X">evolution</a> of dentition in avialans, the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.640220/full">bone histology</a> of <i>Mirarce</i>, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.3150">evolutionary versatility</a> of the avian neck, the <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/224/8/jeb238832/239723/Nest-substrate-and-tool-shape-significantly-affect">factors</a> influencing the ease of puncturing avian eggshells, the endocranial anatomy of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/3/124">dromornithids</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13416">piciforms</a>, the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105579032100097X">sea ducks</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/70/5/961/6206429">leaf warblers</a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21354">skeletal elements</a> of penguin eyes, and the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rstb.2019.0742">correlation</a> between cooperative breeding and longevity in birds. Newly-named maniraptors included the troodontid <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-83745-5"><i>Tamarro insperatus</i></a>, <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4949.3.1">the Alagoas screech-owl (<i>Megascops alagoensis</i>), the Xingu screech-owl (<i>Megascops stangiae</i>)</a>, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/193/2/499/6161254">Alagoas black-throated trogon (<i>Trogon muriciensis</i>)</a>, and the messelasturid <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-020-00541-8"><i>Tynskya waltonensis</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO2rNxPm9bFr_K8BS32VqmA7ayKhXGYBFLuUBXoRGXCSvWiH9eI_wd5U3qPk4gKuQ8D03ZPnruwD8IDq8nD1VWTmDVuV1UO5Lz9Eh-8keWnt95VDfMOJazAq-NPiJRp2EXhroAmxavx_CtXa4PqEG_n7BGudS5-VDAHeR1LG3gjB3G1iXUs9ixzNTp=s1960" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1960" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO2rNxPm9bFr_K8BS32VqmA7ayKhXGYBFLuUBXoRGXCSvWiH9eI_wd5U3qPk4gKuQ8D03ZPnruwD8IDq8nD1VWTmDVuV1UO5Lz9Eh-8keWnt95VDfMOJazAq-NPiJRp2EXhroAmxavx_CtXa4PqEG_n7BGudS5-VDAHeR1LG3gjB3G1iXUs9ixzNTp=w400-h229" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogenetic tree showing the position of <i>Nesotrochis</i>, from <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0760">Oswald et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In April, a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.604520/full">juvenile specimen</a> of <i>Archaeorhynchus</i> was reported. A <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2020-0171">large caenagnathid</a> from the Hell Creek Formation, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1900210">giant euornithean</a> from the Tremp Formation, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.1910820">birds</a> from the Nanjemoy Formation, a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01886-w">pheasant</a> from the Chi-Ting Formation, and a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1903891">petrel</a> from the Gaiman Formation were described. The <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-021-00406-z">evolution</a> of the avian chondrocranium and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/138/2/ukab006/6237241">species limits</a> in birds were reviewed. Red blood cell mitochondria in birds were shown to <a href="https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1096/fj.202100107R">produce more heat</a> in winter than in fall. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379121001219">ecological consequences</a> of the extinction of <i>Chendytes</i> were investigated. The feather microstructure of male <i>Ramphocelus</i> tanagers was found to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88106-w">amplify</a> their plumage signals. New studies came out on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14245">evolution</a> of eggshell thickness in birds (and other dinosaurs), the osteology of <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ar.24641"><i>Unenlagia</i></a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/spp2.1361"><i>Dryornis</i></a>, the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.617124/full">scapulocoracoid bone histology</a> of <i>Confuciusornis</i>, the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008843">hindlimb muscle function</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/3/1/obab006/6226705">jumping performance</a> of elegant crested tinamous, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0181">craniofacial development</a> of strisoreans, <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00430-9">cultural evolution</a> in great tits, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/3/1/obab007/6261316">cranial musculature</a> of the black-throated finch, and the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/133/3/920/6246130?">diversification</a> of tanagers. Newly-named maniraptors included the Pleistocene kiwi <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1916011"><i>Apteryx littoralis</i></a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdZRxWZz97ABxvR7CzpSB5WswT_C83YT6aUarnLZMeTz5N1YPyQDJ7I_u865QsMjaO8p6UTi3TJo6R49kuUrWe87j0M6pTMws3QK67WHJLgdWmwGS4M84T-M3P2JP79y6zK1YzLyRX-guaUTnhequ78GU3vEnM_lMxI4RDgDXFwxVrgfTxB-2ODCQN=s1113" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="803" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdZRxWZz97ABxvR7CzpSB5WswT_C83YT6aUarnLZMeTz5N1YPyQDJ7I_u865QsMjaO8p6UTi3TJo6R49kuUrWe87j0M6pTMws3QK67WHJLgdWmwGS4M84T-M3P2JP79y6zK1YzLyRX-guaUTnhequ78GU3vEnM_lMxI4RDgDXFwxVrgfTxB-2ODCQN=w231-h320" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juvenile specimen of <i>Archaeorhynchus</i>, from <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.604520/full">Foth et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In May, research on the evolution of hearing and vision in theropods suggested that alvarezsaurs were likely to have been <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7941">nocturnal</a>. Larger neuron numbers were found to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02019-y">correlate</a> with longer yawn duration in birds (and mammals). The <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/21/e2023170118">global abundance</a> of birds was estimated. The <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/112/5/395/6272461">genetics</a> of avian coloration were reviewed. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0012">Eggs</a> of extinct emus and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379121001992">coprolites</a> of little bush moa were described. Supposed tooth sockets in a juvenile gastornithid were <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.661699/full">reevaluated</a>. Ant-following birds were found to have a higher probability of being <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jav.02759">infested by ticks</a>. The <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00548-0">genome</a> of the California condor was published. Siberian jays were shown to <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aba2862">use social knowledge</a> to avoid being deceived. Great reed warblers were reported <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7291">flying at extreme altitudes</a> during migration. Great-tailed grackles were documented to be able to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-021-06122-8">direct their eyes independently</a> towards different targets. New studies came out on the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb4305">evolution</a> of the inner ear in maniraptors (and other reptiles), <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.662167/full">pectoral girdle morphology</a> in paravians, competition as a driver of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/20/e2021209118">trait divergence</a> in birds, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/13/7/evab113/6284172">convergent evolution</a> in avian mitochondria, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0853">effects</a> of environmental lighting on avian eye evolution, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00435-021-00528-2">coracoscapular joint</a> of birds, <a href="https://avianres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40657-021-00257-6">hybridization</a> in kiwi, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/3/1/obab011/6276991">morphometrics</a> of wing shape in aquatic birds, the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf0556">macroevolutionary stability</a> of fruit-eating birds, the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/5/219">bone histology</a> of <i>Genyornis</i>, <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00442-9">migration speeds</a> in common swifts, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14277">correlation</a> between speciation and plumage color evolution in hummingbirds, <a href="https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/zoosystema/43/12">variation</a> in echo parakeets, the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2021.1922293">fieldwrens</a> and <a href="https://vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/65952/">Afro-Eurasian sparrows</a>, the persistence of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22852-3">song culture</a> in zebra finches, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jav.02672">diversification</a> of Afro-Eurasian buntings, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jez.b.23043">feather coloration</a> in swallow tanagers. Newly-named maniraptors included the presbyornithid <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030121030138"><i>Bumbalavis anatoides</i></a>, the Oligocene gruiform <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01891-z">Palaeogeranos tourmenti</a></i>, the Pleistocene magpie <a href="https://rnhm.org/upload/bnhmp-21103.pdf"><i>Pica praepica</i></a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12971">the white-tailed cisticola (<i>Cisticola anderseni</i>), and the Kilombero cisticola (<i>Cisticola bakerorum</i>)</a>. The new genus <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/138/3/ukab025/6272499"><i>Radinopsyche</i></a> was coined for the caatinga antwren ("<i>Herpsilochmus</i>" <i>sellowi</i>).<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeGUgwdOEbUMTx-T87kjL1aeBaMxdjwwC3moSmHhBnm4uMxWL6Us1LF98w84AXNNBd7D24wV5ZNmFu5BU2YPkvZ1dbwpCx_weO0Z8M-uJpaXLUxyaU0nR5WhfvwN9dfnePSuP400t6F-8QWHvL3C8b1NH_ekWfzoHGoydVEiga42_glq8gfMBdIk8b=s695" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="695" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeGUgwdOEbUMTx-T87kjL1aeBaMxdjwwC3moSmHhBnm4uMxWL6Us1LF98w84AXNNBd7D24wV5ZNmFu5BU2YPkvZ1dbwpCx_weO0Z8M-uJpaXLUxyaU0nR5WhfvwN9dfnePSuP400t6F-8QWHvL3C8b1NH_ekWfzoHGoydVEiga42_glq8gfMBdIk8b=w400-h275" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparison of maniraptoran skulls with sclerotic rings highlighted, including the nocturnal Australian owlet-nightjar (B), the potentially nocturnal <i>Haplocheirus</i> (C), the diurnal Finsch's pygmy parrot (D), and the potentially diurnal <i>Erlikosaurus</i> (E), from <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7941">Choiniere et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In June, isotope analysis was used to infer that the Chatham Island duck primarily <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2021.1939719">ate marine invertebrates</a>. An <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1929203">alvarezsaurid</a> from the Qiupa Formation and a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24147-z">juvenile enantiornithean</a> from the Jiufotang Formation were described. The <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2020-0184">life history</a> of troodontids and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article-abstract/61/2/736/6296420">divergent foraging strategies</a> in hummingbirds were reviewed. Flocks of rock pigeons were found <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00668-0">not to exhibit</a> "selfish herd" behavior when under threat. Great snipes were reported to make <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00745-4">extreme changes in flight altitude</a> during migration. Malar stripe prominence in peregrine falcons was found to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116">correlate</a> with solar radiation. New studies came out on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121001725">vertebral pneumaticity</a> in <i>Unenlagia</i>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13487">quadrate</a> of <i>Longipteryx</i>, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/61/4/1281/6310576">diversity</a> of avian olfactory receptor genes, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/38/10/4222/6308563">development</a> of avian wing digits, the <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.3442">effects</a> of flight efficiency on dispersal distances in birds, the phylogenetic positions of the <a href="https://journals.sfu.ca/ornneo/index.php/ornneo/article/view/947">bee hummingbird</a> and the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2021.1908148">Whenua Hou diving petrel</a>, the <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-55/issue-2/0892-1016-55.2.276/Is-the-Tiny-Hawk-Accipiter-superciliosus-Really-a-Specialized-Predator/10.3356/0892-1016-55.2.276.short">diet</a> of the tiny hawk, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/138/3/ukab041/6311051">systematics</a> of sharp-shinned hawks, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/134/1/57/6297962">diversity patterns</a> in tyrant flycatchers, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/24/e2026106118">perceptual inabilities</a> in Eurasian jays, avian <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0326">defenses</a> against brood parasites, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03618-9">magnetic sensitivity</a> in European robins, and the <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00667-9">innervation</a> of vocal muscles in zebra finches. Newly-named maniraptors included the enantiornithean <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.654156/full"><i>Fortipesavis prehendens</i></a> (based on a <a href="https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-ugly-truth-behind-oculudentavis.html">Burmese amber</a> specimen, albeit one already previously described), the Eocene pelican <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1903910">Eopelecanus aegyptiacus</a></i>, and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.12981">satin berrypecker (<i>Melanocharis citreola</i>)</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBRA7fpT8pJk87f02U2M-icGTeQ8B4xNtxWr7n6tYqRrQQmj5psS8CaBokwsw7onpokX1aBYZP-sV9KcVuW54EOsJytIq2SvAHXrIjcf60MGc6O4Fk02pzuXUlVgWLn2Gzw_S9BUhZIrd4t0fm1F7qlGvbiC1u-BKHzalzFoQy7bDMBrXp9LKJlSye=s2912" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="2912" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBRA7fpT8pJk87f02U2M-icGTeQ8B4xNtxWr7n6tYqRrQQmj5psS8CaBokwsw7onpokX1aBYZP-sV9KcVuW54EOsJytIq2SvAHXrIjcf60MGc6O4Fk02pzuXUlVgWLn2Gzw_S9BUhZIrd4t0fm1F7qlGvbiC1u-BKHzalzFoQy7bDMBrXp9LKJlSye=w400-h198" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Changes in flight altitude of great snipes, from <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2821%2900745-4">Lindström et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In July, possible <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12546">troodontid pellets</a> were reported. A <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0254564">new specimen</a> of <i>Elmisaurus</i> (suggesting that "<i>Nomingia</i>" is a junior synonym), the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94285-3">wishbone of <i>Halszkaraptor</i></a>, a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cla.12467">troodontid</a> from the Wulansuhai Formation, a <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg7099">new skull</a> of <i>Ichthyornis</i>, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1927064">teratornithids</a> from the Pleistocene of Argentina were described. The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12743">diet</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/azo.12396">bone growth variability</a> in Mesozoic avialans and the <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.3501">theft of mammal hair</a> by birds were reviewed. Potential evidence of molting in <i>Archaeopteryx</i> was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02349-x">disputed</a>. The innovation and spread of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7808">bin-opening behavior</a> in sulfur-crested cockatoos were documented. The origin of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf6505">sweet taste perception</a> in songbirds was investigated. New studies came out on the evolution of <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00808-3">body size</a> in alvarezsaurs, <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/68809">brain shape</a> in birds, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1673852721001995">sex chromosomes</a> in paleognaths, the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.663342/full">morphometrics</a> of avialan limbs, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01509-w">patterns</a> of skeletal integration in birds, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14206">factors</a> correlating with extinction in Quaternary birds, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13503">bone histology</a> of North Island brown kiwi, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378111921004364">phylogenetic conflict</a> in galliforms, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0236">effects</a> of dark wings on flight efficiency in seabirds, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12980">taxonomic status</a> of the Canary Islands oystercatcher, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0349">wing morphing</a> in raptors, the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321002062">white-eyes</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321001755"><i>Campylorhynchus</i> wrens</a>, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004452312100084X">origin</a> of the Sulawesi babbler, and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/31/e2107434118">morphological signatures</a> of introgression in Darwin's finches. Newly-named maniraptors included the dromaeosaurid <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1028334X21070047"><i>Kansaignathus sogdianus</i></a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030121040158">the Eocene galliforms <i>Bumbanortyx transitoria</i> and <i>Bumbanipodius magnus</i>, the Eocene gruiforms <i>Bumbanipes aramoides</i> and <i>Bumbaniralla walbeckornithoides</i></a>, the archaeotrogonid <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.1392"><i>Archaeodromus anglicus</i></a> (suggesting that archaeotrogonids are stem-nightjars), and the Eocene stem-penguin <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11035897.2021.1900385"><i>Marambiornopsis sobrali</i></a>. The new genus <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/138/4/ukab042/6322858"><i>Aptenorallus</i></a> was coined for the Calayan rail ("<i>Gallirallus</i>" <i>calayanensis</i>).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdt7jsGAbt7rxlDmF0MZdhwyM2_xLNfNqhRIqrA2S5yYeNIoUDRWvx4nhHb1re9l6__D67OUaLJLEKDly65xmSRPkuyp1TLX1Pj131sGFUYirXjergBbcg_Qhij6lbREG5bhaL-N0Eqn5EiSWp118VIaxthN33y22pIe1EE6Df33EgLRCG81y-9tUG=s1084" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1084" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdt7jsGAbt7rxlDmF0MZdhwyM2_xLNfNqhRIqrA2S5yYeNIoUDRWvx4nhHb1re9l6__D67OUaLJLEKDly65xmSRPkuyp1TLX1Pj131sGFUYirXjergBbcg_Qhij6lbREG5bhaL-N0Eqn5EiSWp118VIaxthN33y22pIe1EE6Df33EgLRCG81y-9tUG=w400-h241" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charts showing that the taste receptors of many songbirds respond to sugars, whereas those of suboscines (the two leftmost species) only respond to amino acids, from <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf6505">Toda et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In August, eogruids and ergilornithids were <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/138/4/ukab048/6338403">reinterpreted</a> as stem-ostriches instead of gruiforms. The <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.718588/full">preservation</a> of cartilage in <i>Confuciusornis</i> and <i>Yanornis</i> was examined. Male-like ornamentation in female white-necked jacobins was shown to function in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01033-2">reducing social harassment</a>. <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01111-8">Tool manufacture</a> was documented in wild Tanimbar corellas. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-021-00579-2">Passeriforms</a> from the Miocene of Austria were described. An <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.14325">evolutionary trade-off</a> between song and plumage complexity was found in antwrens. New studies came out on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41513-021-00170-3">role</a> of locomotor modularity in avian origins, the bone histology of <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1960323">Yanornis</a></i> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/azo.12402"><i>Gansus</i></a>, the (limited) <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001270">correlation</a> between latitude and evolutionary dynamics in birds, <a href="https://vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/71268/">lateral openings and depressions</a> in avian back vertebrae, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00429-021-02352-2">cerebellar anatomy</a> of birds, the <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-021-01105-1">relationship</a> between avian sternal variation and locomotion, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211072">challenges</a> of flying through gaps for birds, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab049/6347811">variation</a> in the postcranial skeleton of ostriches, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joa.13535">morphology</a> of the femoral nutrient foramen and nutrient artery in chickens, the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v671/p191-206/">migratory routes</a> of Arctic terns, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-021-01888-5">genomic bases</a> of telluravian diversification, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-96080-6">mitochondrial genomes</a> of condors, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0579">reproductive benefits</a> of cooperative polygamy to acorn woodpeckers, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.202358">sensitivity</a> of Eurasian jays to cognitive illusions, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321002244">diversification</a> of the common chaffinch species complex, and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.21408">evolution</a> of the skull of the giant cowbird. Newly-named maniraptors included the unenlagiine <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/spp2.1375"><i>Ypupiara lopai</i></a>. The new genus <a href="https://vertebrate-zoology.arphahub.com/article/67501/"><i>Microspizias</i></a> was coined for the semicollared hawk ("<i>Accipiter</i>" <i>collaris</i>) and the tiny hawk ("<i>Accipiter</i>" <i>superciliosus</i>).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaPIoxyZPOP56ZomRJY49Wu0jQSt9UDQeIhe39hbLPt6GeZmluSs1C4Xhp3F35LtviUOgWoA12qWVpkqzgTDSaVViyUWX6vqqR5GzTBzl8U9rptA549JsUr5wGVKOVThxXyJN5RZumbZc6m4EvCo5ez82nYHDk5aQTMXFvkP1_ErXnXwiCOuQ6ZFxJ=s3020" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="3020" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaPIoxyZPOP56ZomRJY49Wu0jQSt9UDQeIhe39hbLPt6GeZmluSs1C4Xhp3F35LtviUOgWoA12qWVpkqzgTDSaVViyUWX6vqqR5GzTBzl8U9rptA549JsUr5wGVKOVThxXyJN5RZumbZc6m4EvCo5ez82nYHDk5aQTMXFvkP1_ErXnXwiCOuQ6ZFxJ=w400-h245" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partial eogruid or ergilornithid skull (A) compared to those of a common ostrich (C) and a limpkin (a gruiform, D), from <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/138/4/ukab048/6338403">Mayr and Zelenkov (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In September, a <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/2021/376/1836">special issue</a> on vocal learning in birds (and other animals) was published, including a report of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0243">vocal learning</a> in musk ducks. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-021-02627-8">Nuclear preservation</a> in the cartilage of <i>Caudipteryx</i> was examined. An <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566712100269X">enantiornithean</a> from the Jiufotang Formation, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/new-late-eocene-and-oligocene-plotopterid-fossils-from-washington-state-usa-with-a-revision-of-tonsala-buchanani-aves-plotopteridae/EC8BA073236D4B511D0B316C81377BE0">plotopterids</a> from the Paleogene of the United States, and a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-021-00504-0">specimen of <i>Septencoracias</i></a> from the London Clay Formation were described. Recent advances in <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012121-085928">avian genomics</a> were reviewed. Evidence of humans <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/40/e2100117118">harvesting and rearing cassowaries</a> in the Pleistocene and early Holocene was presented. Island colonization was found to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2021.1022">facilitate diversification</a> in pigeons. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97086-w">Tool innovation</a> by a disabled kea was documented. Cockatiels were shown to be able to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0256613">sing in synchrony</a> with human music. New studies came out on the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257913">postcranial osteology</a> of <i>Beipiaosaurus</i>, the <a href="https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/29375">body mass</a> of <i>Anzu</i>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-98335-8">dental replacement</a> in enantiornitheans, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01545-6">effects</a> of topographic uplift on avian (and mammalian) speciation, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13555">role</a> of brain size and allometry in avian craniofacial evolution, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21414">relationship</a> between avian forelimb proportions and flight capability, <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/224/20/jeb243129/272645/Lens-and-cornea-limit-UV-vision-of-birds-a">phylogenetic patterns</a> of ultraviolet vision in birds, the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03014223.2021.1970585">diversity</a> of eggshell thicknesses in moa, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0309">signatures</a> of coevolution between hosts and brood parasites in the avian visual system, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-021-03067-4">use of olfactory cues</a> by hummingbirds, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ddi.13399">species delimitation</a> in rockhopper penguins, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-genomics/fulltext/S2666-979X(21)00002-1">population genomics</a> of kākāpō, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0298">perception</a> of virtual stimuli by kea, <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjz-2021-0106">constraints</a> on skull shape in passeriforms, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evl3.256">introgression</a> in suboscines, and the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13127-021-00506-y">diversification</a> of bulbuls in South Asia. Newly-named maniraptors included the non-pygostylian avialan <a href="http://dzhtb.cgs.cn/gbc/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=20210903&flag=1"><i>Neimengornis rectusmim</i></a>, the enantiornitheans <i><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01158-1">Yuanchuavis kompsosoura</a></i> and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/new-remarkably-preserved-enantiornithine-bird-from-the-upper-cretaceous-qiupa-formation-of-henan-central-china-and-convergent-evolution-between-enantiornithines-and-modern-birds/B611CE94232B2F6B4A9C53F0CCC9AC8A"><i>Yuornis junchangi</i></a>, the Oligocene stem-penguin <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1953047"><i>Kairuku waewaeroa</i></a>, the Oligocene hawk <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.1966777"><i>Archaehierax sylvestris</i></a>, and the Pleistocene hawk <i><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-141/issue-3/bboc.v141i3.2021.a3/A-new-fossil-raptor-Accipitridae--Buteogallus-from-Quaternary-cave/10.25226/bboc.v141i3.2021.a3.full">Buteogallus irpus</a></i> (with "<i>Amplibuteo</i>" considered a junior synonym of <i>Buteogallus</i>).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLTOGbrQAprLumn76IDHF07ZwJ9QiRw_1_-NECSVFmDDjKH-UilMYcRi10jqaYH8gOCJSSHdsPbX1IjCWM2MsfwsemwF8l1qcxJMBIeMbanjVzDZtFx7goGzRIyc0iadhFDtGlTjMrPFytoHER1MXqI8_RQ9T1siFGkNPQgw4QENxyM47Q8QAP6XaP=s3112" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2143" data-original-width="3112" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLTOGbrQAprLumn76IDHF07ZwJ9QiRw_1_-NECSVFmDDjKH-UilMYcRi10jqaYH8gOCJSSHdsPbX1IjCWM2MsfwsemwF8l1qcxJMBIeMbanjVzDZtFx7goGzRIyc0iadhFDtGlTjMrPFytoHER1MXqI8_RQ9T1siFGkNPQgw4QENxyM47Q8QAP6XaP=w400-h275" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Yuornis junchangi</i>, from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/new-remarkably-preserved-enantiornithine-bird-from-the-upper-cretaceous-qiupa-formation-of-henan-central-china-and-convergent-evolution-between-enantiornithines-and-modern-birds/B611CE94232B2F6B4A9C53F0CCC9AC8A">Xu et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In October, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/112/7/569/6412509">parthenogenesis</a> was reported in California condors. The avian altricial–precocial spectrum was <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14365">quantified</a>. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs41513-021-00178-9">Birds</a> from the Miocene of Spain were revised. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0259151">Birds</a> from the Pleistocene–Holocene of Tajikistan and a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10336-021-01935-4">galliform skull</a> from the Makah Formation were described. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6004/2/4/25">Frugivory</a> in raptors was reviewed. A new westward <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01354-3">migration route</a> was documented in Richard's pipits. New studies came out on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14393">distribution</a> of carotenoid pigments in birds (and other reptiles), the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/12160/">bone histology</a> of birds, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0488">ecological drivers</a> of avian eggshell wettability, the evolution of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/13/11/evab242/6413640">sex chromosomes</a> in paleognaths and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.14375">egg coloration</a> in Australian songbirds, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/11/538">sensory adaptations</a> in flightless birds, the phylogeny of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab080/6395171">tinamous</a> and the <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5060.1.5">spectacled thrush species complex</a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13574">histology</a> of sutures in chicken skulls, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1137">embryo movement</a> in avian brood parasites, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321002669">phylogeography</a> of <i>Chalcophaps</i> doves, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/139/1/ukab067/6409885">rates of hybridization</a> in hummingbirds, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.16250">relationship</a> between plumage coloration and colonization history in barn owls of the British Isles, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/135/1/71/6406985">correlations</a> between morphology and migratory behavior in kingbirds, <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01413-5">dispersal of fungal spores</a> by tapaculos, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.16241">maintenance of evolutionary diversity</a> in pale martins, and <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01353-1">beak color polymorphism</a> in Darwin's finches. Newly-named maniraptors included the troodontid <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121003001"><i>Papiliovenator neimengguensis</i></a> and the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/138/4/ukab059/6414067">inti tanager (<i>Heliothraupis oneilli</i>)</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmaTy_Sax1ZcimBVODdPDDraaJszqY_EQMQBTa40ruJTRm7UxaujYUWiJ8eJ--mvaLFpuznGT204qo9-5PzOXM6oEWAutmnoGF7MejRuTHQx3D0mDP1klNCuqk0IHoYPskk_r8RpM2aSRfmyo6hkDvr3iCtvsS5XdWoO7KHJHCjA_Lhx2kXGwwm-ZE=s2760" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2280" data-original-width="2760" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmaTy_Sax1ZcimBVODdPDDraaJszqY_EQMQBTa40ruJTRm7UxaujYUWiJ8eJ--mvaLFpuznGT204qo9-5PzOXM6oEWAutmnoGF7MejRuTHQx3D0mDP1klNCuqk0IHoYPskk_r8RpM2aSRfmyo6hkDvr3iCtvsS5XdWoO7KHJHCjA_Lhx2kXGwwm-ZE=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inti tanager, from <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/138/4/ukab059/6414067">Lane et al. (2021)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In November, <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.24820">adaptations</a> for wing-propelled diving in dippers were documented. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13025">Aposematism</a> in birds was reviewed. A <a href="https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3458">South Island giant moa</a> from Rakiura was described. Ecological shifts were found <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-021-01940-4">not to be strongly linked</a> to morphological evolution in Australasian parrots. New Caledonian crows were reported <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/beh/aop/article-10.1163-1568539X-bja10138/article-10.1163-1568539X-bja10138.xml">investigating heated objects</a>. Cavity-nesting birds were found to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211579">use feathers</a> to dissuade nest usurpers. New studies came out on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09544062211048796">wing kinematics</a> in <i>Caudipteryx</i>, the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj5790">loss of functional diversity</a> due to recent island bird extinctions, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00964-6">evolution</a> of wing feather molt in birds, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/11/555">phylogenetic analyses</a> of avian mitochondrial data, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321002773">phylogenetic conflict</a> in paleognaths, <a href="https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-021-01935-1">divergence times</a> of galliforms, the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0259656">annual cycle</a> of pallid swifts, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347221003250">factors</a> influencing plumage ornamentation in male red-backed fairywrens, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12518">phylogenetic position</a> of the Sulawesi thrush, and the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27173-z">genetic basis</a> of variation in redpolls. Newly-named maniraptors included the alvarezsaur <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2021.2000976"><i>Khulsanurus magnificus</i></a>, the dromaeosaurid <a href="https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7286"><i>Kuru kulla</i></a>, the Cretaceous euornithean <i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1988623">Kaririavis mater</a></i>, the Pliocene hawk <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app009332021.html"><i>Buteo dondasi</i></a>, and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zsc.12519">cryptic flatbill (<i>Rhynchocyclus cryptus</i>)</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ0XU9l-VB05QHkNxtgnf0Avi6NDxtGdsYbvIhBwKwrNmU7U7b-DDlOD10E6KU18vG-ljthztL04vVGMNXP85Xyc1ok_0_NJ9Nf3rBVDwt12eVZQABpMui8xQ_l-SFZIvevryDw82l-AA11HGWg3Axxe7axntFIIwjuwlhzWUYo9_17WRhk0y62goC=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ0XU9l-VB05QHkNxtgnf0Avi6NDxtGdsYbvIhBwKwrNmU7U7b-DDlOD10E6KU18vG-ljthztL04vVGMNXP85Xyc1ok_0_NJ9Nf3rBVDwt12eVZQABpMui8xQ_l-SFZIvevryDw82l-AA11HGWg3Axxe7axntFIIwjuwlhzWUYo9_17WRhk0y62goC=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown dipper, photographed by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cinclus_pallasii_(side).JPG">Alpsdake</a>, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In December, evidence of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwab227/6486460">iridescent plumage</a> in <i>Eoconfuciusornis</i> was reported. Putative red blood cells preserved in <i>Beipiaosaurus</i> were <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/12651/">reevaluated</a>. An <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)01487-5">oviraptorid embryo</a> preserved in a bird-like prehatching posture and a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/12/651">new specimen</a> of <i>Scandiavis</i> were described. The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/let.12458">fossil record of avian tracks</a> and <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24852">the morphology of the avian notarium</a> were reviewed. Migratory birds were shown to be generally <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01492-5">lighter colored</a>. Ring-billed gulls were documented <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.211343">solving</a> the string-pull test. Zebra finches were shown to use calls to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1893">influence mitochondrial function</a> in their developing young. New studies came out on the evolution of <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01646-8">feeding mechanics</a> in maniraptors (and other coelurosaurs), <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/71179">iridescent feather nanostructures</a>, and avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/sysbio/syab079/6448239">beak shape</a>, the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/12640/">morphology</a> of <i>Borogovia</i>, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/selecting-and-averaging-relaxed-clock-models-in-bayesian-tip-dating-of-mesozoic-birds/E6EF29CB9523BB2ABD38567358E5BF17">divergence times</a> of Mesozoic avialans, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12583">metabolism</a> of <i>Concornis</i> and <i>Iberomesornis</i>, the <a href="https://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/publication/geology/download/47/BNMNS_C47_53.pdf">ossification</a> of avian respiratory turbinates, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.1415">pathologies</a> in <i>Genyornis</i>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.14291">diversification</a> of shearwaters, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1913">feeding behavior</a> of the Haast's eagle, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-article/doi/10.1093/molbev/msab343/6454100">population history</a> of barn owls in the Western Palearctic, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21437">development</a> of parrot pseudoteeth, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.8378">correlation</a> between sex roles and sexual dimorphism in fairywrens, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790321003122">phylogeny</a> of whistlers, the <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/64829">safekeeping</a> of tools by New Caledonian crows, the <a href="https://www.openquaternary.com/articles/10.5334/oq.99/">carpometacarpus morphology</a> of mimids, and the <a href="https://avianres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40657-021-00305-1">migratory routes</a> of citrine wagtails. Newly-named maniraptors included the dromaeosaurid <i><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121003712">Vectiraptor greeni</a></i>, the enantiornithean <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13588"><i>Brevirostruavis macrohyoideus</i></a>, the Cretaceous euornitheans <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jse.12823"><i>Brevidentavis zhangi</i> and <i>Meemannavis ductrix</i></a>, the Miocene duck <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699521000802"><i>Manuherikia primadividua</i></a>, and the Pleistocene owl <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2021.1995869"><i>Margarobyas abronensis</i></a>. The new genus <a href="https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5072.6.7"><i>Leucoptilon</i></a> was coined for the white-tailed flycatcher ("<i>Cyornis</i>" <i>concretus</i>).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwfEaxqXVFxqQVUYcJwfK8O3a11FZtFBR_LdVg-qByz5d5rwYV7VtGa8N1M8BNsqTrJhzjia8L_QNgohMeagVt3irqV9IOHGvoMxVd55wm3xw2-jeSihpWFJpjTxGAXdzTE1h1NunHHKER7U8saLJKBguKuEk707F1nYQZdYndzDkV6aVkHML20335=s7329" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7329" data-original-width="7329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwfEaxqXVFxqQVUYcJwfK8O3a11FZtFBR_LdVg-qByz5d5rwYV7VtGa8N1M8BNsqTrJhzjia8L_QNgohMeagVt3irqV9IOHGvoMxVd55wm3xw2-jeSihpWFJpjTxGAXdzTE1h1NunHHKER7U8saLJKBguKuEk707F1nYQZdYndzDkV6aVkHML20335=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull and foot of Haast's eagle, from <a href="https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/363039">Te Papa</a>, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-89568388024866215122021-12-21T13:12:00.001-08:002021-12-21T13:13:41.482-08:00A Long Road to Happiness: The Story of Perrine<p><i>This post was co-written by <a href="https://twitter.com/KilldeerCheer">Joan Turmelle</a>. The use of "I" in this post refers to myself (Albertonykus), whereas "we" refers to both co-authors. A version of this post has been cross-posted to my <a href="https://albertonykus.tumblr.com/post/671215720033566720/a-long-road-to-happiness-the-story-of-perrine">Tumblr blog</a>.<br /></i></p><p>What's this? More than seven months without a new post, and I come back with one that's not about dinosaurs? And it's not even April 1st?! Well, I already had a different subject in mind for April 1st of next year, and I think that this post could be of potential interest to some people who might be looking for TV series to binge over the holidays, especially in these pandemic times. I also just completed a draft of an entire PhD thesis on dinosaur evolution, so I hope that even I can be forgiven for spending a little time not thinking about dinosaurs (and, believe me, it's not often that I do so). Besides, I'll be back soon enough in January with the usual reviews of the past year in maniraptoran discoveries; you won't have to wait long for more dinosaur content on this blog.</p><p>Over the last few months, I have not had much time to devote to anything other than my thesis, but taking breaks is supposed to be healthy, even for—uh, especially for final-year PhD students. And so it happened that on some of these breaks I was inspired to revisit a series I hadn't watched since my childhood, <i>The Story of Perrine</i>. I remember enjoying it as a child (which in hindsight is surprising in some ways), but having rewatched it recently, I'd go as far as to say that it may now be one of my favorite shows of all time.<br /></p><p><i>The Story of Perrine</i> originally aired in 1978 and was based on the 1893 French novel <i>En Famille</i> by Hector Malot (which has been translated into English as <i>Nobody's Girl</i> or <i>The Story of Perrine</i>). It is one of the entries in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Masterpiece_Theater"><i>World Masterpiece Theater</i></a>, a series of animated Japanese adaptations of classic children's literature. The story follows a 13-year-old girl, Perrine, as she travels across Europe with her mother Marie (who for some reason is almost always left out of promotional posters for the show), their dog Baron, and their donkey Palikare to see Perrine's paternal grandfather in France, who none of them have met before.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrvdMAOqqG3O3R3rG9tQDMJNcFvFmcOY6UKmqYBq9CcyUfrNfg1RUeegmgNrw74W_-rrtIGYOQm_vJUPhwxxVvn-hOTvpX9yfF7Omva6VyyVYqZF0aLiRURm-TCC_WCke1wVI1tqsfr_kNdxvwUB4PU_E6bfKwVqFMzQ5c7vWbafPEmql6NRKwKkwW=s425" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrvdMAOqqG3O3R3rG9tQDMJNcFvFmcOY6UKmqYBq9CcyUfrNfg1RUeegmgNrw74W_-rrtIGYOQm_vJUPhwxxVvn-hOTvpX9yfF7Omva6VyyVYqZF0aLiRURm-TCC_WCke1wVI1tqsfr_kNdxvwUB4PU_E6bfKwVqFMzQ5c7vWbafPEmql6NRKwKkwW=s320" width="264" /></a></div><p>This anime was never dubbed into English and accordingly appears to be pretty obscure in the English-speaking world. The version that I knew as a child was the DVD release of the Mandarin dub that had aired in Taiwan (where my parents grew up). Fortunately, as of the time of writing, the original Japanese dub is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItXJFfacAcufvRgnBzTgVNe0FRI0e8sK">available on YouTube</a> with fan-made English subtitles, and it was through this version that I revisited the show earlier in the year.</p><p>One of the reasons I'm surprised that I sat through this series when I was little is that it's slow paced and has a very tranquil atmosphere. It's certainly not a show with constant action or epic magical quests. At the same time, it's telling a continuous narrative with strong continuity and consistent character development. The stakes in the show are rooted in the magic of reality: the way one can find joy or laughter or sorrow or great lessons even in everyday life, and how that appreciation for the mundane can be its own magic. It's a type of storytelling that I haven't seen in many other fiction shows. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwwCckSSBCeeqB5BfSAQc1n9kYjCzsvYhfBB_DA1rFshTLf_ynEPmxGvaO2wyVsTuKsR_B2_uLBzOfgnlbbt3S4KTPo-QSu-dF2L2txPcAwrKaQorB1iv3zh4OPFMR615GuwIel0pzVSnt-DNaiUZFZ1BEgmXfnLTqsfCVERfXt3RKNtAGfWt-xcDM=s500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwwCckSSBCeeqB5BfSAQc1n9kYjCzsvYhfBB_DA1rFshTLf_ynEPmxGvaO2wyVsTuKsR_B2_uLBzOfgnlbbt3S4KTPo-QSu-dF2L2txPcAwrKaQorB1iv3zh4OPFMR615GuwIel0pzVSnt-DNaiUZFZ1BEgmXfnLTqsfCVERfXt3RKNtAGfWt-xcDM=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover art for the series soundtrack. As you can see, Marie has been left out of this one as well.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The closest comparison that comes to mind may be the Netflix animated series <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilda_(TV_series)"><i>Hilda</i></a>, which we also adore. Both shows are wholesome, down-to-earth, and sometimes very emotional series that feature precocious young girl protagonists being raised by single mothers. Other good comparisons might be the Studio Ghibli films <i>Kiki's Delivery Service</i> and <i>My Neighbor Totoro</i>. Unlike <i>Hilda</i> and the aforementioned Ghibli films, however, <i>The Story of Perrine</i> has essentially no fantasy elements at all. It really is more or less realistic fiction, such that one could probably re-enact almost everything that occurs in the series if circumstances were right. It also arguably gets a bit darker than <i>Hilda</i>, with permanent character deaths that are taken dead seriously. There are parts of the series that get pretty sad and bleak, though the story does ultimately have a happy ending.<br /></p><p><i>The Story of Perrine</i> was produced not long after the characteristic anime art style was popularized in the 1960s, and in some ways its character design actually deviates a bit from the "standard" anime style that is familiar nowadays. Its age shows from a technical perspective; though it evidently had the appropriate budget to portray the story as intended, there are definitely noticeable inconsistencies in the animation here and there. Even so, they are more fun things to point out instead of strong criticisms, and most certainly do not make the show any less compelling. Also amusing from a modern standpoint are the previews that play at the end of each episode, which tend to give away most of the plot of the subsequent episode—presumably symptomatic of a time without on-demand streaming services, meaning that missing entire episodes was a real possibility for viewers.<br /></p><p>What follows are some of our thoughts on specific storylines and themes from the show. If you are at all interested in seeing <i>The Story of Perrine</i> for yourself, we strongly recommend that you stop reading at this point and just <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItXJFfacAcufvRgnBzTgVNe0FRI0e8sK">start watching</a>. We would even advise against looking up <i>anything else</i> about the show, because nearly all the English summaries we've seen give away major events in the series. Additionally, if you'd prefer to get our thoughts in podcast form instead (along with a more detailed plot recap of the series), you can check out the review we did for our YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQ0Kh8vlPeY3YsYW3hHmvg/featured">Through Time and Clades</a> (embedded below).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lgSkcnDpyD0" width="320" youtube-src-id="lgSkcnDpyD0"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT</b><br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The characters in <i>The Story of Perrine</i> are a big part of what makes the show so compelling. Perrine stands out among fictional child characters in that her circumstances force her to grow up early and take on more adult responsibilities, but she does so with such willingness and care that it's very admirable. At the beginning of the story, Perrine and Marie are grieving over the recent passing of Perrine's father, Edmond, and there's an interesting reversal of the expected roles in this situation in that though Perrine is clearly saddened by her father's death, her mother ends up relying more on her for emotional support than the other way around. In general, Perrine and Marie's relationship is a very emotionally open and honest one, and that is quite refreshing to see among fictional characters.</p><p>The series takes place in the late 19th Century, and though for most part there are no explicit mentions of major historical events, the historical context is evident throughout the show. Perrine's parents are said to have gotten married in India (with Marie being of Anglo-Indian heritage), presumably at a time when India would have been a British colony and later fallen under crown rule. Indeed, Marie is established as knowing English and having been raised Catholic. On their journey, Perrine and Marie make a living by continuing Edmond's traveling photography business, and the rural European communities that the protagonists pass through are often unfamiliar with cameras or with the sari that Marie wears while working.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrjK0OfWcf-5wo00AKQVNLBZu5uEVBr8NJ3ixqLFUvi9WjJGOhbIzTpZo4xpKqAgNYj4bBxTuruJJlc1-stmNPneYzntK44IX-fSwXiD4dSYVu2o8CCuNDW0_qG2_r6WV81SoI98Un1Pa8gNMUFoGbLerXLDpjTB1uW8yqwCAo-ic7gpDcKKmDexXO=s1022" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1022" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrjK0OfWcf-5wo00AKQVNLBZu5uEVBr8NJ3ixqLFUvi9WjJGOhbIzTpZo4xpKqAgNYj4bBxTuruJJlc1-stmNPneYzntK44IX-fSwXiD4dSYVu2o8CCuNDW0_qG2_r6WV81SoI98Un1Pa8gNMUFoGbLerXLDpjTB1uW8yqwCAo-ic7gpDcKKmDexXO=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>Most of the people that the protagonists encounter during their travels only appear for one or two episodes. However, there is one character who accompanies them for a good stretch of their journey, and that is the little boy Marcel. When he first appears, Marcel has run away from his aunt's home to try and reunite with his parents, who operate a traveling circus, so Marie offers to help him catch up with them. I remembered Marcel from my childhood memories of watching the show, but I don't think I appreciated his character as much as I do now. He could have easily been written as an ungrateful brat who did little more besides getting into mischief, but he instead expresses genuine gratitude towards Perrine and her family, and the friendship he develops with them feels very organic. There are a couple times when Perrine meets up with Marcel again after they initially part ways, and these are among the happiest moments in the series.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyClF0X32X4UAVTteE4J1RmcOMaDaWqRL4EM9t64uXGwyb23tOla55lCLT60KxEV7pc7GQQKBqz1OSaKXYBf3YpRotXz-eE9S8oygZp7p9GoJhlOSWgXqus3kJTjYvV60SXxdnzz3hE9cjc-BPTjZGT3t7KqIQrEi2XNjp3w7O-giYC08p1kn2VY2-=s1026" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1026" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyClF0X32X4UAVTteE4J1RmcOMaDaWqRL4EM9t64uXGwyb23tOla55lCLT60KxEV7pc7GQQKBqz1OSaKXYBf3YpRotXz-eE9S8oygZp7p9GoJhlOSWgXqus3kJTjYvV60SXxdnzz3hE9cjc-BPTjZGT3t7KqIQrEi2XNjp3w7O-giYC08p1kn2VY2-=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>Another memorable arc from the early part of the series comes when Perrine and Marie are antagonized by another pair of traveling photographers, who view them as business rivals. Perrine is quick to respond to them in kind, but Marie admonishes her and tries to get her to empathize with the other photographers' perspectives. When the rival photographers are caught trying to steal Marie's camera, Marie defuses the situation by passing it off as a misunderstanding, and her show of compassion is enough to inspire a change of heart in the other photographers. Of course, real life conflicts cannot always be resolved in this manner, but sometimes they can, and the lesson that one should give kindness before they receive it is certainly one that has a lasting presence in the rest of the story.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUXZnQe-fVs6Ds4_VprfKe78zuT71IqlQVUHxBX8vsvxTA1jtt6rzgRb7GKHFCXQo465P9AZ_U9j-bz6duRkmqsWfJbIGf6qZIxTvhvhHa9FVMHHrdc5cC9ezcu08wSUjrF7qiXAESucs9O6_2f0Kh1aCXvYeRXWHFH3KECz2tIECSlV_Q5JttUEcT=s2042" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="2042" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUXZnQe-fVs6Ds4_VprfKe78zuT71IqlQVUHxBX8vsvxTA1jtt6rzgRb7GKHFCXQo465P9AZ_U9j-bz6duRkmqsWfJbIGf6qZIxTvhvhHa9FVMHHrdc5cC9ezcu08wSUjrF7qiXAESucs9O6_2f0Kh1aCXvYeRXWHFH3KECz2tIECSlV_Q5JttUEcT=w400-h150" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I remembered this subplot pretty well from my childhood, but I'd forgotten just how sassy Perrine could be. Damn.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Subsequently, Perrine and Marie reach Paris, and here the story delivers its biggest emotional punch up to this point. Marie is shown early on in the series to be in poor health, and over the course of their travels her condition deteriorates until she is no longer able to continue working, such that the family is forced to sell nearly all of their belongings (including Palikare). Ultimately, Marie passes away from her illness, though not before dispensing a few final words of wisdom and reassurance to a devastated Perrine. (Knowing that this was coming, there were more than a few moments in the
preceding episodes that came across to me as ominous foreshadowing.)</p><p>Apparently, the original novel that the show was based on began around this point, with Perrine and Marie's arrival in Paris, and I've seen commenters suggest skipping to this part of the show as to better follow the source material. I'm admittedly biased due to having grown up watching the series, but that is not a recommendation I can get behind. I doubt that Marie's death scene would have been nearly as impactful without the previous 20 or so episodes of getting to know her character and her relationship with Perrine. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbDmJdCJS9D3MeHp1hK7C2uZ3srRJxMQqAJxx_kgPaKDS3fieuZu4GM58twOuJdimB4VnDwsU2_f3NomnBDtiW3ypjVhwJ_um3gYEFFvwQqUoEl6aY_N7WzpcREruu_nxSLA4BHIRhe8daP9A5wEXcy40DK4fDTt78tG2cES22f_me8I7EuB2XKpkz=s1021" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1021" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbDmJdCJS9D3MeHp1hK7C2uZ3srRJxMQqAJxx_kgPaKDS3fieuZu4GM58twOuJdimB4VnDwsU2_f3NomnBDtiW3ypjVhwJ_um3gYEFFvwQqUoEl6aY_N7WzpcREruu_nxSLA4BHIRhe8daP9A5wEXcy40DK4fDTt78tG2cES22f_me8I7EuB2XKpkz=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>The Paris storyline at least ends on a bittersweet note, as Marcel (whose parents' circus is performing in the city at the time) and Perrine's neighbors all sympathize with Perrine and share in her grief. Several of them, even the innkeeper (who'd originally seemed greedy and standoffish), go as far as to offer to take Perrine in if her life with her grandfather does not work out. The way that Perrine finds an emotional support network and a found family of sorts in these people is very sweet.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOZccvN0RMxGmKGe8GnjRSd6WiH0QMSVZOe5pnMDfyxkdd9YxjJamJtdDMjseiSQccaULTJkzETw_2EMmEEBUQcm-RwHyI12JpYpgDrnYtmoQz93fJnaftIA-WrqG5gWVcI-K-SnZV0NQN52N3A95cOnnDag1P9bxHhMmntPJPKxsXmNE0_-GDo7Ra=s1021" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1021" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOZccvN0RMxGmKGe8GnjRSd6WiH0QMSVZOe5pnMDfyxkdd9YxjJamJtdDMjseiSQccaULTJkzETw_2EMmEEBUQcm-RwHyI12JpYpgDrnYtmoQz93fJnaftIA-WrqG5gWVcI-K-SnZV0NQN52N3A95cOnnDag1P9bxHhMmntPJPKxsXmNE0_-GDo7Ra=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy had wanted to charge her for almost <i>everything</i> when they first met.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>However, I found that the next stretch of the show was probably one of the hardest parts for me to watch. As Perrine continues her journey on foot with only Baron for company, she gets swindled out of her money by a dishonest baker. I remember this scene being upsetting even as a child, given that this is perhaps the only time in the series that Perrine encounters someone who is actively malicious and probably sees her as nothing more than a victim to be taken advantage of.</p><p>Perrine does get her money back with the help of some local farmers, but over the course of the next few episodes, her cash and supplies gradually run out, she is forced to travel in the summer heat, and she sleeps exposed to the elements at night, which leads to her coming down with a sickness that nearly kills her. It's a lot for anyone to go through, let alone a 13-year-old child. The scenes where Baron runs off desperately trying to find help are anxiety-inducing, and the moment that Perrine finally gets rescued comes as a big relief.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu6NEwtJDY33S_zHMcDksupRNxAbfUtw-d73g2n3CqIWXQtJvTGm-B12GLT5Kt86v1sI6UBIMz69ya7gZC8iORTeTQLSk_CJ-kYzFm3gTfymcLDYD9_qq2xVY0dfU8XBBR6UWKDItRxG_PZ0NC_QdPkWuNzHSyuOzAljLHLKaXaluQLnjrQipeYOIz=s1022" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1022" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu6NEwtJDY33S_zHMcDksupRNxAbfUtw-d73g2n3CqIWXQtJvTGm-B12GLT5Kt86v1sI6UBIMz69ya7gZC8iORTeTQLSk_CJ-kYzFm3gTfymcLDYD9_qq2xVY0dfU8XBBR6UWKDItRxG_PZ0NC_QdPkWuNzHSyuOzAljLHLKaXaluQLnjrQipeYOIz=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>Perrine's arrival in her grandfather Vulfran's hometown of Maraucourt (which, in real life, apparently no longer exists under that name) kicks off the remainder of the series. Having been warned by her mother that Vulfran had opposed Marie and Edmond's marriage and may not welcome her with open arms, Perrine introduces herself to locals under a fake name, Aurelie, and starts work as a manual laborer at Vulfran's gigantic textile factory.</p><p>Finding that the dirty, cramped workers' dormitories are not to her liking, Perrine ends up living in a hunters' hut in the woods (which is otherwise unused at this time of year). This is another particularly interesting and memorable story arc, and it's one in which Perrine's ingenuity comes to the fore, as she saves money by making her own shoes, clothing, and tools from resources she gathers in the woods and cheap supplies she buys from shops. She also prepares her own meals from the fish she catches and the edible plants she collects, even inviting her friends over for lunch in one episode.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio3U0oOIX05bVrCEDAXCSeVgbPAtP1pSM-V93d87RbG3wF18rusxH4IyAnF7XBL4DEdH0Gn-mxilvCBWaqMXupCqkk4l2R1d23pFLuFQVt46BblvJ7PI3sfy2ch2w-tqVyvcaEVP4d8htpZsFXGW67qI03K_oXOt1us9EHvgrX7v-uh-doO0SX_oLM=s960" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="960" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio3U0oOIX05bVrCEDAXCSeVgbPAtP1pSM-V93d87RbG3wF18rusxH4IyAnF7XBL4DEdH0Gn-mxilvCBWaqMXupCqkk4l2R1d23pFLuFQVt46BblvJ7PI3sfy2ch2w-tqVyvcaEVP4d8htpZsFXGW67qI03K_oXOt1us9EHvgrX7v-uh-doO0SX_oLM=w400-h178" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perrine discovering the hunters' hut (center), making her own shoes (top left), showing off a homemade fork (bottom left), catching a fish (top right), and hosting her friends (bottom right).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Much of the story at this point focuses on Perrine trying to connect with her grandfather without revealing her identity to him. Her big break comes when the factory is in need of an interpreter for some visiting English businessmen, and Perrine is the only English-speaking employee who happens to be available. (There's an interesting sequence here in which Perrine and the English visitors actually hold a conversation in English, while still being voiced by Japanese voice actors.)</p><p>Vulfran is very impressed by Perrine's work as an interpreter, so he also has her translate English letters and articles for him, and the two of them get the opportunity to know each other better. Despite Vulfran's reputation as a strict, cold man, he consistently treats Perrine with respect and sympathizes with her plight when he learns of her background and living conditions (while still remaining unaware that she is his granddaughter). Over time, he grows to rely on Perrine more and more, eventually appointing her as his personal secretary and even bringing her to live with him at his mansion.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic_wwJrnEXgid7Z-h0wXuyEsIVEhvg2BYZazlZbxbzlFvlaqxZeE6bOv4D6Wl6ATiFlS6C_c47LRLNJzxNVBsTRDQoHtaghJxL5TETn6GDOryxIrVTM4dI5DL0V-UUN15E5t-PNL4ZI2o2ylOWnDZsmLZGCi49oQH-L8HUK4SVMQEGpyhuuK4WOIDI=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic_wwJrnEXgid7Z-h0wXuyEsIVEhvg2BYZazlZbxbzlFvlaqxZeE6bOv4D6Wl6ATiFlS6C_c47LRLNJzxNVBsTRDQoHtaghJxL5TETn6GDOryxIrVTM4dI5DL0V-UUN15E5t-PNL4ZI2o2ylOWnDZsmLZGCi49oQH-L8HUK4SVMQEGpyhuuK4WOIDI=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>This part of the series is a real emotional rollercoaster though. Not knowing of Edmond's death, Vulfran has been corresponding with contacts in India to try and determine his son's whereabouts, and when a letter from India brings up Edmond and Marie's marriage, Vulfran expresses disdain for Marie and indifference towards his grandchild. This of course hurts Perrine deeply, and she remains upset over it for most of the following episode. At the same time, she faces workplace bullying from the factory's head manager and from Vulfran's nephew, both of whom seek to inherit the factory for themselves and are very interested in the confidential documents that she has been handling for Vulfran. Watching the poor girl go through these experiences is pretty unpleasant.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIyQKIPqbajTRqmjxk1rF5j6802qHE2L_qrM3ZON2L4VC6-KOdlUuEex6pn7ooNMZzLXE-drELbB-bSyLJ5wcm1SIWIi0ElyWF9OKK2-UNmvBSGEWKclU5VRbYPFl4dqJIpHDTmD8qUvKaDNkyzgD4emVD62r3uP9pi3U0HmJ8r1OP8YJQ2dKjb8aA=s1022" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1022" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIyQKIPqbajTRqmjxk1rF5j6802qHE2L_qrM3ZON2L4VC6-KOdlUuEex6pn7ooNMZzLXE-drELbB-bSyLJ5wcm1SIWIi0ElyWF9OKK2-UNmvBSGEWKclU5VRbYPFl4dqJIpHDTmD8qUvKaDNkyzgD4emVD62r3uP9pi3U0HmJ8r1OP8YJQ2dKjb8aA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The subtitles are relaying exposition from the narrator; Vulfran doesn't know Perrine's real name or the fact that she is his granddaughter yet. This moment is no less heartbreaking though. Also, Vulfran is blind, so he cannot see Perrine crying. Guess we should have mentioned that somewhere.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the most difficult and surprising subplots in the series occurs even later, however. When Vulfran eventually does learn of Edmond's passing, he gives his employees a day off to attend the funeral, but few of them show up. Fabry, the factory's engineer, explains to Perrine that the workers do not have much reason to care about their employer's loss, as Vulfran has done little to improve their working and living conditions. </p><p>The poor conditions result in tragedy when a fire starts in a local daycare and kills some of the workers' children. The grief expressed by the parents and caretakers in this scene is quite possibly some of the rawest emotion ever shown in a children's series like this. Perrine convinces Vulfran to speak to the grieving workers, who are quick to give him an earful and pin the blame on him. Although Vulfran initially seems dismissive of the workers' accusations, he is clearly affected by the experience, and with further encouragement from Perrine (who recalls Marie's lessons on giving and receiving kindness), he ends up ordering the construction of new facilities to improve the welfare of his employees. It's a moving conclusion to a brilliant story arc.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjz9buzQmqAElm8f_s-SMwPA7uIZEXjTq-qiFnOK5U2aJNHeZaaOcEQuyZkG9ij7lwa_oJ_IrHxv7t-8VdEBRm4b4grp7feyZq7FQGNF9C6NCNUxgeDYKO3dJMlDHRo3rrL2wwaE1VPUOYaN6YVhEAQMyIrtr6J8KX1XO30q_9XLpkODLm07VpL7_c=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjz9buzQmqAElm8f_s-SMwPA7uIZEXjTq-qiFnOK5U2aJNHeZaaOcEQuyZkG9ij7lwa_oJ_IrHxv7t-8VdEBRm4b4grp7feyZq7FQGNF9C6NCNUxgeDYKO3dJMlDHRo3rrL2wwaE1VPUOYaN6YVhEAQMyIrtr6J8KX1XO30q_9XLpkODLm07VpL7_c=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>The real emotional climax of the show though comes when Vulfran finally discovers that Perrine is his granddaughter. We'll say no more about it except that it is very, very satisfying. This is a series for which, even if we were given the opportunity to, we would probably change essentially nothing about. Although we've highlighted many moments in the show that are rough to watch, none of them are overly traumatic, and they really serve to make the emotional payoff to the story even more spectacular. If there were officially designated poster children for the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EarnYourHappyEnding">"Earn Your Happy Ending"</a> trope, Perrine should be one of them.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2n-X8wA43rH_eJGky46rjUPD48knO_lNuUTEHSs78RxnV2SgHvVI36xltqXHJXfmSnte8cdS5FCzm1rGAc6rWYG-i3sfxDa21l8XJk1NVYM5Ii2OXPDNCi0qQpvqvDdGI_X_q4GV1lSVWVd__I1Jgcw9l9EZx4UM9pCNjKohUiUOIANA6giD1Y4bW=s1022" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1022" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2n-X8wA43rH_eJGky46rjUPD48knO_lNuUTEHSs78RxnV2SgHvVI36xltqXHJXfmSnte8cdS5FCzm1rGAc6rWYG-i3sfxDa21l8XJk1NVYM5Ii2OXPDNCi0qQpvqvDdGI_X_q4GV1lSVWVd__I1Jgcw9l9EZx4UM9pCNjKohUiUOIANA6giD1Y4bW=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>The balance struck in Perrine's characterization throughout the series is interesting, because she is established early on as being very wise and mature for her age while still coming across believably as a child. The period of time that she lives in the hunters' hut is a great show of her resourcefulness, but it could also be viewed as an expression of child-like creativity. An adult in Perrine's place might not have been so quick to see the hut as a potential home, whereas having a secret hideout in the woods would probably be a dream come true for many children. </p><p>These different facets of Perrine's character are also seen in her role as Vulfran's secretary. She ends up being offered this important position by proving to be mature and dependable, yet at the same time her motivations for helping Vulfran come from a very innocent and child-like desire to be loved and accepted by her grandfather. Some of my favorite scenes in the show occur near the end of the series, when Perrine is shown playing with Baron in the courtyard of Vulfran's mansion. By then, she has become the trusted assistant and closest confidant to the owner of this huge factory, but she still takes the opportunity to play with her friends when she can. After everything she had gone through up to that point, she certainly deserved to goof around a bit and embrace being a child again.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTgsY1KwrlfKdJsGGLDPAd9Vl8M8u3Ax273ylt7q-36eFDUdLg4Dtv8415p7kRAamzagzQiTnVbw76nBta6NGV7rXlVuyWJjD6a3XHmz0Z5-YXPKDnOU-IQpWymajEMIcTkTKe03ssLe2YtbuPTwUpvvQUj3qkeM_U2qwg2eM9Xz8q4CycAIL9wfeq=s2046" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="2046" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTgsY1KwrlfKdJsGGLDPAd9Vl8M8u3Ax273ylt7q-36eFDUdLg4Dtv8415p7kRAamzagzQiTnVbw76nBta6NGV7rXlVuyWJjD6a3XHmz0Z5-YXPKDnOU-IQpWymajEMIcTkTKe03ssLe2YtbuPTwUpvvQUj3qkeM_U2qwg2eM9Xz8q4CycAIL9wfeq=w400-h150" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whether giving a pep-talk to her mother or frolicking in Vulfran's courtyard, Perrine is Perrine.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the end, Perrine earns her happy ending by being clever and resourceful, yes, but also by being kind and by receiving help from others. Ironically, that makes this 13-year-old child a good character to look up to. After all, if she can strive to be a good person and help improve her community, what's to stop just about anyone else from doing so?<br /></p><p>One occasionally encounters the perception that realism in fiction equates to gritty cynicism, but <i>The Story of Perrine</i> is one example where that is emphatically not the case. Although the narrative, setting, and characters are portrayed realistically, it also maintains a very humanistic and optimistic outlook throughout. It's a story where bad things can and do happen to good people, but it's also one where people can help each other overcome those bad things and furthermore, one where people can change themselves for the better.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEQApzbY12SvAInThPQCsnTSaw7UdGPe2VSXLgD4Nq22HaKxPXsNICqzUM6t8hR41ZlBCvVRz-QwHEGfp_gptFS9YH-sZnxf6xNK9HbH_ZD5ffhZF8FEi09pwd-XUaj7Wg4RlU8tcO8NTyZnndMf2MpdIGHczhJD7m2NoJeJkxA21FomhBNkUNfxSX=s1021" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1021" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEQApzbY12SvAInThPQCsnTSaw7UdGPe2VSXLgD4Nq22HaKxPXsNICqzUM6t8hR41ZlBCvVRz-QwHEGfp_gptFS9YH-sZnxf6xNK9HbH_ZD5ffhZF8FEi09pwd-XUaj7Wg4RlU8tcO8NTyZnndMf2MpdIGHczhJD7m2NoJeJkxA21FomhBNkUNfxSX=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the final shots in the show and the closing words from the narrator.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So I'm very happy to have rediscovered <i>The Story of Perrine</i>, and I think it deserves to be better known. That's certainly one of the reasons we wrote this long post and recorded a 4.5 hour podcast about it. Shortly after I finished rewatching the show, I also decided to draw some <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/The-Story-of-Paravine-893814023">fan art</a> of it as tribute. If you are at all familiar with my approach to fan art, well, you know how this works by now. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCi4lwzoDPm6buuPp8P3LAscEaM3CW41zbo_-vh-zrmqm9Diamf-NHKQGQtW9nCkx8GdplhEgtZAZBeksAEuXbNBUgrzs5WFSNaX3wGpxD8ytQroEbd2-M5OTP9HHHLU-_xd9nLW8DpZMMJ0vLzFS-u6QxHtG9Ma7d8RCpud29APS5zVBCtUS6hIM2=s1500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCi4lwzoDPm6buuPp8P3LAscEaM3CW41zbo_-vh-zrmqm9Diamf-NHKQGQtW9nCkx8GdplhEgtZAZBeksAEuXbNBUgrzs5WFSNaX3wGpxD8ytQroEbd2-M5OTP9HHHLU-_xd9nLW8DpZMMJ0vLzFS-u6QxHtG9Ma7d8RCpud29APS5zVBCtUS6hIM2=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><p>And if you've read all the way to this point without having watched <i>The Story of Perrine</i>, it probably goes without saying that we'd still highly encourage you to see it for yourself. It's a wonderful story and a truly positive light in the world.<br /></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-34434691374876345542021-05-10T23:48:00.008-07:002023-08-15T03:56:28.041-07:00Angels of the High Seas: The Mystifying Affinities and Origins of Tropicbirds<p>I have never had the good fortune of seeing living tropicbirds in person, so I can only imagine that they must look ethereal. These seabirds range from pigeon- to chicken-sized, but their long, pointed wings give them wingspans of a meter or more. Both male and female tropicbirds are clad mostly in white plumage and possess a central pair of extremely long, narrow tail feathers (as long as or longer than
the rest of their body), which they flaunt to each other during aerial
courtship displays.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTQeBvmxT5VS_TDb40gOerXAxfoRG_EWARkJp1jML8nHq2ns06P9_5l_o4zfXMtJwKP6YKoZ9nNfLHVKUUey57eaVfeLNdnRKjgBTF8ZWwxTxfT3X7P0-gWFz49uXE3KYp7ZD2hXLU8Y/s800/800px-Red-billed_Tropicbird_%2528Phaethon_aethereus%2529_%25284089464789%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTQeBvmxT5VS_TDb40gOerXAxfoRG_EWARkJp1jML8nHq2ns06P9_5l_o4zfXMtJwKP6YKoZ9nNfLHVKUUey57eaVfeLNdnRKjgBTF8ZWwxTxfT3X7P0-gWFz49uXE3KYp7ZD2hXLU8Y/w400-h225/800px-Red-billed_Tropicbird_%2528Phaethon_aethereus%2529_%25284089464789%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-billed tropicbird in its natural state, photographed by Dominic Sherony, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>True to their name, tropicbirds spend most of their lives flying over the tropical oceans of the world, far from land. Although there are other seabirds (like albatrosses and frigatebirds) that frequent the skies above the open ocean, many of these groups undertake their long pelagic journeys by soaring effortlessly on air currents. Tropicbirds, on the other hand, travel primarily by sustained flapping flight, punctuated by only brief periods of gliding and soaring. From the air, they spot their prey (mostly small fishes and squids), and capture them by plunging from the sky with a splash before taking off again.</p><p>When these elegant aeronauts need to rest, they alight on the surface of the ocean. However, despite having totipalmate feet (webbing between all the toes on each foot), their hindlimbs are so small that they are not particularly good at active swimming. Their feeble hindlimbs also render them awkward when they return to land to breed, requiring them to shuffle along the ground on their belly, sometimes with the aid of their beak and wings.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aQj4TV-KXxCKpje4epOX40TNf5hAcCsMTSkGsUAtYfMVt-8O-Er35E7T5r05Z1l-1Pf-ei6OirmWzEkFItLJeLA75XwXyUtTf97ClTgOWiyFUXNyzsembZJcpRlsV7WoWogTNaMhRJA/s500/tropicbirdswim.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="500" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aQj4TV-KXxCKpje4epOX40TNf5hAcCsMTSkGsUAtYfMVt-8O-Er35E7T5r05Z1l-1Pf-ei6OirmWzEkFItLJeLA75XwXyUtTf97ClTgOWiyFUXNyzsembZJcpRlsV7WoWogTNaMhRJA/w400-h233/tropicbirdswim.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-billed tropicbird resting on the ocean's surface, photographed by Steven Mlodinow, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Fortunately, tropicbirds nest on remote islands that are typically safe from land predators. They often adopt crevices in rocky ledges as nest sites, though flat ground or forks and hollows in trees may also be used. Tropicbirds are probably at their least angelic on their breeding grounds, as competition over suitable nest sites can be extremely fierce, and many adult tropicbirds bear scars on their head as a result of such disputes.</p><p>Three species of extant tropicbird are currently recognized. In order of increasing size, they are the white-tailed tropicbird (<i>Phaethon lepturus</i>), the red-billed tropicbird (<i>Phaethon aethereus</i>), and the red-tailed tropicbird (<i>Phaethon rubricauda</i>). Although they are low in diversity and restricted to equatorial regions today, the fossil record reveals an ancient history and more widespread distribution for total-group tropicbirds in the past.</p><p>What may be the oldest known stem-tropicbird fossils were described by Mayr and Scofield (2016), these being a partial humerus (upper arm bone) and carpometacarpus (fused wrist and palm bones) from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand of New Zealand (about 60.5–61.6 million years old), similar in age to some of the oldest known <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2017.1398169">stem-penguins</a>. A potentially even older fossil bird that has been likened to stem-tropicbirds is <i>Novacaesareala</i>, known from fragmentary forelimb bones found in the Hornerstown Formation of the eastern United States (Mayr and Scofield, 2016). The age of this formation is disputed (it may date to either the Late Cretaceous or early Paleocene), but in any case the available specimens of <i>Novacaesareala</i> are probably too limited for a well-founded identification (Mayr, 2017).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu8C4VNqoryqo3Yfm-0FyM5IAhPVrjJCR6DN7LspU7wbc0rAtPONC6jXMo_KI-M4X3ZQxdzGNKhidcWLMr7dWlTqj6X5J24KukGwtZQ1EnKIWVb1_2hQyTJl7Z9LaajemSlzx7PUtr30/s1176/waiparatropicbird.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="957" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu8C4VNqoryqo3Yfm-0FyM5IAhPVrjJCR6DN7LspU7wbc0rAtPONC6jXMo_KI-M4X3ZQxdzGNKhidcWLMr7dWlTqj6X5J24KukGwtZQ1EnKIWVb1_2hQyTJl7Z9LaajemSlzx7PUtr30/s320/waiparatropicbird.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partial humerus of a possible stem-tropicbird from the Waipara Greensand (A–D) compared to the humerus of a white-tailed tropicbird (H–K), from Mayr and Scofield (2016).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>There are, however, much better-represented stem-tropicbird taxa that are only slightly younger (by geologic standards) than these records, namely <i>Lithoptila</i> from the late Paleocene–early Eocene of Morocco and <i>Prophaethon</i> from the early Eocene of England. (In fact, <i>Lithoptila</i> is the oldest crown bird known from Africa.) The placement of both these genera as stem-tropicbirds has been supported by phylogenetic analyses, though results differ on whether they form a clade with one another that excludes crown tropicbirds (Bourdon et al., 2005; Smith, 2010).<br /></p><p><i>Lithoptila</i> and <i>Prophaethon</i> were around the same size as extant tropicbirds, but had a longer pelvis and longer feet, suggesting that they were more capable swimmers. Although they were probably strong fliers, details of their wing skeleton indicate that they may not have been aerial specialists the way modern tropicbirds are. It has been proposed that <i>Prophaethon</i> lacked the elongate tail feathers of its closest living relatives, based on the shorter transverse processes (sideways projections) on its tail vertebrae (Mayr, 2015). The abundance of remains known from <i>Lithoptila</i> and <i>Prophaethon</i> suggest that they approached continental shorelines more frequently than extant tropicbirds do, maybe even forming large breeding colonies in these habitats (Bourdon et al., 2008a; Mayr, 2015). Taken together, these lines of evidence paint these stem-tropicbirds as having been less pelagic than modern tropicbirds, but potentially having spent more of their time in the water. Mayr (2015) speculated that they caught prey while swimming on the water's surface, similar to albatrosses. The aquatic inclinations of stem-tropicbirds may provide a plausible explanation for why extant tropicbirds retain totipalmate feet.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YFWpxGlewYLgag08zIYprhUQkvDirfL5nydZOw_84FSHClWjWKEgPD2UhIDttuKfjkoItjUwvUKZpFMmZYTFMVpHjp3QKm949-8q_IYcYQ62KykK0p2695r-a2n8pB-bKoDLJtjxdW0/s903/prophaethonfoot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="609" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YFWpxGlewYLgag08zIYprhUQkvDirfL5nydZOw_84FSHClWjWKEgPD2UhIDttuKfjkoItjUwvUKZpFMmZYTFMVpHjp3QKm949-8q_IYcYQ62KykK0p2695r-a2n8pB-bKoDLJtjxdW0/s320/prophaethonfoot.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The foot of <i>Prophaethon</i> (a) compared to that of a white-tailed tropicbird (b), from Mayr (2015). The scale bars = 5 mm; as can be seen, <i>Prophaethon</i> had a much longer foot than modern tropicbirds, despite being similar in body size.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Another early stem-tropicbird was <i>Zhylgaia</i>, known from partial humeri dating to the late Paleocene of Kazakhstan that were originally mistaken for those of a shorebird (Bourdon et al., 2008a). Mayr and Scofield (2016) further noted that a tarsometatarsus (fused ankle and foot bones) described as "<i>Tshulia</i>" from the same time and place probably belongs to <i>Zhylgaia</i>. Other possible stem-tropicbird specimens similar to <i>Lithoptila</i> and <i>Prophaethon</i> have been reported from the late Paleocene of the eastern United States (Olson, 1994) and the middle Eocene of Belgium (Mayr and Smith, 2002). Additionally, the supposed ibis "<i>Proplegadis</i>", known from a fragmentary humerus from the Eocene of England, is likely a specimen of <i>Prophaethon</i> (Mayr, 2015).</p><p>Possibly more closely related to extant tropicbirds was <i>Phaethusavis</i> from the early Eocene of Morocco, based on a partial humerus (Bourdon et al., 2008b). After the Eocene, the completeness of the tropicbird fossil record appears to drop off sharply, perhaps corresponding to the onset of more pelagic tendencies. Nonetheless, there are a few younger fossil tropicbirds that have been described from regions where tropicbirds no longer occur, such as <i>Heliadornis ashbyi</i> from the middle Miocene of Belgium and the eastern United States (Olson, 1985; Olson and Walker, 1997), as well as possibly <i>Heliadornis paratethydicus</i> from the late Miocene of Austria (Mlíkovský, 1997) and <i>Heliadornis minor</i> from the late Pliocene of Slovakia (Kessler, 2009).</p><p>Why tropicbirds vanished from higher latitudes is unknown. Mayr (2015) suggested that competition and predation from other organisms may have driven them to specialize in living off nutrient-poor tropical waters, where food sources are relatively patchy and scarce. The Neogene disappearance of tropicbirds from high latitudes and their current restriction to the tropics bring to mind similar biogeographic histories in some terrestrial bird groups (such as <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-lost-mousebird-dynasty.html">mousebirds</a>), which have been attributed to global <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/26/12895">climate change</a>. It makes me wonder whether tropicbirds represent a marine example of this recurrent pattern.</p><p>One of the most longstanding mysteries surrounding the evolutionary history of tropicbirds concerns their phylogenetic position. Traditionally, tropicbirds were grouped together as "pelecaniforms" alongside pelicans, frigatebirds, boobies, cormorants, and anhingas, with which they share totipalmate feet. Tropicbirds have long been recognized as the "odd ones out" in this collective, however. For example, they lack a bare throat pouch, a long hallux (innermost toe), or reduced external nostrils, and have a covering of downy feathers upon hatching (as opposed to being naked). Some researchers instead argued for a closer relationship between tropicbirds and procellariiform birds (albatrosses, petrels, and kin), which was supported by several phylogenetic analyses based on morphological characteristics (Mayr, 2003; Bourdon et al., 2005; Smith, 2010).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3My77gMdiby2IfBpDSoAHiTR_HXhhlisCDQ6g68stsA1a2is6yEZcO00JLNVhgrW4rA9X20IErUz8zs0SEjIC2-idMm1HEkonoPC9wfLQ_JhXBIP2BoRDLS-cwjLE3n2DzgR5uiP4opI/s800/800px-Starr_080612-8667_Calophyllum_inophyllum.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3My77gMdiby2IfBpDSoAHiTR_HXhhlisCDQ6g68stsA1a2is6yEZcO00JLNVhgrW4rA9X20IErUz8zs0SEjIC2-idMm1HEkonoPC9wfLQ_JhXBIP2BoRDLS-cwjLE3n2DzgR5uiP4opI/w320-h240/800px-Starr_080612-8667_Calophyllum_inophyllum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-tailed tropicbird chick, covered in fluffy down, photographed by Forest & Kim Starr, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en">CC BY 3.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The rise of large-scale molecular phylogenetic analyses has greatly clarified the relationships among modern bird groups, and one of their major findings has led to the breakup of the traditional "pelecaniforms". It turns out that though frigatebirds, boobies, cormorants, and anhingas do form a clade (now known as Suliformes), pelicans are more closely related to herons, ibises, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoebill">shoebills</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamerkop">hamerkops</a>, with the name Pelecaniformes now applied to this latter assemblage. Both suliforms and pelecaniforms, however, belong to a large group of mostly aquatic birds called Aequornithes, which also contains storks, procellariiforms, penguins, and loons. <br /></p><p>A surprising commonality among the results of these analyses was that tropicbirds were <i><b>not</b></i> found as members of Aequornithes, meaning that they are not especially closely related to pelecaniforms, suliforms, <i>or</i> procellariiforms. However, early molecular phylogenetic analyses found little consistent support for what tropicbirds actually <i>are</i> closely related to. It was only more recently with the advent of increasingly large datasets that a more widely corroborated answer to that question has emerged, and it is an unexpected one: the closest living relatives of tropicbirds are likely the eurypygiforms. <br /></p><p>... Well, it might be hard to find that shocking if one is not familiar with eurypygiforms. They are a group of birds that includes just two living species: the heron-like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbittern">sunbittern (<i>Eurypyga helias</i>)</a> from the Neotropics and the nearly flightless <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagu">kagu (<i>Rhynochetos jubatus</i>)</a> from New Caledonia, both of which exhibit little if any obvious anatomical similarity with tropicbirds. Furthermore, though the sunbittern regularly forages for prey in freshwater environments, neither species shows any inclination towards a marine lifestyle.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih01Nk2xEwrbV2PRd2eKvO-N3qYpgzTtUDl9cLx5_RPBpNh51hMxp91Fzq4lsrWHqX36y_-51NHn2pH5JMXKou_ZEP6OlR3UnVcisiHq4vY1Y-JxE0fp_fqLgP_WcOoQtMWyHC9tqwnUQ/s800/800px-Eurypyga_helias_-Smithsonian_National_Zoological_Park%252C_USA-8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih01Nk2xEwrbV2PRd2eKvO-N3qYpgzTtUDl9cLx5_RPBpNh51hMxp91Fzq4lsrWHqX36y_-51NHn2pH5JMXKou_ZEP6OlR3UnVcisiHq4vY1Y-JxE0fp_fqLgP_WcOoQtMWyHC9tqwnUQ/w320-h240/800px-Eurypyga_helias_-Smithsonian_National_Zoological_Park%252C_USA-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sunbittern, which does not look or behave a whole lot like a tropicbird, photographed by Brent Moore, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">CC BY 2.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Yet time and time again, a close relationship between tropicbirds and eurypygiforms (first recovered by McCormack et al., 2013) has been supported by recent large-scale analyses of genetic data (Jarvis et al., 2014; Prum et al., 2015; Reddy et al., 2017; Kuhl et al., 2021). Most (though not all) of these studies also place the eurypygiform–tropicbird clade (which has been called Phaethontimorphae) as most closely related to Aequornithes, forming an expanded "waterbird clade". (At present, no formal name has been assigned to the group uniting phaethontimorphs and aequornitheans in technical literature, though John Boyd has adopted the old name Ardeae for this clade on his <a href="http://jboyd.net/Taxo/List.html">Taxonomy in Flux</a> website. Personally, I think another old name, Natatores, would also be a reasonable option, as it has been applied to a very similar assemblage of birds in at least one <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00293.x">21st Century paper</a>.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3NavIImlih4HnD_zSbsMdg-WJO7W0xtwvzW9VH90gy8zwTk2ILaLqsBgeJYH2a544x5Av2Jc76co4rlUYRC32b2LlgUrZW2XbbfhZqkBM1-Z9z3zzpRzZXxqojzRdFTgfy8YTOLw7T8/s1184/7+natatores.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1184" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3NavIImlih4HnD_zSbsMdg-WJO7W0xtwvzW9VH90gy8zwTk2ILaLqsBgeJYH2a544x5Av2Jc76co4rlUYRC32b2LlgUrZW2XbbfhZqkBM1-Z9z3zzpRzZXxqojzRdFTgfy8YTOLw7T8/w400-h328/7+natatores.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The current consensus of phylogenetic relationships in the expanded "waterbird clade", plotted against geologic time.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The eurypygiform–tropicbird relationship has not gone ignored in paleontological studies. Despite this, essentially no anatomical features that clearly characterize this clade have been identified, and even the existence of well-represented stem-tropicbird fossils has so far been of limited help in this regard (Mayr, 2014; Mayr, 2019). If anything, the aquatic adaptations of stem-tropicbirds seem to render the the close relationship with the terrestrial eurypygiforms even more baffling. <i>Prophaethon</i> does share with eurypygiforms long, slit-like nostril openings in the skull (which are retained in extant tropicbirds only as juveniles), but this feature is also found in most aequornitheans (Mayr, 2014). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ni07A2NSTrjfX_LjtJXFhRXEHuwEuYSqfNjrEbQ_ESabLo8PkQGi1GqNDz8bNy-bAdVzCB-GE3uCt3NLn29SsWMII8vYyZeOvecgk6A0pP8BVitqfPgYWPjKKEsx_ojWjAuAFgmlMLs/s1309/tropicbirdskullcomparison.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="1309" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ni07A2NSTrjfX_LjtJXFhRXEHuwEuYSqfNjrEbQ_ESabLo8PkQGi1GqNDz8bNy-bAdVzCB-GE3uCt3NLn29SsWMII8vYyZeOvecgk6A0pP8BVitqfPgYWPjKKEsx_ojWjAuAFgmlMLs/w400-h139/tropicbirdskullcomparison.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skulls of <i>Prophaethon</i> (A), a red-tailed tropicbird (B), a juvenile brown pelican (C, <i>Pelecanus occidentalis</i>), and a sunbittern (D), from Mayr (2014). Arrows indicate the extent of bony nostril openings.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Perhaps the biggest missing piece of the puzzle though is the virtual absence of known fossil eurypygiform specimens. There is a fossil from the Eocene Green River Formation of the western United States that has been proposed to be a stem-sunbittern; however, it has not yet been formally described. A group of Paleogene birds called the messelornithids were originally suggested to have been eurypygiforms, but <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03043474">all</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2010.538730">recent</a> <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/7/102">studies</a> on their phylogenetic affinities instead find that they were probably gruiform birds, more closely related to cranes and rails.</p><p>So maybe the discovery of unambiguous stem-eurypygiforms will further clarify the evolutionary connection between eurypygiforms and tropicbirds. Such fossils may also have the potential to shed light on other aspects of tropicbird evolution, like whether their marine ecology was inherited from the last common ancestor of the expanded "waterbird clade" or arose independently in total-group tropicbirds and aequornitheans.</p><p>For now, there is clearly much we have yet to learn about tropicbirds. None of the three extant species are considered to be under immediate threat of extinction, though many of their breeding grounds are at risk from introduced predators, and their pelagic habits make their population trends difficult to monitor. However, if effective conservation measures are established and maintained, it is likely that we will have the opportunity to marvel at these angels of the high seas long into the foreseeable future.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18bWMIdVGlJgLiJa5IWWXqJ08u_CUeh2OBziNp1g7kDjMFhTgIYBuTS8MwnlkZF_atqqwPO5wq_UvHBd_sA9bNjWj5WQNBBYaMXLnrzwX6-CukaphfT0I9tf1A1pOHCZovw5IL2zYhxU/s500/whitetailedtropicbird.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18bWMIdVGlJgLiJa5IWWXqJ08u_CUeh2OBziNp1g7kDjMFhTgIYBuTS8MwnlkZF_atqqwPO5wq_UvHBd_sA9bNjWj5WQNBBYaMXLnrzwX6-CukaphfT0I9tf1A1pOHCZovw5IL2zYhxU/w400-h266/whitetailedtropicbird.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White-tailed tropicbird in flight, photographed by hokoonwong, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>. 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Brumfield. 2013. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0054848">A phylogeny of birds based on over 1,500 loci collected by target enrichment and high-throughput sequencing.</a> <i>PLoS ONE</i> <b>8</b>: e54848. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054848<br /></li><li>Mlíkovský, J. 1997. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41701958">A new tropicbird (Aves: Phaethontidae) from the late Miocene of Austria.</a> <i>Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie A für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Anthropologie und Prähistorie</i> <b>98</b>: 151–154. <br /></li><li>Olson, S.L. 1985. A new genus of tropicbird (Pelecaniformes, Phaethontidae) from the middle Miocene Calvert Formation of Maryland. <i>Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington</i> <b>98</b>: 851–855.<br /></li><li>Olson, S.L. 1994. A giant <i>Presbyornis</i> (Aves, Anseriformes) and other birds from the Paleocene Aquia Formation of Maryland and Virginia. <i>Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington</i> <b>107</b>: 429–435.<br /></li><li>Olson, S.L. and C.A. Walker. 1997. A trans-Atlantic record of the fossil tropicbird <i>Heliadornis ashbyi</i> (Aves : Phaethontidae) from the Miocene of Belgium. <i>Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington</i> <b>110</b>: 624–628.<br /></li><li>Orta, J. and A. Bonan. 2020. Tropicbirds (Phaethontidae). In J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana (eds.), <i>Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive</i>. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.</li><li>Prum, R.O., J.S. Berv, A. Dornburg, D.J. Field, J.P. Townsend, E.M. Lemmon, and A.R. Lemmon. 2015. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature15697">A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing.</a> <i>Nature</i> <b>526</b>: 569–573. doi: 10.1038/nature15697 </li><li>Reddy, S., R.T. Kimball, A. Pandey, P.A. Hosner, M.J. Braun, S.J. Hackett, K.-L. Han, J. Harshman, C.J. Huddleston, S. Kingston, B.D. Marks, K.J. Miglia, W.S. Moore, F.H. Sheldon, C.C. Witt, T. Yuri, and E.L. Braun. 2017. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/66/5/857/3091102">Why do phylogenomic data sets yield conflicting trees? Data type influences the avian tree of life more than taxon sampling.</a> <i>Systematic Biology</i> <b>66</b>: 857–879. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syx041<br /></li><li>Smith, N.D. 2010. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0013354">Phylogenetic analysis of Pelecaniformes (Aves) based on osteological data: implications for waterbird phylogeny and fossil calibration studies.</a> <i>PLoS ONE</i> <b>5</b>: e13354. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013354.<br /></li></ul>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-63790235769623963402021-04-01T13:12:00.006-07:002021-04-29T11:14:25.756-07:00Songs About the Fossil Record<p>It's annual off-topic day on this blog! What should I talk about? How about... music?<br /></p><p>My taste in music is, shall we say... idiosyncratic. I don't tend to consciously gravitate towards specific genres in terms of musical styles, and I can't tell you anything about what songs are popular right now—chances are that I probably haven't even <i>heard</i> of those songs before, unless they've somehow become universal internet memes. However, I do have an affinity for songs <i>about</i> specific subjects, namely songs about science, and especially songs about the branches of science that I'm most interested in, like zoology and paleontology.</p><p>If that isn't a niche preference in music, I don't know what is. What's the appeal, anyway? In part, it might be that I often find music to be a very effective tool for learning. Many concepts become more memorable once you can associate them with a catchy tune. More than that, however, I think it's wonderful to see (or, perhaps more accurately in this context, hear) someone take seemingly arcane topics and turn them into an art form that can potentially connect with people who might otherwise have never heard of those subjects.</p><p>Well, I suppose the key word there is "potentially", because most people will probably be surprised to hear that songs about paleontology exist at all. Yet exist they do, and there are even some written by bands that would probably be considered mainstream. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzhIfN4UQv8">"History of Everything"</a> (better known as the theme song to <i>The Big Bang Theory</i>*) by the Barenaked Ladies and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUb1p8fm7Ag">"Endless Forms Most Beautiful"</a> by Nightwish both take clear inspiration from paleontological concepts.</p><p>*I'm not a fan of the show. I still think it's a great song though.</p><p>Probably the song that is most famously associated with the field of paleontology, however, is "I am a Paleontologist" by They Might Be Giants (TMBG), which is embedded below. It is a longstanding tradition for attendees of the annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) conference to dance along to this song multiple times during the conference afterparty.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KwHhnwTmSpU" width="320" youtube-src-id="KwHhnwTmSpU"></iframe></div><p>Yet even within the paleontology community, it sometimes appears that "I am a Paleontologist" is one of the few songs about paleontology that most people are familiar with, which I'm ever so slightly vexed by. Don't get me wrong, I love TMBG. (They even wrote my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdgRYMdPSZQ">favorite song</a> of all time, which ironically <i>isn't</i> a song about science, though I've unabashedly <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Birdhouse-in-Your-Soul-458516732">reinterpreted</a> it as one.) However, there are more than enough songs about paleontology out there to make entire SVP afterparty <i>playlists</i> out of, so I find it somewhat disappointing that this is not capitalized on more often during what are some of <i>the most appropriate possible events</i> for these songs to be played at. And that is, in part, the impetus for this post.</p><p>This will not be a <i>complete</i> list of paleontology-related songs by any means. Believe it or not, there are too many for me to easily cover in a single post, and I regularly discover examples that I had been previously unaware of. Consider this a selected highlights reel, if you will.<br /></p><p>I can start off with the fact that TMBG actually has at least a couple of lesser-known paleontology-adjacent songs, most notably <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14jjo7MtSzE">"Mammal"</a>, which has a verse describing the phylogenetic relationships among major mammal lineages, and even mentions allotherians! A funny aside that is worth bringing up here is that TMBG's bassist Danny Weinkauf (who was also the lead singer on "I am a Paleontologist") wrote the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dov6OB81LPo">"Archaeology"</a> apparently because audiences kept mistaking "I am a Paleontologist" for an "archaeology song".</p><p>Paleontology-inspired songs have a surprisingly long history. A song or poem about extinct dinosaurs was written by Edward Forbes for the famous <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkWitton/status/1324719807518879748">1853 New Year's Eve banquet</a> that was held inside the clay mold of one of the Crystal Palace <i>Iguanodon</i> models. The original tune of the ditty (if it had one) is unknown, but Barney Brown, head of digital communications at the University of Cambridge, has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdyBQf3Rco">set the words to music</a>.<br /></p><p>I don't know what the oldest paleontology-inspired song with a surviving tune is, but "It's a Long Way From Amphioxus" (sung to the tune of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary") is probably the oldest that I'm personally aware of. According to Joe Felsenstein's extremely informative <a href="https://evolution.gs.washington.edu/amphioxus/">website</a> about this song, it had its chorus written by an unknown author sometime between 1912 and 1921, with additional verses penned by Philip H. Pope in 1921. Embedded below is a particularly well-known rendition of it performed by Sam Hinton. Although the science is outdated and the final verse is perhaps too blatantly obvious about written by a vertebrate, it's not hard to see why this song is such a classic.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0egWbwErRQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="B0egWbwErRQ"></iframe></div><p></p><p>In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, several paleontology-themed albums were released by James Robinson. Though he is no longer active in academia, Robinson was a working paleontologist for some time, notably authoring a key 1975 paper on whether plesiosaurs moved by drag-based swimming (rowing) or lift-based swimming (underwater flight). This subject naturally became the basis for one of his tunes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUKOtoneL0A&t=1525s">"Plesiosaurnithology"</a>. Listening to Robinson's songs, it is evident that they were written by someone with an insider's perspective on paleontology. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Dz6v54Fco&t=3608s">"Ambition"</a> is about the dinosaurian origin of birds (this in the 80s!) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHWRwXIa3Sk&t=3009s">"Systematic Classification"</a> has a verse about how paleobotanists often coin different names for each part of the same plant. Although it's not specific to paleontology, I'd also like to mention <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Dz6v54Fco&t=1248s">"Anthem to Bureaucracy"</a>, which is still very salient in current times.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWG3-7JTlEENhVyrlfdCIOKchsH6quiB0mWUowpVFPvMAaoL8l4D_y0Zw31ER30Xn0UgDs0wxnql2SgFb7E8cmo9Mmx-HFEvjZWM3Wck9JZQXxm9i1Wndnk0GJzzURJ_krW4tV73Vz54/s800/800px-Paleo_Hall_at_HMNS_plesiosaur.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWG3-7JTlEENhVyrlfdCIOKchsH6quiB0mWUowpVFPvMAaoL8l4D_y0Zw31ER30Xn0UgDs0wxnql2SgFb7E8cmo9Mmx-HFEvjZWM3Wck9JZQXxm9i1Wndnk0GJzzURJ_krW4tV73Vz54/s320/800px-Paleo_Hall_at_HMNS_plesiosaur.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of Robinson's songs have been uploaded to YouTube as entire albums, so embedding them here probably would not be the most effective way to showcase individual tracks. Have a picture of "flying" plesiosaur instead, photographed by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paleo_Hall_at_HMNS_plesiosaur.jpg">Kim Alaniz</a>, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">CC BY 2.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Paleontology-inspired music remains alive and well today, and there are even artists who specialize in producing it. <a href="https://www.trollart.com/">Ray Troll</a> is well known in the paleontology community for his surreal paleoart, but he is also a musician who performs as part of the band The Ratfish Wranglers, and many of their songs are appropriately paleontology-based. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be "Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway" (embedded below), which I think nicely encapsulates the spirit of paleontological discovery. (The song is named after the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cruisin-Fossil-Freeway-Scientist-Ultimate/dp/1555914519/">book of the same name</a> authored by Kirk Johnson and illustrated by Troll.) I also greatly enjoy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC1V6bCX0qM">"Whorl Tooth Sharks of Idaho"</a>, about the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0057">recent reinterpretation</a> of the bizarre stem-ratfish <i>Helicoprion</i>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayjXVhRt7_U">"Snowmastodon"</a>, about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmastodon_site">Snowmastodon fossil site</a>. An amusing anecdote I have is that "Snowmastodon" was where I first heard the name of paleobotanist <a href="https://www.dmns.org/science/earth-sciences/staff/ian-miller/">Ian Miller</a>, who had a good laugh when I told him this at SVP 2019.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JE4RPvAiEec" width="320" youtube-src-id="JE4RPvAiEec"></iframe></div><p>Another paleontology-focused musician is <a href="http://www.dinosaursdownunder.com/">Professor Flint</a>, whose work has at least received some recognition from SVP, as he put on a live performance at <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/10/svp-2019.html">SVP 2019</a>. Professor Flint specializes in songs about Australian fossils in particular, and has produced tunes about taxa as obscure as the giant Pleistocene cuckoo <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRHuW3QvXHU"><i>Centropus maximus</i></a> and the Pleistocene stem-koala <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG6CDdA7d7Y"><i>Invictokoala</i></a> (the latter <a href="http://www.diprotodon.com/koala-song/">co-written</a> by Gilbert Price, one of the describers of <i>Invictokoala</i>). My personal favorite though is probably "Gigantic, Enormous, Ginormous, <i>Genyornis</i>" (embedded below). His <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOAC_XVkeok">tribute to Mary Anning</a> is also quite delightful. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L2zAIjxot4g" width="320" youtube-src-id="L2zAIjxot4g"></iframe></div><p>Then there are the <a href="http://www.theamoebapeople.com/">The Amoeba People</a>, whose songs celebrate a wide range of geosciences. In fact, my favorite song of theirs is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuugQSaHM7Y">"Girl Talk"</a>, which is not about paleontology, but the scientific contributions of oceanographic cartographer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Tharp">Marie Tharp</a> and the struggles she faced as a woman in science. The Amoeba People haven't neglected paleontology in their output, however, with entries like "The Ballad of Barnum Brown" (embedded below) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHKOJoVYA-M">"The Terrible Lizards"</a>. (And yes, every genus mentioned in the latter song, with the possible exception of <i>Saltopus</i>, is actually a dinosaur.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iY3mniOeY4I" width="320" youtube-src-id="iY3mniOeY4I"></iframe></div><p>Some music artists cover a remarkable diversity of scientific topics in their work. John Hinton has written songs about just about every major field of science there is for his <i><a href="http://ensonglopedia.com/">Ensonglopedia</a></i> series of shows. Although he hasn't yet produced an <i>Ensonglopedia of Palaeontology</i> (or <i>Geoscience</i>), he has touched on paleontology more than once with <a href="https://spalienacecraft.bandcamp.com/track/the-jurassic-jive-aka-j-is-for-jurassic">"The Jurassic Jive"</a> from <i>Ensonglopedia of Science</i>, as well as "D is for Dunkleosteus" (embedded below), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSP7cHMjmUE">"I is for Ice Age"</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg-hQenZtsE">"J is for Jehol Biota"</a> from his ongoing online song challenge series. (Full disclosure: I was a scientific consultant on those last three songs.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZCh_1lNYx9c" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZCh_1lNYx9c"></iframe></div><p>My own favorite of Hinton's works though is <a href="https://spalienacecraft.bandcamp.com/album/ensonglopedia-of-animals"><i>Ensonglopedia of Animals</i></a>, and there's a lot there for paleontologists to appreciate. Although all the songs are about extant animal species (except maybe the Togo red jewel damselfly, which hasn't been recorded since its original description in 1898), phylogeny and evolutionary history are given a lot of focus. For example, <a href="https://spalienacecraft.bandcamp.com/track/aye-aye">"Aye-Aye"</a> starts out with an overview of primate evolution, <a href="https://spalienacecraft.bandcamp.com/track/narwhal">"Narwhal"</a> highlights the fact that whales are ungulates, and <a href="https://spalienacecraft.bandcamp.com/track/verreauxs-eagle">"Verreaux's Eagle"</a> mentions that birds are dinosaurs. In fact, the very structure of the show is based on phylogenetic relationships, starting with a song about humans and ending with one about sponges, our most distant relatives among animals. I was so impressed by <i>Ensonglopedia of Animals</i> that I was inspired to draw <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Ensonglopedia-of-Animals-831531472">fan art</a> of it.</p><p>This post is getting long, so I'm going to end this with a lightning round of select songs from various artists. "Dinosaurs" by Biscuithead and the Biscuit Badgers (embedded below) is a perfect summation of why people love dinosaurs. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9h1tR42QYA">"<i>Tiktaalik</i> (Your Inner Fish)"</a> by The Indoorfins is a great celebration of that stem-tetrapod and, in my experience, is actually fairly well-known in the paleontology community. (The Indoorfins also did <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av-Xat3kyxE">"Amphibian Ark"</a>, a nice tune about amphibian conservation.) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMwxwRA9Xr8">"Cambrian Explosion"</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAcZc8i7PMM">"Silurian"</a> by Brighter Lights, Thicker Glasses are lovely tributes to those early periods in Phanerozoic history. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQg3HkJSDQ">"<i>Quetzalcoatlus</i>"</a> by David Cagle really gets across how spectacular that giant pterosaur must have been. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9huLGwbpoiA">"How We Met, The Long Version"</a> by Jens Lekman cleverly turns the origin of the universe (and eventually humankind) into a love song.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rslhIHW3eBI" width="320" youtube-src-id="rslhIHW3eBI"></iframe></div><p>As eccentric as my musical tastes may be, I am not the first in the paleoblogosphere to write at length about paleontology songs. Andrew Stück of Dino Dad Reviews has covered the subject several times, with posts dedicated to <a href="https://dinodadreviews.com/2018/11/16/dino-dads-primeval-playlists-ratfish-wranglers-edition/">The Ratfish Wranglers</a>, <a href="https://dinodadreviews.com/2019/06/12/dino-dads-primeval-playlists-professor-flint-edition/">Professor Flint</a>, <a href="https://dinodadreviews.com/2019/09/04/dino-dads-primeval-playlists-the-amoeba-people-edition/">The Amoeba People</a>, and <a href="https://dinodadreviews.com/2020/06/19/dino-dads-primeval-playlists-musical-miscellany/">more</a>. Maybe when in-person gatherings are a thing again, some of the songs mentioned in these posts will finally get the attention they deserve at conference afterparties.<br /></p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-31018138200850822682021-01-19T12:06:00.008-08:002021-12-21T19:32:58.975-08:00New (Extinct) Maniraptors of 2020<p>The "new year" is not so new anymore (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2020.1862930">three</a> <a href="http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7251">new</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80479-8">maniraptors</a> have been named in 2021 already), but this is a tradition and I'm sticking to it, for now. Having done a <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-of-2020.html">sweeping overview</a> of the past year in maniraptoran discoveries, I will now take a more in-depth look at the new extinct taxa that were described last year. In addition to the new genera and species of 2020, this time around I
will also make an effort to mention other relevant nomenclatural changes
that were proposed. <br /></p><p><b>Alvarezsaurs</b><br />Last year saw the naming of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120302469"><i>Trierarchuncus</i></a>, the youngest known alvarezsaur. Fragmentary alvarezsaur specimens had been previously reported from the latest Cretaceous Hell Creek and Lance Formations of the western United States, but these fossils had been left unnamed. <i>Trierarchuncus</i> itself is not known from a whole lot—it was described based on three thumb claws (belonging to three different individuals) from the Hell Creek Formation, and there are parts of an arm and a foot as well as a previously described <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.1998.10011073">partial hip</a> that may also belong to it. Shortly after its initial description, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120303852">second paper</a> assigned two more thumb claws to <i>Trierarchuncus</i>.<br /></p><p>Even though the specimens don't represent much of the skeleton, <i>Trierarchuncus</i> is potentially quite informative about alvarezsaur biology. I noted last year in a <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/05/making-sense-of-alvarezsaurid.html">post</a> about alvarezsaurids that completely preserved alvarezsaurid thumb claws are rare. One of the claws assigned to <i>Trierarchuncus</i>, however, is very complete, showing a sharp tip and stronger curvature than is typically assumed for alvarezsaurid thumb claws. To my eye at least, this claw shape is in keeping with use of the claw in hook-and-pull digging, as I had contended in my blog post (and others had contended in scientific papers). Perhaps in reference to the strongly curved claw, the name <i>Trierarchuncus</i> can be translated as "Captain Hook".</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0wjPntqP8sVWxlw_Fc4A0UWWfjQLfIu1vHoqC_gcfljEcCFszTGd6eAMRyuDWytLicsSi-KjOKOxwXyJHlfB9XAxFRO6xqqMqF7zFYutC7MRj5pw2YLOiNZzBONRthtDx_14wgASXew/s802/1-s2.0-S0195667120302469-gr5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="802" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0wjPntqP8sVWxlw_Fc4A0UWWfjQLfIu1vHoqC_gcfljEcCFszTGd6eAMRyuDWytLicsSi-KjOKOxwXyJHlfB9XAxFRO6xqqMqF7zFYutC7MRj5pw2YLOiNZzBONRthtDx_14wgASXew/w400-h158/1-s2.0-S0195667120302469-gr5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most completely preserved thumb claw referred to <i>Trierarchuncus</i>, from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120302469">Fowler et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Seeing as the claws assigned to <i>Trierarchuncus</i> come from individuals of different sizes, they may also provide insight into how alvarezsaurid claws changed as they grew. The larger <i>Trierarchuncus</i> claws are widened at their base and the surface of the bone exhibits a roughened texture, which likely developed as a response to considerable stresses. The authors who made these observations noted that this is also consistent with the hypothesis that alvarezsaurids used their thumb claws for digging.<br /></p><p><b>Oviraptorosaurs </b><br />One of the most spectacular new maniraptors from last year, in terms of the fossil material represented, may have been the oviraptorid <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.201184"><i>Oksoko</i></a> from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. It is known from the skeletons of several individuals, including nearly complete skeletons. Notably among these specimens is an assemblage of at least three (maybe four) juveniles preserved together, which had been confiscated from fossil poachers in 2006. Some of these juveniles are preserved in lifelike crouched postures, suggesting that they had been buried rapidly and simultaneously. They therefore provide strong evidence of gregarious behavior in oviraptorosaurs. <i>Oksoko</i> was unusual among oviraptorosaurs in that its third finger was highly reduced, giving it functionally two-fingered hands, and the describers note that similar hands may have been present in <i>Heyuannia huangi</i>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgAoEpJbHzGdgbID-Fo9sLOaeWez0v-enMZz2IL-xO_eBnHXf1tybGQaSOy9ztF6QM0tiWKhgW-fEunvkhwt6XuJpWRVwP4y4TRZtCFiud6U3w3iO9xArbEiWr6c59IfMM-4K6KW7t_w/s1538/rsos201184f01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgAoEpJbHzGdgbID-Fo9sLOaeWez0v-enMZz2IL-xO_eBnHXf1tybGQaSOy9ztF6QM0tiWKhgW-fEunvkhwt6XuJpWRVwP4y4TRZtCFiud6U3w3iO9xArbEiWr6c59IfMM-4K6KW7t_w/s320/rsos201184f01.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Several juvenile specimens of <i>Oksoko</i> (including the holotype, marked in blue) preserved together, from <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.201184">Funston et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>2020 also saw a much-needed taxonomic overhaul of the caenagnathid oviraptorosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta. Many Dinosaur Park caenagnathids were named based on non-overlapping parts of the skeleton, which has naturally raised questions about whether they all really represent distinct species or not. Based on the examination of newly described, more complete specimens, as well as assessment of individual growth stage based on bone microstructure, this latest study concluded that there are probably three distinct caenagnathids known from the Dinosaur Park Formation: the large <i>Caenagnathus</i>, the medium-sized <i>Chirostenotes</i>, and the small, newly-named genus <a href="https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/29362"><i>Citipes</i></a>, which had formerly often been considered a species of either <i>Chirostenotes</i> or <i>Leptorhynchos</i>. Although not the main focus of the study, this paper additionally mentions that the <i>Gobiraptor</i> from the Nemegt Formation likely represents a juvenile of <i>Conchoraptor</i>, as had been <a href="https://twitter.com/funstonpaleo/status/1093539198244577280">hinted</a> in the past.<br /></p><p>Also in the world of oviraptorosaur taxonomy, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08965">feather-preserving specimens</a> of <i>Similicaudipteryx</i> were <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-27223-4_5">reassigned</a> to <i>Incisivosaurus</i> (previously known only from a skull and partial neck vertebra).<br /></p><p><b>Non-ornithothoracean Paravians</b> <br />In contrast to <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-extinct-maniraptors-of-2019.html">2019</a>, which was conspicuously lacking in new dromaeosaurids, at least two new dromaeosaurids were described in 2020. One of these was the microraptorian <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24343"><i>Wulong</i></a> from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China, known from the exquisitely-preserved complete skeleton of an immature individual. Like <i>Microraptor</i>, <i>Wulong</i> had large feathers on its hindlimbs, and the specimen also preserves a single pair of elongated tail feathers at the tip of its tail.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgtw2h4fe1IuG9PDFK33u1T641GIKgUPfNzebF03HcLYlAraNZPYv_REy11VisvW7XvUxFpjJnRLm30-K2kHi_ZnCvzVnHGWACPKYKz0L6dqf2EhXwzJ9rMriWrL1ZyAGYczyvmuWuO4/s2048/ar24343-fig-0001-m.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2025" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgtw2h4fe1IuG9PDFK33u1T641GIKgUPfNzebF03HcLYlAraNZPYv_REy11VisvW7XvUxFpjJnRLm30-K2kHi_ZnCvzVnHGWACPKYKz0L6dqf2EhXwzJ9rMriWrL1ZyAGYczyvmuWuO4/s320/ar24343-fig-0001-m.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Wulong</i>, from <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24343">Poust et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The other new dromaeosaurid was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-61480-7"><i>Dineobellator</i></a>, a mid-sized (<i>Velociraptor</i>-sized) dromaeosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Ojo Alamo Formation of the United States. It is known from a partial skeleton, and as in <i>Velociraptor</i> and <i>Dakotaraptor</i>, its ulna exhibits a series of bumps for the attachment of wing feathers along the forearm.</p><p>One new paravian that might be a dromaeosaurid was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01682-1"><i>Overoraptor</i></a>, known from a couple of partial skeletons from the Late Cretaceous Huincul Formation of Argentina. The phylogenetic analysis in the description of <i>Overoraptor</i> recovered it as a close relative of <i>Rahonavis</i>, a smaller, likely flight-capable paravian from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. The phylogenetic position of <i>Rahonavis</i> is controversial; it has been found as either an unenlagiine dromaeosaurid or an avialan in recent studies. This particular study found <i>Overoraptor</i> and <i>Rahonavis</i> as avialans, though the phylogenetic dataset used tends to find paravian relationships that are not strongly supported by other analyses, with microraptorians and unenlagiines outside of dromaeosaurids and instead being more closely related to modern birds. It would be interesting to see where <i>Overoraptor</i> turns up when included in other phylogenetic datasets.</p><p>Rounding out the long-tailed paravians of 2020 is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1367912020301826"><i>Kompsornis</i></a>, a <i>Jeholornis</i>-like avialan from the Jiufotang Formation. The taxonomy of the various <i>Jeholornis</i>-like avialans is debated, but the describers of <i>Kompsornis</i> argue that <i>Shenzhouraptor</i>, <i>Jixiangornis</i>, <i>Jeholornis prima</i>, <i>Jeholornis palmapenis</i>, and <i>Jeholornis curvipes</i> all represent distinct, valid taxa. This paper is also notably one of the few to address "<i>Dalianraptor</i>", a supposedly short-armed, long-tailed avialan. The authors confirm that the original specimen of "<i>Dalianraptor</i>" is likely a <a href="http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2012/08/dalianraptor-cuhe-forgery.html">composite</a>, and find no definitive features that distinguish it from other <i>Jeholornis</i>-like avialans.</p><p><b>Enantiornitheans</b> <br />Only one new enantiornithean was named last year, but it was a doozy. <i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2945-x">Falcatakely</a> </i>from the Late Cretaceous Maevarano Formation of Madagascar is known from a nearly complete skull, and it's a skull unlike that of any other known theropod. Its snout was long and tall, giving it a superficial resemblance to a toucan or a hornbill. However, most of the snout was composed of enlarged maxilla bones, contrasting with the condition in modern birds, in which the snout is primarily composed of the premaxillae. The maxillae of <i>Falcatakely</i> were toothless and probably covered in a keratinous sheath, but the specimen preserves at least one small premaxillary tooth.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT019Yo8R1pOJZ3eBlGUyiIq2pwH_N-AViws93Q1qYVCKuc_-hksd4kkOgakgSMSw_3aYiDCeZrwvl5kWQxXFV39oSq6dMV2_XHX-qd-2XO1rAuJHsT81yvBfANEYPPMmRycZHoSViw-M/s1245/41586_2020_2945_Fig1_HTML.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1033" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT019Yo8R1pOJZ3eBlGUyiIq2pwH_N-AViws93Q1qYVCKuc_-hksd4kkOgakgSMSw_3aYiDCeZrwvl5kWQxXFV39oSq6dMV2_XHX-qd-2XO1rAuJHsT81yvBfANEYPPMmRycZHoSViw-M/s320/41586_2020_2945_Fig1_HTML.webp" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Falcatakely</i>, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2945-x">O'Connor et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The describers of <i>Falcatakely</i> ran several different phylogenetic analyses and consistently recovered it as an enantiornithean each time. Even so, it's probably fair to wonder whether this bizarre creature really was an enantiornithean, especially considering that very few other Late Cretaceous enantiornithean skulls are known for comparison. As Mickey Mortimer has <a href="http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2020/11/is-falcatakely-bird.html">pointed out</a>, a highly modified Late Cretaceous theropod with no obvious close relatives and known from limited remains is likely going to be difficult to place no matter what. (It's perhaps worthy of note that little to no skull material has been found for the two other paravians that have been named from the Maevarano Formation, <i>Rahonavis</i> and <i>Vorona</i>.) Regardless of what it turns out to be, the unusual and unexpected morphology of <i>Falcatakely</i> easily qualifies it as one of the highlights among last year's new dinosaurs.<br /></p><p>In other news, a <a href="http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/7237/440-02-pittman_et_al.pdf">review</a> of the Mesozoic and Paleocene pennaraptoran fossil record considered the poorly-studied Jiufotang enantiornitheans <i>Largirostrornis</i> and <i>Longchengornis</i> to be synonyms of <i>Cathayornis</i>, though this was not elaborated upon. <br /></p><p><b>Non-neornithean Euornitheans</b><br />The taxonomy of yanornithid euornitheans was revised in 2020, resulting in the recognition of two new genera, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2020.1836050"><i>Abitusavis</i> and <i>Similiyanornis</i></a>. <i>Similiyanornis</i> from the Jiufotang Formation had a distinctive tooth arrangement in which the frontmost tooth in its lower jaw was enlarged. <i>Abitusavis</i> was larger than <i>Similiyanornis</i> and was discovered in the older Yixian Formation. Of note is that the first yanornithid specimen reported with fish remains preserved in its digestive tract (originally assigned to <i>Yanornis</i>) is now considered a specimen of <i>Abitusavis</i>. Several other <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0095036">previously described</a> specimens (including the poorly-studied "<i>Aberratiodontus</i>") were deemed indeterminate yanornithids in this study, whereas <i>Yanornis guozhangi</i> was sunk into the type species of <i>Yanornis</i>, <i>Y. martini</i>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xKYAfVtah4vU22wcuS7D6oqoy6P7jssAjb5SeBMCCHtsvZ5TLDqivlJBIW5uvTXxQlYcgRHf37fvfQxQS7MsKmuvVV-Xm40EPkiyrR5O89i2Dhw32bSLeGNErLzrz5iNadyLmR0dNCQ/s2048/tjsp_a_1836050_f0001_c.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xKYAfVtah4vU22wcuS7D6oqoy6P7jssAjb5SeBMCCHtsvZ5TLDqivlJBIW5uvTXxQlYcgRHf37fvfQxQS7MsKmuvVV-Xm40EPkiyrR5O89i2Dhw32bSLeGNErLzrz5iNadyLmR0dNCQ/w400-h230/tjsp_a_1836050_f0001_c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Similiyanornis</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2020.1836050">Wang et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Another new Early Cretaceous euornithean is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1731805"><i>Khinganornis</i></a> from the Longjiang Formation of China. It is the first dinosaur to be described from this formation, and is known from a nearly complete skeleton, but its anatomical details are not well preserved. It appears to have been generally similar to the semi-aquatic euornitheans <i>Gansus</i> and <i>Iteravis</i>, and may have led a similar lifestyle.<br /></p><p><b>Paleognaths </b><br />No new paleognaths were named last year (at least, none based on skeletal material), but the old genus <i>Palaeostruthio</i> was <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825220303160">brought back</a> and applied to "<i>Struthio</i>" <i>karatheodoris</i>, a large ostrich from the Miocene of Eurasia.<br /></p><p><b>Galloanserans</b><br />Alright, let's do this one more time... <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0"><i>Asteriornis</i></a> from the Late Cretaceous Maastricht Formation of Western Europe is one of the few well-established examples of a Mesozoic crown bird. It is known from several bones, most notably a nearly complete skull. The skull exhibits features characteristic of both anseriforms and galliforms, and <i>Asterornis</i> may thus be a close approximation of what the ancestral galloanseran looked like. There's plenty more that could be said, but I already wrote about <i>Asteriornis</i> in more detail <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/03/catch-falling-star-meet-asteriornis.html">here</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYhjYbc3rNO7mf2JKG6BoWJMjMB4TtBUWtOJ7JFsGVhVJXcvB-xTqMb7tuzuvs3MJi82C-jAy6rRvCJ3y_aN6nFYSzp7CjXuDh9X7zfZFI4EOfm7NwPcunFGmj81Kbk9u4iJ-ifTAvQU/s1799/asteriornisskull-lateral.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="1799" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYhjYbc3rNO7mf2JKG6BoWJMjMB4TtBUWtOJ7JFsGVhVJXcvB-xTqMb7tuzuvs3MJi82C-jAy6rRvCJ3y_aN6nFYSzp7CjXuDh9X7zfZFI4EOfm7NwPcunFGmj81Kbk9u4iJ-ifTAvQU/w320-h238/asteriornisskull-lateral.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of <i>Asteriornis</i>, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0">Field et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The Cenozoic contributed its fair share of new galloanserans as well. From the Eocene of Kazakhstan came the anseriform <a href="http://app.pan.pl/article/item/app.007642020.html"><i>Cousteauvia</i></a>, known from a tarsometatarsus that displays features suggestive of diving behavior (hence the name honoring Jacques Cousteau). Its full binomial, <i>Cousteauvia kustovia</i>, is a bit of fun with homophones. There were also a couple of new pheasants from Bulgaria, the Miocene <a href="https://www.nmnhs.com/historia-naturalis-bulgarica/article.php?id=000443000412020"><i>Phasianus bulgaricus</i></a> and the Pleistocene <a href="https://www.nmnhs.com/historia-naturalis-bulgarica/article.php?id=000446000412020"><i>Chauvireria bulgarica</i></a>.</p><p>It's not often that we get a new gastornithid, but last year gave us <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699520300863"><i>Gastornis laurenti</i></a> from the Eocene of France. It was named based on a distinctive lower jaw, but its describers mention that it is known from postcranial bones as well, which will be described in a later publication.<br /></p><p><b>Columbimorphs</b> <br />What's this? A fossil columbimorph older than the Pleistocene and represented by decently complete material?! <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.00059/full"><i>Linxiavis</i></a> was a sandgrouse from the Miocene Liushu Formation of China, and is known from a partial skeleton including most of the forelimbs. Sandgrouse today live in arid habitats (they famously use their belly feathers to transport water for their young), so the discovery of <i>Linxiavis</i> is consistent with other lines of evidence suggesting that the Liushu Formation was deposited in a relatively dry environment.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYGMNao31zJareXckOHe2CjEAnZuuyQmodhcaWTc-g2gntkSb6ceJLKP7eboNceb57dnRBB76WisxqJkvhVY9dk9fX1bm9GMLWUe0a6nBNHu7r2l15hMvXrY7iaSRqelymoUfG8GM__k/s1084/fevo-08-00059-g002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="1084" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYGMNao31zJareXckOHe2CjEAnZuuyQmodhcaWTc-g2gntkSb6ceJLKP7eboNceb57dnRBB76WisxqJkvhVY9dk9fX1bm9GMLWUe0a6nBNHu7r2l15hMvXrY7iaSRqelymoUfG8GM__k/w400-h193/fevo-08-00059-g002.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Linxiavis</i>, from <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.00059/full">Li et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A new columbimorph that lived in more recent times is the Pleistocene–Holocene pigeon <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4810.3.1"><i>Tongoenas</i></a>, remains of which are known from several islands in the Kingdom of Tonga. Its hindlimb anatomy suggests that it was a primarily tree-dwelling form, similar to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_dove">fruit doves</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_pigeon">imperial pigeons</a> that are still extant today. <i>Tongoenas</i> was one of the largest known flying pigeons, surpassed in that department only by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowned_pigeon">crowned pigeons</a>, which can reach the size of a small turkey.<br /></p><p><b>Gruiforms</b><br />The one new gruiform named last year was the coot <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981120303825"><i>Fulica montanei</i></a>, known from a few tarsometatarsi found in the Pleistocene–Holocene Laguna de Tagua Tagua Formation of Chile. It was large for a coot, comparable in size to the extant <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_coot">horned coot</a> (<i>F. cornuta</i>), and potentially had limited flight capabilities due to its size.</p><p>Meanwhile, to maintain consistency with the current taxonomy of extant cranes, the Pleistocene Cuban flightless crane "<i>Grus</i>" <i>cubensis</i> was <a href="https://mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4780.1.1">transferred</a> to the genus <i>Antigone</i>, which includes its probable close relatives such as the sarus (<i>A. antigone</i>) and sandhill (<i>A. canadensis</i>) cranes.<br /></p><p><b>Charadriiforms</b> <br />The origins of charadriiforms are murky, but 2020 saw the publication of a new taxon that may bear on the subject. That new taxon was <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.559929/full"><i>Nahmavis</i></a> from the Eocene Green River Formation of the United States, and it is known from a partial skeleton (missing the forelimbs and shoulder girdle) with preserved feathers. This specimen had previously been reported in popular books and websites as a potential close relative of the seriema-like bird <i>Salmila</i> from the Eocene of Germany, but the describers of <i>Nahmavis</i> instead find it to be more similar to possible stem-charadriiform <i>Scandiavis</i> from the Eocene of Denmark.</p><p>In the new study, <i>Nahmavis</i> and <i>Scandiavis</i> were indeed sometimes found as stem-charadriiforms. However, other analyses in this paper placed them as gruiforms instead. It is unfortunate that forelimb material is unknown for both <i>Nahmavis</i> and <i>Scandiavis</i>, seeing as the forelimb bones of charadriiforms are often distinctive. For what it's worth, playing around with the phylogenetic dataset used in this study, I've found that <i>Nahmavis</i> and <i>Scandiavis</i> are consistently recovered as stem-charadriiforms when the internal topology of crown charadriiforms is constrained to the results of molecular studies. In any case, the holotype of <i>Nahmavis</i> is a lovely specimen, and it's good to see it described at last.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DioPPLvHRkMRwaPnAkAiHxqWnr36QJSzKZDxy_s7w_TsWypviG4onxIhojGNfBqHOmetFWF_KK8DeA9Csy_DuzUbm_SZGHtIqBahqcq9U4iObxdj0lpil4D2Gg6ichmy9kYoPLXv-L8/s2707/fevo-08-559929-g001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="2707" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DioPPLvHRkMRwaPnAkAiHxqWnr36QJSzKZDxy_s7w_TsWypviG4onxIhojGNfBqHOmetFWF_KK8DeA9Csy_DuzUbm_SZGHtIqBahqcq9U4iObxdj0lpil4D2Gg6ichmy9kYoPLXv-L8/w400-h164/fevo-08-559929-g001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Nahmavi</i>s, from <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.559929/full">Musser and Clarke (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Among crown charadriiforms, a new species described last year was the recently extinct sandpiper <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa115/5959945"><i>Prosobonia sauli</i></a> from Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Islands. The genus <i>Prosobonia</i> also includes at least three other extinct sandpiper species as well as the extant Tuamotu sandpiper (<i>P. parvirostris</i>). Unlike typical sandpipers, the members of this genus are not migratory, and are confined to various remote Polynesian islands. Compared to the Tuamotu sandpiper, <i>P. sauli</i> had a wider, straighter bill tip and longer hindlimbs.<br /></p><p><b>Natatoreans</b> <br />As yet, it appears that no one has formally suggested in technical literature what name should be used for the clade uniting phaethontimorphs (tropicbirds, sunbitterns, and kagus) and aequornitheans ("core waterbirds", such as penguins, petrels, pelicans, etc.). I have provisionally settled on resurrecting the old name Natatores for this group, as it has been used in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/149/1/1/2630843">relatively recent literature</a> for a very similar assemblage of birds.</p><p>Fossil penguins have generally had a good showing in recent years, and 2020 added <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1497"><i>Eudyptes atatu</i></a> from the Pliocene Tangahoe Formation of New Zealand to the lineup. It is known from several specimens, and the holotype is a partial skeleton that includes much of the skull and shoulder girdle. <i>E. atatu</i> was closely related to the extant <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_penguin">crested penguins</a>, but its beak was shallower in depth compared to the fairly tall beak seen in the living members of this genus.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Two other new natatoreans belonged to a different group of wing-propelled divers, the extinct plotopterids, which were probably close relatives of boobies and cormorants. The new plotopterids <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/paleontological-research/volume-24/issue-4/2020PR005/New-Species-of-Plotopteridae-Aves-from-the-Oligocene-Ashiya-Group/10.2517/2020PR005.short"><i>Empeirodytes</i> and <i>Stenornis</i></a> both come from the Oligocene of Japan and are known from isolated coracoids, with <i>Stenornis</i> being the larger of the two.<br /></p><p><b>Telluravians</b> <br />Whereas no raptorial telluravians were named in 2019, 2020 turned out to be <i>extremely</i> productive in the realm of new raptors. Two New World vultures were named from the Quaternary of Cuba, <a href="https://mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4780.1.1"><i>Coragyps seductus</i></a> (which was similar to the extant black vulture, <i>Coragyps atratus</i>) and <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-140/issue-3/bboc.v140i3.2020.a6/A-new-fossil-vulture-Cathartidae--Cathartes-from-Quaternary-asphalt/10.25226/bboc.v140i3.2020.a6.full"><i>Cathartes emsliei</i></a> (the smallest member of the genus <i>Cathartes</i>, which also includes the turkey vulture, <i>C. aura</i>, among others).</p><p>The Quaternary of Cuba gave us three new hawk species as well, these being <a href="https://mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4780.1.1"><i>Gigantohierax itchei</i>, <i>Buteogallus royi</i>, and <i>Buteo sanfelipensis</i></a>. <i>G. itchei</i> was the biggest of the three (though it wasn't as big as the type species of <i>Gigantohierax</i>, <i>G. suarezi</i>), whereas <i>B. sanfelipensis</i> was the smallest, being somewhat smaller than a red-tailed hawk (<i>Buteo jamaicensis</i>). From further back in geologic time, we got the large <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981120305319"><i>Vinchinavis</i></a> from the Miocene Toro Negro Formation of Argentina, represented by partial forearm bones. Even older was <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/schweiz/njbgeol/2020/00000297/00000002/art00005">?<i>Palaeoplancus dammanni</i></a> from the Eocene of the United States, known from a tarsometatarsus.</p><p>Arguably the most spectacular new accipitrid, however, was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01703-z"><i>Aviraptor</i></a> from the Oligocene of Poland. It wasn't spectacular due to its size—it was the smallest of the new accipitrids, about the same size as the aptly-named tiny hawk (<i>Accipiter superciliosus</i>). However, it is known from a nearly complete skeleton, a rarity among fossil accipitrids. Its combination of small body size and relatively long hindlimbs is commonly seen in extant accipitrids that hunt other birds, suggesting that it may have had similar habits. It may not be a coincidence that early hummingbirds and passeriforms are known to have lived in Europe at around the same time as <i>Aviraptor</i>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEegAu4b1mNL6LPch5Je3PwlO9r3Y9cQZ3NVAcqzIcI55lmr05EeSGFAnoFVBDMn4xL5tCW3f98ZKPOM9IE5FoonqNbqAQ3TmKU75YUd-Uza3QfDhvN_PUL4G6wXKYWQd2Iamremfcx4/s2048/114_2020_1703_Fig1_HTML.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEegAu4b1mNL6LPch5Je3PwlO9r3Y9cQZ3NVAcqzIcI55lmr05EeSGFAnoFVBDMn4xL5tCW3f98ZKPOM9IE5FoonqNbqAQ3TmKU75YUd-Uza3QfDhvN_PUL4G6wXKYWQd2Iamremfcx4/w400-h249/114_2020_1703_Fig1_HTML.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Aviraptor</i>, from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01703-z">Mayr and Hurum (2020)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The surge of new fossil raptors was not limited to vultures and hawks, as fossil owls had a very good year, too. There was the pygmy owl <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379120304947"><i>Glaucidium ireneae</i></a> from the Pliocene–Pleistocene of South Africa, the oldest unambiguous member of its genus from Africa. The Quaternary of Cuba contributed the small barn owl <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4830.3.4"><i>Tyto maniola</i></a> and the giant <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-140/issue-4/bboc.v140i4.2020.a3/Remarks-on-extinct-giant-owls-Strigidae-from-Cuba-with-description/10.25226/bboc.v140i4.2020.a3.full"><i>Ornimegalonyx ewingi</i></a>, the latter based on specimens previously assigned to the horned owl <i>Bubo osvaldoi</i>. Although <i>O. ewingi</i> was much smaller than the type species of <i>Ornimegalonyx</i>, <i>O. oteroi</i>, it was still larger than any living owl species. The remaining species of <i>Ornimegalonyx</i> (<i>O. acevedoi</i>, <i>O. gigas</i>, and <i>O. minor</i>), however, have been sunk into <i>O. oteroi</i>.</p><p>Another large owl was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-020-01756-x"><i>Asio ecuadoriensis</i></a> from the Pleistocene Cangagua Formation of Ecuador. Known from a couple of robust hindlimb bones, it was about the same size as a great horned owl (<i>Bubo virginianus</i>). Interestingly, its remains were found in association with the bones of smaller owls (and small mammals) that appear to have been etched by stomach acid, suggesting that it may have preyed on other owl species.</p><p>Numerous owls have been named from Paleogene fossil deposits, but most of these species are based on very limited material. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2020.1769116"><i>Primoptynx</i></a> from the Eocene Willwood Formation of the United States is known from a partial skeleton, making it one of the most completely known Paleogene owls. Like accipitrids, but unlike extant owls, <i>Primoptynx</i> had enlarged claws on its first and second toes, perhaps implying that it captured prey in a similar manner to accipitrids (maybe making use of the infamous <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028964">"raptor prey restraint"</a> method that may have also been employed by dromaeosaurids).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvbezaTHHWs4tbNQBsgr-fuuytMWkEnT2OPlA_2k2UK7rsHrd1wNP9pOWvzCnvdIAVzuT6y2c2bJUiISFG9XlxITIzgnlWM3iDRy8AZrzk3L3Hgwy8S571JH-gj1anigD9_I4MuY7Ei4/s1500/primoptynx.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1500" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvbezaTHHWs4tbNQBsgr-fuuytMWkEnT2OPlA_2k2UK7rsHrd1wNP9pOWvzCnvdIAVzuT6y2c2bJUiISFG9XlxITIzgnlWM3iDRy8AZrzk3L3Hgwy8S571JH-gj1anigD9_I4MuY7Ei4/w400-h236/primoptynx.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toes of <i>Primoptynx</i>, from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1769116">Mayr et al. (2020)</a>. The claws on the first and second toes are particularly large.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Moving away from raptors for a moment, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/137/3/ukaa023/5834542"><i>Jacamatia</i></a> from the Oligocene of France was a tiny <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piciformes">piciform</a> known from a partial wing skeleton. Its describers suggest that it was closely related to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacamar">jacamars</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffbird">puffbirds</a>, which are otherwise poorly represented in the fossil record. It may have belonged to the Sylphornithidae, a group of similarly tiny Paleogene piciforms, though very little overlapping material is available for comparison.</p><p>On the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australaves">australavian</a> side of Telluraves, we meet the small caracara <a href="https://mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4780.1.1"><i>Milvago diazfrancoi</i></a>, yet another new raptor from the Quaternary of Cuba. The remaining new fossil australavians of 2020 were all songbirds: the corvid <i><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379120304947">Corvus bragai</a></i> from the Pliocene–Pleistocene of South Africa (the oldest known corvid from Africa) and the New World blackbirds <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/wjo/article-abstract/132/1/91/441539/New-species-of-troupial-Icterus-and-cowbird"><i>Icterus turmalis</i> and <i>Molothrus resinosus</i></a> from the Pleistocene Talara tar seeps of Peru.</p><p>Some additional revisions of note concerning fossil songbirds: the holotype of "<i>Pliocalcarius</i>" from the Pliocene of Central Asia, originally described as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longspur">longspur</a>, was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030120020124">reinterpreted</a> as a lark and transferred to the horned lark genus <i>Eremophila</i>, whereas "<i>Eremophila</i>" <i>prealpestris</i> from the Pleistocene of Bulgaria was argued to have been more similar to a different lark genus, <i>Ammomanes</i>, and removed from <i>Eremophila</i>.</p>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-15998274271200638292021-01-01T14:47:00.014-08:002021-12-31T20:35:44.296-08:00Review of 2020<p>Wow, a record low in annual post count for this blog. It hasn't been for a lack of topics to write about; I had wanted to blog about estimating neoavian divergence times, the fossil record of shorebirds, the many origins of flightlessness in waterfowl, and more, but I never got around to doing so. Time will tell if I ever do. In part, I've been inactive here because I've been busy. The pandemic hasn't slowed down my academic activities much (for which I'm thankful), so I've still had my hands full working on research projects, reviewing manuscripts, and attending conferences. Those conferences went well for most part, but the switch to online formats meant that I felt less motivated to blog about them, further contributing to the lack of activity here. (Although come to think of it, a post about how online and in-person conference experiences differ might have been interesting...) I also wasn't able to make any new trips to zoos or museums, so there weren't any posts about those either.</p><p>My neglect of the blog notwithstanding, I did find the opportunity to work on a few other non-academic projects in 2020. In June, I helped put together the Dino Nerds for Black Lives livestream, and even now I'm flabbergasted that we managed to <a href="https://a-dinosaur-a-day.com/post/621608485635997696/we-did-it-over-fifty-two-hours-we-have">pull it off</a>. For those who missed or would like to re-experience the livestream, most of the segments have been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQxY0pbNq1IDyWI5922mG7DWBly6Nbw2t">made available</a> online. In addition to organizing and hosting parts of the event, I also presented a segment on the stream with my longtime friend and collaborator <a href="https://twitter.com/KilldeerCheer">Joan Turmelle</a>, in which we did a one-time <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukK4hewW7QU">revival</a> of our old radio show <a href="https://incidentsandreflections.tumblr.com/">Incidents and Reflections</a>. </p><p>Joan and I enjoyed doing the radio show again, so we later started a new podcast, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQ0Kh8vlPeY3YsYW3hHmvg">Through Time and Clades</a>. Strictly speaking, our show also includes visual aids, so it's not quite a conventional podcast. We currently operate on a rotating schedule. For the first episode of every month, we discuss a selection of notable <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh6-LEFuNb4n3uu8j20GUT3Gg0KOc6gkq">new studies</a> on natural history that came out during the previous month. Following that, we switch back and forth each week between two different series until the next month rolls around. One series, led by Joan, discusses <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh6-LEFuNb4klU-P8ascsyRdPnYK9YLJe">human origins</a>, whereas the other series, led by me, discusses the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh6-LEFuNb4lkesLbV5GFVMohaoZEiYk0">diversity and evolution of crown-group birds</a> (and thus might be of particular interest to readers of this blog).<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6BffJ4sHbGqD1oRjHOAwcwyVcDGPdFLmE9bR1Le8Ahd1oGF8LR9V4Xae2RuXtkuopK_h4UbDIevQuoEyEOF1ap7H8KFxTXorZGKEEmgsXQ2RlCXcrRz_3A0QHlCuhuVjlOJfDL9rhfU/s960/Dinosaurs%252C+the+Second+Chapter+Part+1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6BffJ4sHbGqD1oRjHOAwcwyVcDGPdFLmE9bR1Le8Ahd1oGF8LR9V4Xae2RuXtkuopK_h4UbDIevQuoEyEOF1ap7H8KFxTXorZGKEEmgsXQ2RlCXcrRz_3A0QHlCuhuVjlOJfDL9rhfU/w400-h225/Dinosaurs%252C+the+Second+Chapter+Part+1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The title slide for the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybwt557s0PM&list=PLh6-LEFuNb4lkesLbV5GFVMohaoZEiYk0">first episode</a> of "Dinosaurs, the Second Chapter", my podcast series on crown bird evolution.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Possibly the most exciting personal achievement for me in 2020, however, was the fact that I helped name a new dinosaur in <i>Nature</i>! That dinosaur was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0"><i>Asteriornis maastrichtensis</i></a>, one of the few clear examples of a Cretaceous crown bird, and the holotype includes one of the best-preserved fossil bird skulls yet found. As I wrote about <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/03/catch-falling-star-meet-asteriornis.html">previously</a>, the discovery of this new species was highly serendipitous, and I don't expect that I'll have the chance to take part in such a high-profile study again anytime soon.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCM55PtBY5kmd6npKAnOkvp2owCjZ8-CH4K6eoIrdtsSpgnsdSpyWMYE_Io73WuNCrgSS0bAIginFpPC3pnjeZDJMliESBPaCtllBXwAlgPXLnMqFfpgHNe-njq-AqUFW3MhXH_yUsMw/s1799/asteriornisskull-lateral.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="1799" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCM55PtBY5kmd6npKAnOkvp2owCjZ8-CH4K6eoIrdtsSpgnsdSpyWMYE_Io73WuNCrgSS0bAIginFpPC3pnjeZDJMliESBPaCtllBXwAlgPXLnMqFfpgHNe-njq-AqUFW3MhXH_yUsMw/w320-h238/asteriornisskull-lateral.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of the holotype of <i>Asteriornis maastrichtensis</i>, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0">Field et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The description of <i>Asteriornis</i> might have been my favorite study from last year (if I may say so myself), but it was far from alone. Despite the state of the world, plenty of new maniraptoran research continued to be published throughout 2020, so let's take a look. As always, my coverage of papers about modern birds is necessarily going to be incomplete, so I put more focus on those that have more direct connections to paleontology, such as studies on anatomy, ontogeny, and higher-order phylogeny.<br /></p><p>In January, African gray parrots were reported to <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)31469-1">voluntarily help</a> members of their own species obtain food rewards. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1294">Eggshells</a> from the Late Cretaceous of Europe thought to belong to geckos were reinterpreted as maniraptoran in origin. Avian <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13160">paleoneurology</a> was reviewed. Seabirds from the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2019.1697277">Pleistocene of Japan</a>, birds from the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/8268/">Eocene of Antarctica</a>, a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/2/46">partial skeleton</a> of a Paleocene penguin, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/let.12366">preserved skin</a> in <i>Palaeeudyptes</i>, and the <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-020-0351-8">vocal tract anatomy</a> of king penguins were described. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.12812">Reversible outer toes</a> were reported in gray-headed and lesser fish eagles. Red-breasted nuthatches were shown to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14414-w">vary their alarm calls</a> according to eavesdropped signals from other birds. New studies came out on how flight feathers <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6475/293">stick to one another</a>, the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/1/34/htm">brain structure</a> of extinct avialans, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-1070-4">convergent evolution</a> in birds, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13158">pelvic ontogeny</a> in greater rheas, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0227361">life history changes</a> in birds from the La Brea tar pits, the evolution of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.13893">melanosomes</a> in hummingbirds, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/129/3/543/5710861">evolutionary rates</a> in passeriforms, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jzs.12355">evolutionary drivers</a> in <i>Acanthiza</i> thornbills, and the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2400">phylogeny</a> of <i>Turdus</i> thrushes. Newly-named maniraptors included the microraptorian dromaeosaurid <i><a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24343">Wulong bohaiensis</a></i>, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6474/167">the Taliabu myzomela (<i>Myzomela wahe</i>), the Peleng fantail (<i>Rhipidura habibiei</i>), the Taliabu grasshopper warbler (<i>Locustella portenta</i>), the Peleng leaf warbler (<i>Phylloscopus suaramerdu</i>), and the Taliabu leaf warbler (<i>Phylloscopus emilsalimi</i>)</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1XJi1fo5UTt0yReotRjqij5x9jnfgF_pWZFK70L5DpQ40eNMDqQcyYH1lUaG8lKRENR48Zd3vWbEKyPT2YOLvtMZXdUOIQ6OEhPEfahnGMjRZYS59SmP6bjAO92Mrziqhb-FDnwAyTk/s2048/ar24343-fig-0001-m.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2025" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1XJi1fo5UTt0yReotRjqij5x9jnfgF_pWZFK70L5DpQ40eNMDqQcyYH1lUaG8lKRENR48Zd3vWbEKyPT2YOLvtMZXdUOIQ6OEhPEfahnGMjRZYS59SmP6bjAO92Mrziqhb-FDnwAyTk/s320/ar24343-fig-0001-m.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Wulong bohaiensis</i>, from <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24343">Poust et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In February, a horned lark <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-0806-7">preserved in permafrost</a> was identified. A series of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1342937X20300502">isolated feathers</a> and an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667119304598">avialan wing</a> were reported from Burmese amber. (As I'll mention under March, Burmese amber would become a particularly hot topic later in the year.) A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1726908">new specimen</a> of <i>Chirostenotes</i> and a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/3/90">paraortygid</a> from the Uinta Formation were described. Evidence of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379119306857">dietary plasticity</a> in passenger pigeons was presented. Convergent evolution between the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58843-5">syrinxes</a> of hummingbirds and songbirds was documented. The vocal sequences of African penguins were suggested to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0589">conform to linguistic laws</a>. The <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4732.1.2">nomenclature</a> of <i>Lophorina</i> birds-of-paradise was reexamined. New studies came out on the <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/palaios/article-abstract/35/2/67/580965/EXPERIMENTAL-MATURATION-OF-FEATHERS-IMPLICATIONS">taphonomy </a>of feathers, inferring lifestyle from paravian <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211173">claw curvature</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13153">locomotion</a> in dromaeosaurids, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2022-5">diversity</a> of island birds, the origin of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1113-x">complex sociality</a> in birds, <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-020-0738-1">introgression</a> in the origin of the domestic chicken, the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/2/70">rails</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790320300294">waxbills</a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12820">shape</a> of great auk eggs, the evolution of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.13604">ornamentation</a> in gulls, <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/6/jeb217265">hearing</a> in great cormorants, the <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/3/jeb214809">aerodynamic role</a> of raptor tails, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.21111">wing and tail musculature</a> of barn owls, the evolution of plumage coloration in <a href="https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-020-1577-y">lorikeets</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jav.02404">Australasian robins</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mec.15377">hybridization</a> among American crow lineages, the processing of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166432819311787">encounters with dead conspecifics</a> in American crows, <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.13180">social learning</a> in Eurasian blue tits, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-1092-y">craniofacial integration</a> in Hawaiian honeycreepers and Darwin's finches. Newly-named maniraptors included the Cretaceous euornithean <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1731805"><i>Khinganornis hulunbuirensis</i></a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/137/2/ukaa003/5743506">the white-winged tapaculo (<i>Scytalopus krabbei</i>), the jalca tapaculo (<i>Scytalopus frankeae</i>), and the Ampay tapaculo (<i>Scytalopus whitneyi</i>)</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNn5mOfWCBHpHMSjwMNwqPHE7-tZj1529VttOAAxnN-T1d-3DQ7EeLMOz25eZDBOWgbYmOhbYOLrsi8LZn4Enyc2-NdxM_4f_mCYfE8s5h85nXRkSPKJWLeeEVzfowO4KdLnmT1ECrdM/s946/42003_2020_806_Fig1_HTML.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNn5mOfWCBHpHMSjwMNwqPHE7-tZj1529VttOAAxnN-T1d-3DQ7EeLMOz25eZDBOWgbYmOhbYOLrsi8LZn4Enyc2-NdxM_4f_mCYfE8s5h85nXRkSPKJWLeeEVzfowO4KdLnmT1ECrdM/s320/42003_2020_806_Fig1_HTML.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pleistocene horned lark recovered from permafrost, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-0806-7">Dussex et al. (2020)</a>. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In March, a special volume on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-27223-4">evolution of feathers</a> was published. A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1302">large oviraptorosaur</a> from the Hell Creek Formation was described. The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cne.24896">sensory systems</a> of birds were reviewed. The Vaurie's nightjar was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10336-020-01767-8">reevaluated</a> as possibly belonging to the European nightjar. Evidence for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14695-1">statistical inference</a> in kea was presented. A new <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4747.1.7">classification</a> for fluvicoline tyrant flycatchers was proposed. The supposed Pliocene longspur "<i>Pliocalcarius</i>" was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030120020124">reinterpreted</a> as a species of the lark genus <i>Eremophila</i>. Red-winged blackbirds were shown to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-0875-7">eavesdrop</a> on the alarm calls of yellow warblers. New studies came out on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018220301498">snout morphology</a> in dromaeosaurids, the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11692-020-09495-w">modularity</a> of the avian neck, the phylogeny of <a href="https://avianres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40657-020-00194-w">junglefowl</a>, <a href="https://mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4748.3.11">trochilin hummingbirds</a>, and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/137/2/ukz077/5810864"><i>Scytalopus</i></a><a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/137/2/ukz077/5810864"> tapaculos</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joa.13180">lung morphometrics </a>in high-altitude waterfowl, the anatomy of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13188">rictal bristles</a> in strisoreans, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/bill-disparity-and-feeding-strategies-among-fossil-and-modern-penguins/F2BB8378F8C034A32CAA02D050E48E5E">bill disparity</a> in penguins, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30108-1">evolution</a> of migratory behavior in tyrant flycatchers, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044523120300309">phylogenetic signal</a> in cowbird skulls. Newly-named maniraptors included the dromaeosaurid <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-61480-7"><i>Dineobellator notohesperus</i></a>, the Miocene pheasant <i><a href="https://www.nmnhs.com/historia-naturalis-bulgarica/article.php?id=000443000412020">Phasianus bulgaricus</a></i>, the Miocene sandgrouse <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.00059/full"><i>Linxiavis inaquosus</i></a>, the Pleistocene owl <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-020-01756-x"><i>Asio ecuadoriensis</i></a>, and... yes, the Cretaceous pan-galloanseran <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0"><i>Asteriornis maastrichtensis</i></a>. Then there was the maniraptor that wasn't: <i>Oculudentavis khaungraae</i>, originally <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2068-4">described</a> as an avialan based on a skull preserved in Burmese amber, was quickly <a href="http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2020/03/oculudentavis-is-not-theropod.html">met with</a> <a href="https://theropoda.blogspot.com/2020/03/dubbi-sullo-stato-dinosauriano-e-aviano.html">skepticism</a> regarding its phylogenetic affinities. The paper was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2553-9">retracted</a> in July, and a peer-reviewed study reassessing the specimen as a lizard was later <a href="http://www.ivpp.ac.cn/cbw/gjzdwxb/pressonline/202010/t20201028_5723330.html">released</a> in October. In addition to the taxonomic controversy, the publicity that <i>Oculudentavis</i> received also sparked discussions about the <a href="https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-ugly-truth-behind-oculudentavis.html">human rights violations</a> that often underlie the procurement of Burmese amber, resulting in official statements on the subject from scientific journals and organizations like the <a href="http://vertpaleo.org/Society-News/SVP-Paleo-News/Society-News,-Press-Releases/On-Burmese-Amber-and-Fossil-Repositories-SVP-Memb.aspx">Society of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>. Having been previously <a href="https://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-extinct-maniraptors-of-2019.html">guilty</a> myself of excitedly discussing Burmese amber discoveries without acknowledging the associated ethical issues, it's a topic that I've tried to treat with appropriate circumspection going forward.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3YW5nhAhiDghG4yLFuCVff1kfKiX7auJLUANdW7VvpT1JW9KqyFtuz-px0fsXKjswiORVQea9oj-3Cg2aEe16sDD3YUbixCQCuYNm2tzpfp7uLZGhkZkINKH_VQc3HN8Xyw_HdmRKIs/s800/800px-Agelaius_phoeniceus_0110_taxo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3YW5nhAhiDghG4yLFuCVff1kfKiX7auJLUANdW7VvpT1JW9KqyFtuz-px0fsXKjswiORVQea9oj-3Cg2aEe16sDD3YUbixCQCuYNm2tzpfp7uLZGhkZkINKH_VQc3HN8Xyw_HdmRKIs/s320/800px-Agelaius_phoeniceus_0110_taxo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-winged blackbird, photographed by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agelaius_phoeniceus_0110_taxo.jpg">Walter Siegmund</a>, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In April, red-billed oxpeckers were shown to <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30353-5">warn</a> black rhinos of approaching humans. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2020.1748133">new specimen</a> of <i>Longusunguis</i> and an <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/163/htm">owl</a> from the Jebel Qatrani Formation were described. An <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/pe/article/view/palaeoentomology.3.2.11">enantiornithean foot</a> was reported from, well... Burmese amber. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-0914-4">Peramorphic features</a> were identified in avian skulls. New studies came out on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12862-020-01611-w">ultramicrostructure</a> of paravian teeth, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30430-9">evolution</a> of avian brain size, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/173">humeral disparity</a> in birds, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/37/9/2465/5818884">genetic basis</a> of avian foot feathering, the development of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63264-5">spinal nerves</a> in avian tails and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13197">olfactory system</a> in chickens, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/130/2/268/5815707">bone histology</a> of elephant birds, the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/164">adaptive radiation</a> of neoavians, the phylogeny of <a href="http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7102">turacos</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/137/3/ukaa016/5820899">chlorophonias and euphonias</a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.13823">diversification</a> of babblers, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.13630">adaptations to migration</a> in the flight feathers of European robins, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.13982">speciation rates</a> in tanagers.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1oCZunkt2KoQu2Swxx4AXpwxUWow39USInGJTyFIn_g6PTAtAe_oNkNWjyCFPwr8Ko8X1RbmQp9GeDexAyUaTJOQ6SIftjD5gzZY9SYQ4Vj0TUoF6dZwCRTJ1HowbV2UNjmu4bo9Fp8/s2012/oxpeckerrhino.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1844" data-original-width="2012" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1oCZunkt2KoQu2Swxx4AXpwxUWow39USInGJTyFIn_g6PTAtAe_oNkNWjyCFPwr8Ko8X1RbmQp9GeDexAyUaTJOQ6SIftjD5gzZY9SYQ4Vj0TUoF6dZwCRTJ1HowbV2UNjmu4bo9Fp8/s320/oxpeckerrhino.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram showing black rhinos reacting to approaching humans when warned by red-billed oxpeckers, from <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2820%2930353-5">Plotz and Linklater (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In May, giant petrels were documented <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-020-02687-2">attacking</a> sperm whales. An <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2019.1739060">oviraptorosaur specimen</a> preserved with associated eggs was reported. Evidence of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003101822030225X">ontogenetic dietary shifts</a> in <i>Deinonychus</i> and <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/20/eaba0187">iridescent plumage</a> in <i>Calciavis</i> were presented. Avian wing shape was found to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16313-6">correlate</a> with a variety of environmental and ecological factors. A possible case of a common cuckoo being <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-vertebrate-biology/volume-69/issue-1/jvb.20027/Caught-on-camera--circumstantial-evidence-for-fatal-mobbing-of/10.25225/jvb.20027.full">killed</a> by mobbing from a great reed warbler was recorded. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232179">New specimens</a> of <i>Anhinga pannonica</i> were described. Avian scavengers were suggested to use <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6366">auditory cues</a> to help locate food. The <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/proceedings-of-the-biological-society-of-washington/volume-133/issue-1/20-00005/A-revised-classification-of-the-Xolmiini-Aves--Tyrannidae/10.2988/20-00005.short">classification</a> of xolmiin tyrant flycatchers was revised. Black-capped chickadees were shown to be able to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/137/3/ukaa028/5837997">identify</a> female conspecifics by call. New studies came out on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019566712030207X">pelvic morphology</a> of caenagnathid oviraptorosaurs, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120301828">cranial osteology</a> of <i>Sapeornis</i>, the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/5/62">anatomy</a> of <i>Parahesperornis</i>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-63181-7">scaling trends</a> in avian alular feathers, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16257-x">evolution</a> of avian developmental durations, the development of the avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/191/1/302/5848187">vertebral column</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64786-8">webbed feet</a> in waterbirds, and <a href="https://dev.biologists.org/content/147/9/dev188821">flight feather positioning</a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6342">genetic basis</a> of reduced lifespans in flightless birds, the phylogeny of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03014223.2020.1766520">kiwi</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/12/7/1131/5848646">lorikeets</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/69/5/820/5838197">bowerbirds</a>, and <a href="https://www.senckenberg.de/en/wissenschaft/publikationen/wissenschaftliche-zeitschriften/vertebrate-zoology/archiv/vz-70-2-10/">nuthatches</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0322-z">introgression</a> within bean geese, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0040">diversification</a> of frogmouths, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14024">biomechanical diversity</a> in kingfishers. Newly-named maniraptors included the basal paravian <i><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01682-1">Overoraptor chimentoi</a></i>, the basal avialan <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1367912020301826"><i>Kompsornis longicaudus</i></a>, <a href="https://mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4780.1.1">the recently extinct New World vulture <i>Coragyps seductus</i>, the recently extinct accipitrids <i>Gigantohierax itchei</i>, <i>Buteogallus royi</i>, and <i>Buteo sanfelipensis</i>, the recently extinct caracara <i>Milvago diazfrancoi</i></a>, the Oligocene piciform <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/137/3/ukaa023/5834542"><i>Jacamatia luberonensis</i></a>, <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/wjo/article-abstract/132/1/91/441539/New-species-of-troupial-Icterus-and-cowbird">the Pleistocene troupial <i>Icterus turmalis</i>, and the Pleistocene cowbird <i>Molothrus resinosus</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDj3dJ_wNJtUGz2bu7oQpCkFRgK9MVshM3AvOhvqVTNSZYLh9X8p8jR-OGef6pHfqZL-EL9yauaBsSGsRdMbLTPgIfEBGpXSl0CNoVZIDL7fah9ADkHyLGKYwC85ur88KMpv0Moo7_SM/s1728/300_2020_2687_Fig2_HTML.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDj3dJ_wNJtUGz2bu7oQpCkFRgK9MVshM3AvOhvqVTNSZYLh9X8p8jR-OGef6pHfqZL-EL9yauaBsSGsRdMbLTPgIfEBGpXSl0CNoVZIDL7fah9ADkHyLGKYwC85ur88KMpv0Moo7_SM/s320/300_2020_2687_Fig2_HTML.webp" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern giant petrel attacking sperm whale, from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-020-02687-2">Towers and Gasco (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In June, the osteology of penguins and plotopterids was <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jzs.12400">compared</a>. The <a href="https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2020/3060-osteology-of-rahonavis">osteology</a> of <i>Rahonavis</i> was described in detail. An <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2019-0202">ornithuran</a> from the Dinosaur Park Formation, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1779252">new specimen</a> of <i>Struthio karatheodoris</i>, and a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66149-9">tyrannidan passeriform</a> from the Oligocene of France were reported. The <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0668">development</a> of avian flight behaviors and the role of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2019.0495">extended parenting</a> in the evolution of corvid cognition were reviewed. Broad-tailed hummingbirds were shown to be able to <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/26/15112">disciminate</a> non-spectral colors. The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65156-0">endocast</a> of the night parrot was described. New studies came out on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pala.12494">chemical preservation</a> in the tail feathers of <i>Anchiornis</i>, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378595520302884">scaling</a> of the avian middle ear, the <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6496/1270">genetic basis</a> of sexual dichromatism in birds, <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24477">casque ontogeny</a> in southern cassowaries, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320301676">phylogeny</a> of hill partridges, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0349-y">origin</a> of the domestic chicken, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6298">convergent responses</a> to flightlessness in rails, <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/55774">flight efficiency</a> in auks, the <a href="https://www.senckenberg.de/en/wissenschaft/publikationen/wissenschaftliche-zeitschriften/vertebrate-zoology/archiv/vz-70-3-01/">mandibulosphenoidal joint</a> in penguins and procellariiforms, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/27/15724">inbreeding avoidance</a> in long-tailed tits, and the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/9249/">evolution</a> of <i>Aimophila</i> and <i>Peucaea</i> New World sparrows.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxazP7QW8Q7QaAdguvvbyJJaIHR1f4OH7aXffETOeWZNN_sWjLv5L-gPNnGYYFV6ECMy2JWdMzPdTENM-ha75jd1myVr19yP0ItS0syA3LtWQdCBxR0Mh89vXtZWwNaNNC5gDYH_Zc8M/s2048/ar24477-fig-0010-m.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1573" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxazP7QW8Q7QaAdguvvbyJJaIHR1f4OH7aXffETOeWZNN_sWjLv5L-gPNnGYYFV6ECMy2JWdMzPdTENM-ha75jd1myVr19yP0ItS0syA3LtWQdCBxR0Mh89vXtZWwNaNNC5gDYH_Zc8M/s320/ar24477-fig-0010-m.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ontogeny of the casque in the southern cassowary, from <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24477">Green and Gignac (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In July, <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/29/eabb9393">high-frequency hearing</a> was documented in Ecuadorian hillstars. Evidence of <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30862-9">sequential molting</a> in <i>Microraptor</i> was presented. A <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235078">juvenile dromaeosaurid</a> from the Prince Creek Formation, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120302639">new specimen</a> of <i>Protopteryx</i>, and a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-020-01799-0">crane</a> from the Miocene of Germany were described. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-01131-9">Soft tissue analyses</a> were used to support the identification of ovarian follicle preservation in Mesozoic avialans. A <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2020.00264/full">partial enantiornithean specimen</a> was reported from (one more time...) Burmese amber. The <a href="https://bmczool.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40850-020-00057-3">syrinx</a> of the black jacobin was visualized. A sense of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1269">numerical ordinality</a> was found in rufous hummingbirds. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1084952119301004">Visual adaptations</a> in raptors were reviewed. The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2020.1779596">classification</a> of lorikeets was revised. The songs of thrush nightingales were found to share<a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30924-6"> categorical rhythms</a> with human music. Birdsong learning was shown to be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000334722030155X">beneficial</a> to both tutees and tutors in song sparrows. New studies came out on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14051">variation</a> in Mesozoic feathers (note: based on Burmese amber specimens), <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/191/1/87/5868466">facial pneumaticity</a> in dromaeosaurids, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13253">endocranial anatomy</a> of <i>Velociraptor</i>, sub-surface <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0309">foot kinematics</a> in birds, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article-abstract/131/1/192/5877023">morphology</a> of avian flight feathers, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825220303160">evolution</a> of ostriches, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-68070-7">eggshell coloration</a> in tinamous, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/30/17884">flight performance</a> in Andean condors, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzs.12408">phylogeny</a> of <i>Dendrocolaptes</i> ovenbirds, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evo.14057">host mimicry</a> in viduids, and <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30771-5">cultural evolution</a> in the song of white-throated sparrows. Newly-named maniraptors included the alvarezsaur <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120302469"><i>Trierarchuncus prairiensis</i></a>, the oviraptorosaur <a href="https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/29362"><i>Citipes</i></a> (a new genus for "<i>Leptorhynchos</i>" <i>elegans</i>), the Pleistocene pheasant <a href="https://www.nmnhs.com/historia-naturalis-bulgarica/article.php?id=000446000412020"><i>Chauvireria bulgarica</i></a>, the recently extinct pigeon <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4810.3.1"><i>Tongoenas burleyi</i></a>, the Eocene owl <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2020.1769116"><i>Primoptynx poliotauros</i></a>, <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4817.1.1">the Ayacucho antpitta (<i>Grallaria ayacuchensis</i>), the Oxapampa antpitta (<i>Grallaria centralis</i>), the Puno antpitta (<i>Grallaria sinaensis</i>), the Chamí antpitta (<i>Grallaria alvarezi</i>), the Graves's antpitta (<i>Grallaria gravesi</i>), and the O'Neill's antpitta (<i>Grallaria oneilli</i>)</a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJxtsJo-KpSxio6kiNWATsXCrTrZuibEU8MCkBQMuR5ma2XkUgOhgbYIDYg_SxfV8o1l9ZSx7xCln6pAtDFrJSObgG9IRXOvNmQpo-U4r-hjP-nILYifMr0PicNF-DdhxdM4biQJUf9k/s750/microraptormolt.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJxtsJo-KpSxio6kiNWATsXCrTrZuibEU8MCkBQMuR5ma2XkUgOhgbYIDYg_SxfV8o1l9ZSx7xCln6pAtDFrJSObgG9IRXOvNmQpo-U4r-hjP-nILYifMr0PicNF-DdhxdM4biQJUf9k/s320/microraptormolt.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preserved gap in wing feathers of <i>Microraptor</i>, interpreted as indicative of molting pattern, from <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2820%2930862-9">Kiat et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In August, a <a href="http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7237">special volume</a> on pennaraptoran paleontology was published. The <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30999-4">potential for powered flight</a> was assessed in Mesozoic maniraptors. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120302834">Expanded sternal ribs</a> were documented in <i>Jeholornis</i>. The birds from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699520300693">Eocene of the Geiseltal</a> and avian <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110218-025023">macroevolution</a> were reviewed. Large brains were shown to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14087">linked</a> to increased lifespan in birds. Fork-tailed flycatchers were found to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article-abstract/60/5/1147/5890484">produce sounds</a> using their wing feathers. Red-billed queleas were reported to be able to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69997-7">tolerate</a> higher temperatures than any other bird. New studies came out on <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000801">rates</a> of skull evolution in birds (and other dinosaurs), the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.14075">correlation</a> of down feather morphology with habitat and temperature, <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24504">squamosal morphology</a> in birds, the phylogeny of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-article/doi/10.1093/molbev/msaa191/5891114">crown birds</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12441">pheasants</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/9/327">elanine kites</a>, the evolution of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18038-y">host use</a> in avian brood parasites and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.6606">breeding plumages</a> in New World warblers, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.201185">flight behavior</a> of Anna's hummingbirds through waterfalls, the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/36/22303">diversification</a> of penguins, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/12/10/1895/5889951">genetic basis</a> of nocturnal adaptations in owls, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69868-1">cranial anatomy</a> of <i>Otus murivorus</i>, and <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/eap.2219">ecosystem engineering</a> by superb lyrebirds. Newly-named maniraptors included the Pleistocene–Holocene coot <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981120303825"><i>Fulica montanei</i></a>, the Pliocene penguin <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1497"><i>Eudyptes atatu</i></a>, the Eocene accipitrid <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/schweiz/njbgeol/2020/00000297/00000002/art00005"><i>Palaeoplancus dammanni</i></a>, and the Pleistocene barn owl <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4830.3.4"><i>Tyto maniola</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGdXhVYG7qXdcSh1XQgryhpD1hQIdEo4KijNXsLfiI1WZmrm5UckZ4c_xWb0bqQfnJLBWTqUIaP1JyE4T26kwiWl8RAiAeyMnQzVHvIV7BPgQQkb5Iuv5bTwN2omKDSGURyVha7b7_kQ/s375/fx1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGdXhVYG7qXdcSh1XQgryhpD1hQIdEo4KijNXsLfiI1WZmrm5UckZ4c_xWb0bqQfnJLBWTqUIaP1JyE4T26kwiWl8RAiAeyMnQzVHvIV7BPgQQkb5Iuv5bTwN2omKDSGURyVha7b7_kQ/s320/fx1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogeny of paravians, with lineages potentially capable of powered flight highlighted, from <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2820%2930999-4">Pei et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In September, the isolated holotype feather of <i>Archaeopteryx</i> was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65336-y">argued</a> to indeed belong to <i>Archaeopteryx</i>, contrary to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37343-7">previous study</a> from 2019. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2020.1783278">new specimen</a> of <i>Piscivorenantiornis</i> was described. Avian endocasts were shown to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13285">reliable proxies</a> for the sizes of corresponding brain regions. A <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6511/eabc5534">cortex-like canonical circuit</a> in the avian forebrain was identified and a <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6511/1626">neural correlate</a> of sensory consciousness was reported in carrion crows. Avian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/137/4/ukaa060/5906268">plumage patterns</a> were reviewed. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0428">Extreme torpor</a> was documented in Andean hummingbirds. Breeding success was shown to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72521-6">correlate</a> with divorce in plovers. Azure-winged magpies were found to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73256-0">share food</a> with conspecifics depending on availability of food to the recipient. New studies came out on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73083-3">skull modularity</a> in birds (and other archosaurs), <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/principal-component-analysis-of-avian-hind-limb-and-foot-morphometrics-and-the-relationship-between-ecology-and-phylogeny/144C8D8E6E3ECD3A119A3AE7A5401FC2">hindlimb morphometrics</a> in avialans, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2020.00367/full">beak</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-01252-1">morphology</a> in <i>Confuciusornis</i>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21265">phylogenetic signal</a> in the lacrimal/ectethmoid of waterfowl, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13303">ossification sequences</a> in black-headed gulls and Eurasian reed warblers, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13322">vertebral pneumaticity</a><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13322"> and serial variation</a> in storks, the <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-020-00377-7">evolution</a> of growth patterns in passeriforms, and the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302347">phylogeny</a> of stipplethroats. Newly-named maniraptors included the Pleistocene–Holocene New World vulture <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-140/issue-3/bboc.v140i3.2020.a6/A-new-fossil-vulture-Cathartidae--Cathartes-from-Quaternary-asphalt/10.25226/bboc.v140i3.2020.a6.full"><i>Cathartes emsliei</i></a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379120304947">the Pliocene–Pleistocene owl <i>Glaucidium ireneae</i>, and the Pliocene–Pleistocene corvid <i>Corvus bragai</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAX-62Ey2YJuWJQtVWVMsmBlwU2B1b177EPInMr7Xn2sLTYiudgxC8LBBVmW7NZCk-FH0LeRuqsLpYf-4Avj8OeeISSEI8Dx-ekqY8uSZxelwftiSpmY9QfQuYYSRyn9yKrJ6p-Ic28hA/s500/blackmetaltail.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAX-62Ey2YJuWJQtVWVMsmBlwU2B1b177EPInMr7Xn2sLTYiudgxC8LBBVmW7NZCk-FH0LeRuqsLpYf-4Avj8OeeISSEI8Dx-ekqY8uSZxelwftiSpmY9QfQuYYSRyn9yKrJ6p-Ic28hA/s320/blackmetaltail.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black metaltail, which during torpor attains the lowest body temperature recorded of any bird, photographed by <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/70653289">Mickaël Villemagne</a>, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In October, the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)30766-5">aerodynamics</a> of scansoriopterygids were assessed. A <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/transactions-of-the-kansas-academy-of-science/volume-123/issue-3-4/062.123.0310/Shark-Bitten-Hesperornithiform-Bird-Bone-from-a-Turonian-Upper-Cretaceous/10.1660/062.123.0310.short">shark-bitten hesperornithiform</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-75248-6">giant pelagornithids</a> from the Eocene of Antarctica, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981120304892">large New World vultures</a> from the Pleistocene–Holocene of Uruguay were described. Visual adaptations in birds were shown to <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.3213">correlate</a> with foraging niche in the Peruvian Andes. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/10/400">Differences in visual adaptations</a> between predatory and scavenging raptors were reviewed. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.12852">Cryptic sexual dimorphism</a> was recorded in Sulawesi babblers. New studies came out on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13327">vertebral pneumaticity</a> in <i>Nothronychus</i>, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/do-paleontologists-dream-of-electric-dinosaurs-investigating-the-presumed-inefficiency-of-dinosaurs-contact-incubating-partially-buried-eggs/57924EF40EB870F8F577B4FEABEC85AD">contact incubation </a>in troodontids, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.21284">plantar adaptations</a> of bird feet, the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1748">gust-rejecting mechanism</a> of bird wings, Quaternary avian <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/43/26833">extinctions</a> in the Bahamas, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/beheco/araa101/5934108">group organization</a> in foraging phalaropes, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6887">demographic histories </a>of condors, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18772-3">evolution</a> of communication signals in woodpeckers, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790320302669">species delimitation</a> in <i>Alaudala</i> larks. Newly-named maniraptors included the oviraptorosaur <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.201184"><i>Oksoko avarsan</i></a>, the Eocene waterfowl <a href="http://app.pan.pl/article/item/app.007642020.html"><i>Cousteauvia kustovia</i></a>, the Eocene possible stem-charadriiform <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.559929/full"><i>Nahmavis grandei</i></a>, the plotopterids <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/paleontological-research/volume-24/issue-4/2020PR005/New-Species-of-Plotopteridae-Aves-from-the-Oligocene-Ashiya-Group/10.2517/2020PR005.short"><i>Empeirodytes okazakii</i> and <i>Stenornis kanmonensis</i></a>, and the Oligocene accipitrid <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01703-z"><i>Aviraptor longicrus</i></a>. A paper I co-authored also got published this month, in which we proposed a <a href="https://www.senckenberg.de/en/science/senckenberg-publications/scientific-journals/vertebrate-zoology-2/archiv/vz-70-4-03/">phylogenetic taxonomy</a> of strisoreans.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvef-mkJWjbX5atUsqL_sVUr5Phz9mAgztLF46oaPpx80j-clQJrvtxyjAFtkXLJDrMvXxREi-nUEK_s_42QylNFCA1-gNTCI3bBOg07D4Fwgs4pMFnE3OBiciOw33GHiaNaZhemtgdA/s2048/114_2020_1703_Fig1_HTML.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvef-mkJWjbX5atUsqL_sVUr5Phz9mAgztLF46oaPpx80j-clQJrvtxyjAFtkXLJDrMvXxREi-nUEK_s_42QylNFCA1-gNTCI3bBOg07D4Fwgs4pMFnE3OBiciOw33GHiaNaZhemtgdA/w400-h249/114_2020_1703_Fig1_HTML.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Aviraptor longicrus</i>, from <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-020-01703-z">Mayr and Hurum (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In November, the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/advance-article/doi/10.1093/iob/obaa040/5974220">wing musculature</a> of flightless auks was reconstructed. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120303852">New specimens</a> of <i>Trierarchuncus</i> were described. Feathers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76830-8">preserved in amber</a> were reported... not from Myanmar, but from the Escucha Formation in Spain. Putative ovarian follicle preservation in Mesozoic avialans was again <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76078-2">disputed</a> (in response to the earlier paper from July). A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2873-9">large dataset</a> of avian genomes was published. Migratory birds (and mammals) were found to have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19256-0">faster paces</a> of life than non-migratory species. Ecomorphology was shown to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.13194">correlate</a> with diversity in corvidean passeriforms. New studies came out on <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/59902">group movement</a> and <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/48/eaba5881">decision-making</a> in vulturine guineafowl, the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/11/425">evolution</a> of the Galápagos rail, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790320302852">phylogeny</a> of manakins, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/11/428">species delimitation</a> in <i>Calandrella</i> larks, <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/46/eabe0440">auditory memory</a> in zebra finches, and <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)31671-7">introgression</a> in <i>Setophaga</i> New World warblers. Newly-named maniraptors included the enantiornithean <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2945-x"><i>Falcatakely forsterae</i></a> (with a highly unusual skull), the gastornithid <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699520300863"><i>Gastornis laurenti</i></a>, the recently extinct sandpiper <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa115/5959945"><i>Prosobonia sauli</i></a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6973">South Georgia gentoo penguin (<i>Pygoscelis poncetii</i>)</a>, and the Miocene accipitrid <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981120305319"><i>Vinchinavis paka</i></a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qZ1HyeCVkL3yLNX9dwvI2t13qiIsl1dAAmPxEOh48VsIItWEA3Vrnqz5yE5xonQkOuuhCFybLTmjQT6aDebe2FKH4oWTopnTtYSJg142wZTQ8HmZ8RRLhvUYeOsIeoSQv8C3goNudK0/s1245/41586_2020_2945_Fig1_HTML.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1033" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qZ1HyeCVkL3yLNX9dwvI2t13qiIsl1dAAmPxEOh48VsIItWEA3Vrnqz5yE5xonQkOuuhCFybLTmjQT6aDebe2FKH4oWTopnTtYSJg142wZTQ8HmZ8RRLhvUYeOsIeoSQv8C3goNudK0/s320/41586_2020_2945_Fig1_HTML.webp" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Falcatakely forsterae</i>, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2945-x">O'Connor et al. (2020)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In December, evidence of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.2322">tactile foraging</a> in lithornithids was presented. An <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927320307635">oviraptorosaur</a> preserved on top of an embryo-bearing egg clutch, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1862828"><i>Saurornitholestes</i> specimen</a> from the Judith River Formation, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1850714">new specimen</a> of <i>Macranhinga</i>, and a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12907">hornbill</a> from the Miocene of Uganda were described. Interpreting molting patterns from exceptionally-preserved maniraptor fossils appears to be all the rage now, as evidence of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-01467-2">sequential molting</a> was also reported in <i>Archaeopteryx</i>. <a href="http://www.ivpp.ac.cn/cbw/gjzdwxb/pressonline/202012/t20201222_5834338.html">Cartilage</a> preserved on the wishbone of <i>Confuciusornis</i> was documented. Male superb fairywrens were found to<a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/beheco/araa128/6044173"> maintain vibrant breeding coloration</a> regardless of individual quality. New studies came out on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jez.b.23022">development</a> of the avian ankle, <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/49/eabb6095">anthropogenic extinctions</a> of flightless birds, the <a href="https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-020-07284-5">evolution</a> of paleognath mitogenomes, <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24579">endocranial ontogeny</a> in ostriches (and alligators), the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13358">anatomy</a> of the respiratory system in ostriches (and alligators), the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105579032030316X">evolutionary history</a> of junglefowl, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13662">song frequency</a> in passeriforms, the <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6522/1343">diversification</a> of suboscines, and the phylogeny of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12467">doraditos</a> and <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/62765">white-eyes</a>. Newly-named maniraptors included the Cretaceous euornitheans <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2020.1836050"><i>Abitusavis lii</i> and <i>Similiyanornis brevipectus</i></a> and the recently extinct owl <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-british-ornithologists-club/volume-140/issue-4/bboc.v140i4.2020.a3/Remarks-on-extinct-giant-owls-Strigidae-from-Cuba-with-description/10.25226/bboc.v140i4.2020.a3.full"><i>Ornimegalonyx ewingi</i></a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyi6KXmkuJWT273uDqvw0MM5MVrI_R3Y16DKEVjO-cjFDmLDkNeqBWPCjeONpBYAhyphenhyphen5b8A6xzNARDgJ8L67rlhh_hdV9EQxYstEakoAHLaypdEoZUBl4P4O9pLuiGv27AZxhWiAk34N8/s1512/oviraptoridnest.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1435" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyi6KXmkuJWT273uDqvw0MM5MVrI_R3Y16DKEVjO-cjFDmLDkNeqBWPCjeONpBYAhyphenhyphen5b8A6xzNARDgJ8L67rlhh_hdV9EQxYstEakoAHLaypdEoZUBl4P4O9pLuiGv27AZxhWiAk34N8/s320/oviraptoridnest.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oviraptorid preserved on top of egg clutch, from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095927320307635">Bi et al. (in press)</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-10214213890541383952020-08-19T18:11:00.010-07:002020-08-20T07:57:50.561-07:00Not Hawks, Not Owls, and Maybe Not Even Parrots: the Parrot-like Mystery Birds of the Eocene<p>The rapid diversification of surviving mammal and bird groups in the wake of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) mass extinction has routinely been characterized as a pivotal episode in the origin of modern ecosystems. However, the very rapidity at which it occurred has made it hard for us to gain a fine-scale understanding of the evolutionary transitions that took place during this event. Probably as a result of this, determining how Paleogene mammals were related to modern mammals has been <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12242">notoriously difficult</a>. </p><p>We've been slightly more fortunate when it comes to Paleogene birds—though isolated bones are frequently challenging to identify, more complete specimens can often be confidently linked to specific modern groups. Recognizable stem-swifts looked fairly similar to modern swifts, stem-penguins looked fairly similar to modern penguins, stem-rollers looked fairly similar to modern rollers, and so on.</p><p>However, there are nonetheless some well-preserved Paleogene bird fossils that have defied easy classification. Among these are a range of small, arboreal birds that have been recently likened to parrots... but read on.</p><p>One of these mystery bird groups is the halcyornithids. Fossils of these birds are fairly common in some Eocene deposits of Europe and North America. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, halcyornithids were more commonly known as "pseudasturids", because <i>Halcyornis</i>, represented only by an incomplete skull from the London Clay Formation of England, was not recognized as a member of this group until it was compared to more complete halcyornithid specimens by Gerald Mayr in 2007. Now that <i>Halcyornis</i> has been assigned to the group, Halcyornithidae (named in 1972) takes priority over Pseudasturidae (named in 1998).<br /></p><p>Other named halcyornithids are more completely known: <i>Pulchrapollia</i>, also from the London Clay Formation, is
known from a partial skeleton, whereas essentially complete skeletons
are known for <i>Pseudasturides</i> and <i>Serudaptus</i> from the Messel Formation in
Germany and the two species of <i>Cyrilavis</i> (<i>C. olsoni</i> and <i>C. colburnorum</i>)
from the Green River Formation in the United States.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQXUiNm4CE-hMJhzHqokwpIbOyQeJjOltNQj8Cx2BN-YVivQ_UaS7X8Gf2028_FCCKJZjg_7z2ysMfTQUuEa_wTOe0neiVEz8epMOuufotsulCv02rn7dSfRJMnm2AYhGSxEpl0S69Wo/s2048/i0022-3360-85-5-835-f02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2047" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQXUiNm4CE-hMJhzHqokwpIbOyQeJjOltNQj8Cx2BN-YVivQ_UaS7X8Gf2028_FCCKJZjg_7z2ysMfTQUuEa_wTOe0neiVEz8epMOuufotsulCv02rn7dSfRJMnm2AYhGSxEpl0S69Wo/w410-h410/i0022-3360-85-5-835-f02.jpg" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Cyrilavis colburnorum</i>, from Ksepka et al. (2011).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Halcyornithids were small (thrush-sized) birds with zygodactyl feet (having both the innermost and outermost toe on each foot pointing backwards), a feature found today in cuckoos, woodpeckers, and parrots, among others. The beaks of halcyornithids were quite short and robust, but don't exhibit clear specializations for taking specific foods, so they may have been generalists that fed on both fruits and invertebrates (Mayr, 1998). The structure of the brain cavity in <i>Halcyornis</i> suggests that it had fairly well-developed senses of sight, smell, and hearing, though it may not have been a particularly acrobatic flier (Walsh and Milner, 2011). This is potentially consistent with the short, rounded wings preserved in a specimen of <i>Pseudasturides</i> (Mayr, 1998).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMUI5pyJODi33YrU9HTq20au9NqyMdtw95RdIuYwR_PqCCmKuI_jdf42-Td_z8aIW3zwEPjZEieaxU-TSLucHz-V001J-BrcXmfwtMoarXlWRPcluX04W1EmMADxu072YnCg97zroXNE/s464/pseudasturideswing.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="464" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMUI5pyJODi33YrU9HTq20au9NqyMdtw95RdIuYwR_PqCCmKuI_jdf42-Td_z8aIW3zwEPjZEieaxU-TSLucHz-V001J-BrcXmfwtMoarXlWRPcluX04W1EmMADxu072YnCg97zroXNE/w371-h258/pseudasturideswing.png" width="371" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preserved wing feathering of <i>Pseudasturides</i>, from Mayr (1998).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Halcyornithids have long been known to science. In fact, <i>Halcyornis</i> was the first fossil bird ever to be given a scientific name, having been named in 1825! As might be expected for a fragmentary fossil that was named so long ago, the taxonomic affinities of <i>Halcyornis</i> have been in a state of flux for a long time, and it has been variously considered a coraciiform (thus closely related to kingfishers and rollers) or even a gull-like shorebird.<br /></p><p>However, more complete halcyornithid specimens have made them only somewhat less vexing. <i>Cyrilavis olsoni</i> (the type species of <i>Cyrilavis</i>) was originally described in 1976 as a species of <i>Primobucco</i>. Houde and Olson (1989) recognized that it was unlikely to be a member of <i>Primobucco</i> (now considered a stem-roller), and thought it was more likely closely related to jacamars and puffbirds (which are in turn close relatives of woodpeckers and toucans). Mayr (1998) doubted that halcyornithids were particularly close to jacamars and puffbirds, but also found little evidence linking halcyornithids with any specific group of living birds. He later proposed in 2002 that halcyornithids were stem parrots, based on features of their hindlimbs and vertebrae.</p><p>Similarities have further been noted between halcyornithids and another group of small Eocene birds, the messelasturids, which are currently known from two genera: <i>Messelastur</i> from the Messel Formation and <i>Tynskya</i> from the Green River Formation. Messelasturids share with halcyornithids, among other features, large "brow ridges" above the eye sockets (also found in many raptorial birds) and the absence of an air sac opening in the humerus (upper arm bone). Their outermost toe on each foot was at least partially reversed, making them semi-zygodactylous if not fully zygodactylous. Unlike halcyornithids, messelasturids were additionally raptor-like in having a sharply hooked beak. Combined with their long, curved talons, it's likely that messelasturids were carnivores that hunted small animals.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_1cROszx48Q_11S3DRaYOQr4OnKXdKfw9a_gLos-JnWLoYs0IPwZL5LHLnaa9OoruEhwMu7Tp5UIKEQjPk7eL5FKADBwXTyWlihmh-CrAEwvYLTV7eehTpGVCUQ3h42QxV3HsXYtA4s/s606/messelasturskull.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="606" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_1cROszx48Q_11S3DRaYOQr4OnKXdKfw9a_gLos-JnWLoYs0IPwZL5LHLnaa9OoruEhwMu7Tp5UIKEQjPk7eL5FKADBwXTyWlihmh-CrAEwvYLTV7eehTpGVCUQ3h42QxV3HsXYtA4s/w388-h309/messelasturskull.png" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skull of <i>Messelastur</i>, from Mayr (2011).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><i>Messelastur</i> was described on the basis of two isolated skulls with attached neck vertebrae, and given its hooked bill, it was originally considered a type of hawk. Mayr (2005a) reported on a more complete specimen and included both messelasturids and halcyornithids in a phylogenetic analysis. His results supported his previous hypothesis that halcyornithids were stem parrots, but found owls as the closest living relatives of messelasturids. However, following study of another new <i>Messelastur</i> specimen, Mayr (2011) concluded that the features linking messelasturids with owls had been misinterpreted or were poorly substantiated. In an updated phylogenetic analysis, he found messelasturids and halcyornithids to be each other's closest relatives, and both of these groups as stem parrots.</p><p>Stem parrot affinities have also been hypothesized for <i>Vastanavis</i> from the Eocene Cambay Formation in India, based on similarities to <i>Quercypsitta</i>, an uncontested stem parrot from the Eocene of France (Mayr et al., 2010). <i>Vastanavis</i> is known from numerous disarticulated specimens, which collectively represent all major limb bones, but its skull is currently unknown. It had short, semi-zygodactyl feet with long claws.<br /></p><p>Support for placing all these taxa on the parrot stem appeared to be building in 2012, when Dan Ksepka and Julia Clarke described <i>Avolatavis</i> from the Green River Formation. The only known specimen of <i>Avolatavis</i> comprises a partial skeleton including the tail, pelvis, and hindlimbs. Its feet, originally described as zygodactyl but later reinterpreted as semi-zygodactyl by Mayr et al. (2013), were stout and look well-suited for grasping. In their phylogenetic analysis, Ksepka and Clarke recovered halcyornithids, <i>Messelastur</i>, <i>Vastanavis</i>, and <i>Avolatavis</i> all as stem parrots, with halcyornithids and <i>Messelastur</i> being close relatives of one another, as previously suggested.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYYcpJ-g0PzBAvRsaUfeH90Eeoux3h0k6U2BiLSsXaX3T1bQwjE6cKyiLeyi9CfdeHnZL3EKi9piTQmkdk9lMgRdNATV75h8dxCPTxkO6SUcZmNqFTETTsC9tnL6RCPwv3f60lxLSXDU/s893/avolatavis.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="893" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYYcpJ-g0PzBAvRsaUfeH90Eeoux3h0k6U2BiLSsXaX3T1bQwjE6cKyiLeyi9CfdeHnZL3EKi9piTQmkdk9lMgRdNATV75h8dxCPTxkO6SUcZmNqFTETTsC9tnL6RCPwv3f60lxLSXDU/w410-h325/avolatavis.png" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Avolatavis</i>, from Ksepka and Clarke (2012).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>However, in the years following, other developments in avian phylogenetics have demanded further reevaluation of these fossils. For starters, molecular analyses have been painting an increasingly clear picture of how parrots are related to other extant birds, which had formerly been a highly controversial subject. These analyses consistently place parrots in a diverse group of mostly arboreal birds called Telluraves, in which the closest living relatives of parrots are passerines (together forming the clade Psittacopasserae). Psittacopasserans are in turn the closest living relatives of falcons (forming the clade Eufalconimorphae). This new understanding has provided a more solid framework for selecting which modern taxa need to be considered while assessing the phylogenetic position of parrot-like fossil birds. Although Ksepka and Clarke (2012) had rightly included both passerines and falcons in their analysis, their sampling of other telluravians had been limited.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6qHHbZoVzrbdRI7NWxjpGzB6d1tEwWIKoYAJeLrVcFkhHNIhkdNjX94Kdk8D7Y5i_tJRUzcHpS4GKS_f5Ts4kjRlFGg9OPDzzXohX4pZ94WztRiYuz5gG3CSasqGjM0a4FwCZ8JQDv4/s1852/telluraves.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1852" data-original-width="1098" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6qHHbZoVzrbdRI7NWxjpGzB6d1tEwWIKoYAJeLrVcFkhHNIhkdNjX94Kdk8D7Y5i_tJRUzcHpS4GKS_f5Ts4kjRlFGg9OPDzzXohX4pZ94WztRiYuz5gG3CSasqGjM0a4FwCZ8JQDv4/s640/telluraves.PNG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogenetic relationships among Telluraves, based on a consensus of recent molecular analyses. Some uncertainty remains regarding the position of Accipitriformes (hawks and kin), Strigiformes (owls), and Coliiformes (mousebirds), but this topology is the most widely recovered by recent studies.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Other advances came from the paleontological front, namely the recognition that a group of extinct zygodactylous birds, the appropriately-named zygodactylids, were likely stem passerines. Modern passerines do not have zygodactyl feet, but if they evolved from ancestors that did, it raises the possibility that many of the hindlimb characteristics used to place fossil taxa as stem parrots were in fact ancestral features of psittacopasserans, not specific to the parrot lineage.</p><p>Mayr (2015a) presented the results of several phylogenetic analyses, in which he included a broad range of extant telluravians, along with putative stem parrots and stem passerines. He consistently found that <i>Psittacopes</i>, another zygodactylous bird from the Messel that had long been considered an unequivocal stem parrot, was more likely to have been a stem passerine. Furthermore, placement along the parrot stem lineage was also <b>not</b> supported for halcyornithids, <i>Messelastur</i>, <i>Vastanavis</i>, or <i>Avolatavis</i> when the analyses were constrained to recover Psittacopasserae and Eufalconimorphae. Halcyornithids were instead found as a grade of stem psittacopasserans,
<i>Messelastur</i> in an unresolved position at the base of Eufalconimorphae,
and <i>Vastanavis</i> and <i>Avolatavis</i> outside of eufalconimorphs entirely. Mayr observed that these supposed stem parrots actually lack several features shared by parrots and stem passerines, notably a deep groove where the outermost toe attaches to the foot.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcTnqCZJCyYWAwuJFdAAO3jBnbqiPkt5vTOnd7qqWzHYOPq7ztV0mhH0sdywgdMahtENXr3C7xqS7By_gdv3xa3eL5xiimJSnS379C0dieouwE12UGkvQ8sS0Zm74xTswVnTzxAri_gY/s578/Mayr2015constrained.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="318" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcTnqCZJCyYWAwuJFdAAO3jBnbqiPkt5vTOnd7qqWzHYOPq7ztV0mhH0sdywgdMahtENXr3C7xqS7By_gdv3xa3eL5xiimJSnS379C0dieouwE12UGkvQ8sS0Zm74xTswVnTzxAri_gY/w318-h578/Mayr2015constrained.png" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mayr (2015a) did not try constraining the telluravian relationships outside of Eufalconimorphae to conform to recent molecular topologies, so I had a go at doing so myself using his dataset, and here are the results. The relationships within Eufalconimorphae are congruent with his findings. Of note is that the clade uniting <i>Avolatavis</i>, <i>Eurofluvioviridavis</i>, and <i>Vastanavis</i> is more closely related to eufalconimorphs than to other telluravians, despite being excluded from crown Eufalconimorphae. Additionally, <i>Eocuculus</i> (a mystery bird outside the scope of this blog post) is recovered as only a distant relative to all the telluravian taxa included.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Interestingly, Mayr's study found <i>Vastanavis</i> and <i>Avolatavis</i> as close relatives, consistent with previously proposed similarities between the two (Mayr et al., 2013). Joining them as well was <i>Eurofluvioviridavis</i>, a Messel bird that also had stout, semi-zygodactyl feet. As its name suggests, <i>Eurofluvioviridavis</i> was initially thought to have been closely related to <i>Fluvioviridavis</i> from the Green River Formation (Mayr, 2005b). However, whereas <i>Fluvioviridavis</i> was later reappraised as a <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/08/shining-light-on-nightbird-evolution-my.html">strisorean</a>, telluravian affinities have been considered more probable for <i>Eurofluvioviridavis</i> (Nesbitt et al., 2011), with Mayr (2015b) noting similarities to <i>Avolatavis</i> and <i>Vastanavis</i> in particular.<br /></p><p>More recently, Ksepka et al. (2019) included an extensive phylogenetic analysis of both extant and fossil telluravians in their description of the stem passerine <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/02/finches-before-there-were-finches.html"><i>Eofringillirostrum</i></a>. They corroborated several of Mayr's results, including <i>Psittacopes</i> as a stem passerine and halcyornithids as stem psittacopasserans, though messelasturids, <i>Vastanavis</i>, <i>Avolatavis</i>, and <i>Eurofluvioviridavis</i> were not included in their study. As I remarked in my blog post on <i>Eofringillirostrum</i>, I'd be interested in seeing their dataset further expanded with these taxa.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VzC_4mj9uycTGmukls7twjPgS3MSbCOozNU0NHfBczlzFqHle9TnvVXeoId6R7t7pI7LKP-FrC1no_PlYod6BhX8nn59Iw7CzXkfUkwQWbFZctQuLMC62V8dkByIeIK_5yba-eLu98U/s2048/gr2_lrg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1457" data-original-width="2048" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VzC_4mj9uycTGmukls7twjPgS3MSbCOozNU0NHfBczlzFqHle9TnvVXeoId6R7t7pI7LKP-FrC1no_PlYod6BhX8nn59Iw7CzXkfUkwQWbFZctQuLMC62V8dkByIeIK_5yba-eLu98U/w410-h291/gr2_lrg.jpg" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogenetic results from Ksepka et al. (2019). Note that "Afroaves" should be labeled Australaves.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>And that is the state of the art. Although the concept that there used to be a great diversity of stem parrots distributed across the Northern Hemisphere was compelling for a time, it currently appears more likely that these parrot-like birds occupied a range of disparate positions within Telluraves. Their fossils may thus offer the tantalizing potential of shedding light on the ancestral anatomy and lifestyle of this extremely diverse group. Telluravians today include raptorial predators, insectivores, piscivores, frugivores, generalist omnivores, and just about every other avian niche in between, but it has been suggested based on the interrelationships among living species that their last common ancestor was raptorial. Might this hypothesis find support in the raptor-like features that have been identified in the parrot-like mystery birds—the hooked bill in messelasturids, brow ridges in halcyornithids and messelasturids, and large foot claws in several of these species? Perhaps further research will tell.<br /></p><p><b>References</b><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Houde, P. and S.L. Olson. 1989. Small arboreal nonpasserine birds from the early Tertiary of western North America. Pp. 2030–2036, in H. Ouellet (ed.), <i>Acta XIX Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici</i>. University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa.<br /></li><li>Ksepka, D.T. and J.A. Clarke. 2012. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2012.641704">A new stem parrot from the Green River Formation and the complex evolution of the grasping foot in Pan-Psittaciformes.</a> <i>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</i> <b>32</b>: 395–406. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2012.641704</li><li>Ksepka, D.T., J.A. Clarke, and L. Grande. 2011. <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-Paleontology/volume-85/issue-5/10-108.1/Stem-Parrots-Aves-Halcyornithidae-from-the-Green-River-Formation-and/10.1666/10-108.1.short">Stem parrots (Aves, Halcyornithidae) from the Green River Formation and a combined phylogeny of Pan-Psittaciformes.</a> <i>Journal of Paleontology</i> <b>85</b>: 835–852. doi: 10.1666/10-108.1</li><li>Ksepka, D.T., L. Grande, and G. Mayr. 2019. <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)31674-9">Oldest finch-beaked birds reveal parallel ecological radiations in the earliest evolution of passerines.</a> <i>Current Biology</i> <b>29</b>: 657–663. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.040</li><li>Mayr, G. 1998. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03042769">A new family of Eocene zygodactyl birds.</a> <i>Senckenbergiana lethaea</i> <b>78</b>: 199–209. doi: 10.1007/BF03042769<br /></li><li>Mayr, G. 2002. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00042.x">On the osteology and phylogenetic affinities of the Pseudasturidae – Lower Eocene stem‐group representatives of parrots (Aves, Psittaciformes).</a> <i>Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</i> <b>136</b>: 715–729. doi: 10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00042.x</li><li>Mayr, G. 2005a. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634%282005%29025%5B0635%3ATPOAPP%5D2.0.CO%3B2">The postcranial osteology and phylogenetic position of the Middle Eocene <i>Messelastur gratulator</i> Peters, 1994—a morphological link between owls (Strigiformes) and falconiform birds?</a> <i>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</i> <b>25</b>: 635–645. doi: 10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0635:TPOAPP]2.0.CO;2</li><li>Mayr, G. 2005b. <a href="https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/e05-060">A <i>Fluvioviridavis</i>-like bird from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Germany.</a> <i>Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences</i> <b>42</b>: 2021–2037. doi: 10.1139/e05-060<br /></li><li>Mayr, G. 2007. <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/schweiz/njbgeol/2007/00000244/00000002/art00007">New specimens of Eocene stem-group psittaciform birds may shed light on the affinities of the first named fossil bird, <i>Halcyornis toliapicus</i> Koenig, 1825.</a> <i>Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen</i> <b>244</b>: 207–213. doi: 10.1127/0077-7749/2007/0244-0207<br /></li><li>Mayr, G. 2011. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2010.505252">Well-preserved new skeleton of the Middle Eocene <i>Messelastur</i> substantiates sister group relationship between Messelasturidae and Halcyornithidae (Aves, ?Pan-Psittaciformes).</a> <i>Journal of Systematic Palaeontology</i> <b>9</b>: 159–171. doi: 10.1080/14772019.2010.505252</li><li>Mayr, G. 2015a. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12128">A reassessment of Eocene parrotlike fossils indicates a previously undetected radiation of zygodactyl stem group representatives of passerines (Passeriformes).</a> <i>Zoologica Scripta</i> <b>44</b>: 587–602. doi: 10.1111/zsc.12128</li><li>Mayr, G. 2015b. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-015-0200-5">Eocene fossils and the early evolution of frogmouths (Podargiformes): further specimens of <i>Masillapodargus</i> and a comparison with <i>Fluvioviridavis</i>.</a> <i>Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments</i> <b>95</b>: 587–596. doi: 10.1007/s12549-015-0200-5<br /></li><li>Mayr, G., R.S. Rana, K.D. Rose, A. Sahni, K. Kumar, L. Singh, and T. Smith. 2010. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724631003617357"><i>Quercypsitta</i>-like birds from the early Eocene of India (Aves, ?Psittaciformes).</a> <i>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</i> <b>30</b>: 467–478. doi: 10.1080/02724631003617357<br /></li><li>Mayr, G., R.S. Rana, K.D. Rose, A. Sahni, K. Kumar, and T. Smith. 2013. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134%2FS0031030113110105">New specimens of the early Eocene bird <i>Vastanavis</i> and the interrelationships of stem group Psittaciformes.</a> <i>Paleontological Journal</i> <b>47</b>: 1308–1314. doi: 10.1134/S0031030113110105</li><li>Nesbitt, S.J., D.T. Ksepka, and J.A. Clarke. 2011. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0026350">Podargiform affinities of the enigmatic <i>Fluvioviridavis platyrhamphus</i> and the early diversification of Strisores ("Caprimulgiformes" + Apodiformes).</a> <i>PLoS ONE</i> <b>6</b>: e26350. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026350<br /></li><li>Walsh, S. and A. Milner. 2011. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2010.513703"><i>Halcyornis toliapicus</i> (Aves: Lower Eocene, England) indicates advanced neuromorphology in Mesozoic Neornithes.</a> <i>Journal of Systematic Palaeontology</i> <b>9</b>: 173–181. doi: 10.1080/14772019.2010.513703<br /></li></ul>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-75325645584577268022020-05-17T18:33:00.002-07:002022-12-07T12:12:43.487-08:00Making Sense of Alvarezsaurid Paleobiology—I Think We're Doing Pretty Well, ActuallyAlvarezsaurids may not have much of a presence in popular culture, but these dinosaurs have been a source of fascination and befuddlement to just about anyone who is familiar with them. In particular, the function of their bizarre forelimbs has inspired a great deal of discussion and speculation.<br />
<br />
The forelimbs of alvarezsaurids were incredibly small relative to their body size. If it were only for their size alone, it would be easy to write these forelimbs off as having been vestigial structures with little to no function. However, their forelimbs had several well-developed features that suggest they were capable of some very powerful movements (and not just "powerful" <a href="https://twitter.com/TomHoltzPaleo/status/1208395919802155011">in the sense</a> that the arms of tyrannosaurids are occasionally claimed to have been).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq68kA-Nv9qxaNbohIf-wafty6nOcKw1bA3tLOdyvrpa3-YpNOmXUj0gds4xkamzEe9Izi82DYw-OB1e4704JKVCsY6iLYUZz5RbwKkvKqSnJQwo22oRfnjpcO3IU4ZxiZBdDHaXEKu_Q/s1600/Mononykus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq68kA-Nv9qxaNbohIf-wafty6nOcKw1bA3tLOdyvrpa3-YpNOmXUj0gds4xkamzEe9Izi82DYw-OB1e4704JKVCsY6iLYUZz5RbwKkvKqSnJQwo22oRfnjpcO3IU4ZxiZBdDHaXEKu_Q/s400/Mononykus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeletal reconstruction of the alvarezsaurid <i>Mononykus</i>, by <a href="https://www.skeletaldrawing.com/theropods/mononykus">Scott Hartman</a> (used with permission).</td></tr>
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For starters, the humerus (upper arm bone) of alvarezsaurids had a strongly projecting deltopectoral crest, an attachment point for musculature responsible for drawing the forelimbs towards the body. This action likely would have been further enhanced by the keeled, bony sternum (breastbone). Furthermore, the ulna (one of the forearm bones) of alvarezsaurids had a well-developed olecranon process, which projects backward from the elbow joint and serves as an attachment point for muscles that extend the elbow.<br />
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Ever since the discovery of <i>Mononykus</i> revealed this unusual forelimb anatomy, these features have been likened to those of many animals in which the forelimbs are specialized for digging (Perle et al., 1993). Both the enlarged deltopectoral crest and olecranon process support muscles that can help digging animals break up whatever substrate they are excavating and shift it aside.<br />
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There are other aspects of alvarezsaurid anatomy that appear to be consistent with some form of digging behavior as well. These include an elongated hip region (later alvarezsaurids had seven hip vertebrae, up from the five ancestrally present in maniraptorans) in which the hip vertebrae were fused with the pelvic girdle into a synsacrum, which could have potentially served a bracing function during digging activity. In contrast, the lower extremities of the pelvic girdle in digging animals generally experience less stress, and as a result the tips of their pubis bones have often reduced or lost their connection with one another. This, too, is seen in alvarezsaurids.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTFbXtdONXkjisdJy7l_VJIXn1EN3MQgINXHwjWt7oQMUCKJOhMTEGstvN32CfxNiqRZn0awaGMu0RtOvV00MowPbNJuSgi4Tp3f0Fa7bXlVjdn_Bsuj7ynNycjK2IL7w2JDY1gEtc18/s1600/mononykusarm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="532" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTFbXtdONXkjisdJy7l_VJIXn1EN3MQgINXHwjWt7oQMUCKJOhMTEGstvN32CfxNiqRZn0awaGMu0RtOvV00MowPbNJuSgi4Tp3f0Fa7bXlVjdn_Bsuj7ynNycjK2IL7w2JDY1gEtc18/s320/mononykusarm.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram showing the unusual forelimb skeleton of <i>Mononykus</i>, from Perle et al. (1993). Later studies would show that most alvarezsaurids had three-fingered hands, though the other two fingers were much smaller than the large thumb (as can be seen in Hartman's skeletal in the previous figure).</td></tr>
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To be clear, it is widely recognized that alvarezsaurids almost certainly <i>weren't</i> using their forelimbs to dig tunnels or construct burrows for themselves. It's quite evident that the forelimbs would have been too short for that to have been practical. Instead, they share some additional forelimb characteristics with animals that practice <b>hook-and-pull digging</b>, in which a pointed appendage is hooked into a hard substrate and then used to tear that material apart, usually during the process of finding food. Animals that regularly perform this behavior include anteaters, pangolins, and some armadillos, namely the giant armadillo (<i>Priodontes maximus</i>), naked-tailed armadillos (<i>Cabassous</i> spp.), and three-banded armadillos (<i>Tolypeutes</i> spp.).<br />
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Although many adaptations for scratch-digging burrows are also advantageous for hook-and-pull digging, and some species practice both, hook-and-pull diggers tend to have a few other features that are generally not found in species that only scratch-dig. For example, hook-and-pull diggers usually have a single claw on each hand that is massively enlarged compared to the other claws, which allows them to concentrate force into a single sharp point to fracture the hard substrates that they break into. As it happens, alvarezsaurids fit this pattern as well, seeing as their thumb and its corresponding claw were much, much larger and more robust than the other two fingers on their hand. <i>Mononykus</i> (meaning "one claw") was named for this trait. In one alvarezsaurid (<i>Linhenykus</i>), the two smaller fingers appear to have been lost entirely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPT8cSGOruvQ9DJN_3y4vRqbAor5GkX5a4dvY-7mYqnWkw6ZNRy4uDmlAqeyHukffQiyxwL1V7MXnWqGesjGecn2MvUvhWE93o8D-I6r-f5EGAPOeQ2nL-IGwyIjd1Q5PiYM_TMzWoJTk/s1600/digginghands.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1214" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPT8cSGOruvQ9DJN_3y4vRqbAor5GkX5a4dvY-7mYqnWkw6ZNRy4uDmlAqeyHukffQiyxwL1V7MXnWqGesjGecn2MvUvhWE93o8D-I6r-f5EGAPOeQ2nL-IGwyIjd1Q5PiYM_TMzWoJTk/s320/digginghands.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right: diagrams depicting the hand skeletons of an aardvark (<i>Orycteropus afer</i>, a scratch digger), a silky anteater (<i>Cyclopes</i> sp., a hook-and-pull digger), and <i>Mononykus</i>, from Senter (2005). (In case you missed the memo: it has been proposed that there are <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/183/3/687/4716749">seven species</a> of silky anteater.)</td></tr>
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The enlarged claw of hook-and-pull diggers exhibits a great capacity for flexing towards the palm, which is important for gaining purchase on the materials that they excavate. At the same time, the fingers and claws are typically restricted from performing side-to-side rotation, guarding them from the risk of dislocation during strenuous digging (Taylor, 1978). In 2005, Phil Senter presented a study investigating the range of motion in the forelimbs of <i>Mononykus</i>. He found that even though the shoulder and elbow joints were quite limited in their range of motion, the base of the thumb could extend and flex in a wide arc of 86° and the corresponding claw could do so in an arc of 162° while being restricted in side-to-side rotation, providing another line of evidence consistent with hook-and-pull digging. (The mobility of the wrist joint could not be reliably reconstructed.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fzFVeJY6ByUhQPKUdACvrz0Opb2MP4gSd39AmerM1bmEVfRbs3dvh_oyZWRfR6HKmH7yr_JHcw0RwDWBXpMSb3k3Q7mI7yrt_JtmBqApXbsLmA1WbagBlJbMn1nXrqHasoIhO-Jo_a4/s1600/mononykusforelimbmotion.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="545" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fzFVeJY6ByUhQPKUdACvrz0Opb2MP4gSd39AmerM1bmEVfRbs3dvh_oyZWRfR6HKmH7yr_JHcw0RwDWBXpMSb3k3Q7mI7yrt_JtmBqApXbsLmA1WbagBlJbMn1nXrqHasoIhO-Jo_a4/s400/mononykusforelimbmotion.png" width="381" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inferred range of motion in the upper arm (A), forearm (B), base of the thumb (C), and thumb claw (D) of <i>Mononykus</i>, from Senter (2005).</td></tr>
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For this blog post, the concept that alvarezsaurids used their forelimbs for hook-and-pull digging will be called the "<b>pickaxe model</b>". This emphasizes the core concept that, much like how one might use a pickaxe, hook-and-pull digging primarily involves fracturing and prying apart hard substrates, as opposed to other methods of digging. This term also avoids assumptions about <i>what</i> type of substrates alvarezsaurids might have been breaking apart, which I will discuss later in this post.<br />
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It's probably fair to say that the pickaxe model is the leading hypothesis regarding alvarezsaurid forelimb function (Perle et al., 1994; Chiappe et al., 2002; Senter, 2005; Longrich and Currie, 2009). However, in my experience it is not rare for it to be viewed with some incredulity in popular contexts. Even when it is not outright challenged, it is sometimes presented as being the best only out of a range of subpar options.<br />
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Before I consider some doubts regarding the pickaxe model that have been raised in informal settings though, I would like to examine responses to the hypothesis in technical publications. Has the pickaxe model been disputed in the scientific literature? The answer to this is yes, and the most extensive arguments that I'm aware of were put forth by Agnolin et al. (2012) in their description of <i>Bonapartenykus</i>.<br />
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Agnolin et al. argued that movement in the alvarezsaurid forelimb was severely limited, with the implication that this would have prevented alvarezsaurids from engaging in digging behavior. To start off, they cited the restricted range of motion at the shoulder joint and the absence of an olecranon fossa on the humerus (not to be confused with the olecranon process on the ulna) in support of this premise.<br />
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However, limited range of motion at the shoulder is actually quite common in digging animals (Sansalone et al., 2020), likely as an adaptation to buttress their joints against the stresses of excavation. As for the absence of an olecranon fossa, this fossa is often reduced or lost in animals that typically hold the elbow joint in a flexed posture (Seiffert, 2010), which many digging animals do, and is consistent with the results of Senter (2005). In fact, the olecranon fossa tends to be most strongly developed not in digging animals, but in quadrupedal runners that need to keep the forelimbs straightened most of the time (Heinrich and Houde, 2006; Salton and Sargis, 2008). Although some digging specialists do have a marked olecranon fossa (Puttick and Jarvis, 1977), these species habitually use methods of digging in which increased extension of the elbow is important (Gasc et al., 1986). In other diggers, like pangolins (Steyn et al., 2018), the olecranon fossa may be fairly modest. Thus, neither of these traits is in direct contradiction to the pickaxe model.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI90ngwGBRCupLO5K67skYLQ4tO5wAGZcMEuTpLp0JGPDlMqjAaJPbvjFS9uVyJmfCvsyvpxuW_bPN4YUkR8JULRnFVtuE9TBAhpnsvBIW5yol8yw5SU70Y6KA9uH_0tq_Rf8MNjX4mSU/s1600/pangolinhumerus.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="426" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI90ngwGBRCupLO5K67skYLQ4tO5wAGZcMEuTpLp0JGPDlMqjAaJPbvjFS9uVyJmfCvsyvpxuW_bPN4YUkR8JULRnFVtuE9TBAhpnsvBIW5yol8yw5SU70Y6KA9uH_0tq_Rf8MNjX4mSU/s320/pangolinhumerus.png" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The humerus of a ground pangolin (<i>Smutsia temminckii</i>), from Steyn et al. (2018). Note the shallow olecranon fossa ("Fo").</td></tr>
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Agnolin et al. went on to question Senter's finding that the thumb of <i>Mononykus</i> was capable of swinging in a wide arc, referencing a "detailed analysis" by Sereno (2001) that had found that the base of the thumb could only extend by 15°. Yet Senter's results also indicate relatively limited extension at this joint, with <i>flexion</i> accounting for most of the range of motion. Sereno likewise found that the joint was more capable of flexion than extension, with both extension and flexion combined permitting an arc of 50°. Although not as large as the 86° arc that Senter found, Sereno's results still indicate that the thumb of <i>Mononykus</i> could form an adequate-looking hook when flexed, especially when considered alongside the movement possible by the thumb claw.<br />
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As far as I can tell, Sereno did not explain exactly what methods he used to infer range of motion (his paper was primarily concerned with the phylogenetic position of alvarezsaurids and not their functional morphology), so assessing the cause of discrepancies between the two studies is difficult. Regardless, even if one accepts the more limited range of motion that Sereno reported, it could scarcely be interpreted as evidence that alvarezsaurids were incapable of digging. As a matter of fact, Sereno wrote within his article that the unusual features of alvarezsaurid forelimbs "probably indicate digging habits", so he himself evidently didn't view his range of motion study as an impediment to the pickaxe model.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLazDLO5fhZquQmV1AWZRZjUUYJ33kwoDsh3PSDgw2FpXU2WNJG981Yi6Xb24Kh-nFKX6NGTDUTPsh09r5S_hCg2-j-npg71L8CblT2IzHUmiFUqaU6urbupiikABApbJTDm4lZ38Jlo/s1600/serenomononykus.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="797" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLazDLO5fhZquQmV1AWZRZjUUYJ33kwoDsh3PSDgw2FpXU2WNJG981Yi6Xb24Kh-nFKX6NGTDUTPsh09r5S_hCg2-j-npg71L8CblT2IzHUmiFUqaU6urbupiikABApbJTDm4lZ38Jlo/s320/serenomononykus.png" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Range of motion in the thumb of <i>Mononykus</i> as inferred by Sereno (2001). Compare to the results of Senter (2005) two figures above.</td></tr>
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Lastly, Agnolin et al. expressed skepticism that alvarezsaurid forelimbs were capable of powerful movements at all, noting that some flightless birds with essentially useless forelimbs have an elbow joint and enlarged olecranon process similar to those of alvarezsaurids. However, as I will discuss shortly, the functional advantages of having a large olecranon process in diggers also requires that the rest of the forearm is relatively short. Although flightless birds may have quite reduced forelimbs, to my knowledge none of them exhibit proportions like those of alvarezsaurids, in which the olecranon process is <i>so</i> long compared to the rest of the forearm. Furthermore, flightless birds generally lack the other features suggestive of the pickaxe model, such as enlarged muscle attachments on the humerus or the strongly-developed hand claw.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0V2bqaN-eX9htOrlQeftuiP5aicZkj_EWybjuISoIJ_YiR_tjYcVZAt-cEJlBRVsyW3OXP0h5YYL_c1-lXjgnQJPLp6mPoww6mPdHOv-UJO3SOz9UGJdyvryvOYKPG3GVp0qU8TWW_6I/s1600/mundiaforearm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="174" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0V2bqaN-eX9htOrlQeftuiP5aicZkj_EWybjuISoIJ_YiR_tjYcVZAt-cEJlBRVsyW3OXP0h5YYL_c1-lXjgnQJPLp6mPoww6mPdHOv-UJO3SOz9UGJdyvryvOYKPG3GVp0qU8TWW_6I/s320/mundiaforearm.png" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The forearm bones of the extinct flightless rail <i>Mundia elpenor</i>, from Olson (1973). The ulna is on the right, with the olecranon process pointing downward. Agnolin et al. (2012) cited this paper in support of their argument that flightless birds may have well-developed olecranon processes comparable to those of alvarezsaurids. Pardon me if I'm not convinced of the similarity...<br />
(Olson described a second species of flightless rail in the same paper, and Agnolin et al. also reference the phorusrhacid <i>Paraphysornis</i>, but the ulnae of those birds don't exhibit more than a passing similarity to those of alvarezsaurids either, in my estimation.)</td></tr>
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Given all that, I can't say that I find Agnolin et al.'s objections to the pickaxe model very convincing. How about discussions outside of the technical literature? From what I've seen, by far the main factor that raises apprehension of the pickaxe model is just <i>how</i> short alvarezsaurid forelimbs were. It's a reasonable thought to have: intuitively, we expect appendages that were employed in such arduous activity to be large in absolute size. However, there's a reason I don't think that the extreme length reduction of alvarezsaurid forelimbs is in conflict with the pickaxe model at all.<br />
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That reason is this: short appendages are <b><i>good</i></b> for digging. <br />
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That may sound strange, but at a basic level (i.e.: the level of biomechanics that I understand), it comes down to lever mechanics. In a lever system, force is applied to an in-lever and exerted on an external load by an out-lever. The longer the in-lever is relative to the out-lever, the more force can be exerted by the out-lever for the same amount of force applied. (Conversely, a relatively shorter in-lever allows the lever system to act more quickly, but with less strength.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6UyvC7oTc5RVBignLJmMYqBkZTpEH8Yy06nFXxi1V4gRgdXSSsfa4XI6s9fWvvJS6K5bEJ01Q4IPur-EhtqLHJ79FpAFkQ6_NOVBBj1-PXTgkDkALL7bvx02zgiyTKbo4Y1ugYpO6oY/s1600/lever.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="1028" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6UyvC7oTc5RVBignLJmMYqBkZTpEH8Yy06nFXxi1V4gRgdXSSsfa4XI6s9fWvvJS6K5bEJ01Q4IPur-EhtqLHJ79FpAFkQ6_NOVBBj1-PXTgkDkALL7bvx02zgiyTKbo4Y1ugYpO6oY/s400/lever.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram of a lever system (specifically a class 1 lever, though the distinction is not particularly important for this post), by Pearson Scott Foresman, public domain. "Effort" represents the force applied to the in-lever, causing the out-lever to act against the resistance of a load.</td></tr>
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The forearm of an animal that uses its forelimbs for digging can be seen as a lever system, with the olecranon process as the in-lever and the rest of the forearm as the out-lever. Seeing as digging generally demands great strength, it is usually advantageous for a digging animal to have a relatively long olecranon process (increasing the length of the in-lever) and a relatively short remainder of the forearm (decreasing the length of the out-lever). The same principle can explain why a digging lifestyle might favor pronounced muscle attachment points on the humerus, but reduction in the length of the humerus overall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM4M4RHPQ-DuUQbu4uK4XdQ1pbppHNX7r2WhZdz2oBhg0w3PtoyXwy2F9VB3hyL2__UaLiUynhnf5-q6y3e9OgQNjxJFc31hAAhqL8-zPdKlURHP1VP33BN5LI2v0u7AFPCa8NINMzjQ/s1600/fossorialulnae.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1409" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM4M4RHPQ-DuUQbu4uK4XdQ1pbppHNX7r2WhZdz2oBhg0w3PtoyXwy2F9VB3hyL2__UaLiUynhnf5-q6y3e9OgQNjxJFc31hAAhqL8-zPdKlURHP1VP33BN5LI2v0u7AFPCa8NINMzjQ/s400/fossorialulnae.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lever mechanics applied to ulnae, from Longrich and Currie (2009). (A) shows how the ulna can be seen as a lever system and (B) compares the ulnae of various theropods and mammals. The ulnae on the left belong to theropods, including several alvarezsaurids and the presumably non-digging <i>Deinonychus</i> and <i>Allosaurus</i>. The ulnae on the right belong to digging mammals, including an aardvark (<i>Orycteropus</i>), a pangolin (<i>Manis</i>), a giant armadillo (<i>Priodontes</i>), and an eastern mole (<i>Scalopus</i>). The numbers represent mechanical advantage, a measure of how long the in-lever is compared to the out-lever. The ulnae of alvarezsaurids consistently have mechanical advantage values comparable to those of digging mammals.</td></tr>
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And this is essentially what we see in nature (Coombs, 1983; Kley and Kearney, 2007). You can look at any specialized digging animal, and I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of the time, the appendages that it uses for digging will be shorter than those of a similarly-sized, non-digging species to which it is reasonably closely related. The short limbs are a feature, not a bug.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxIRlJZkKc2rBm7OzaDjgxcS8-SL0eZEhDzfTEAgX2SOAHruXMf5GhyphenhyphenzwKIy6wX1SzYo305yUV0Ypvm523hyphenhyphenuYhGwScH7RKwjCppVUphHzxaolGGllhGSPzs3XpQM_4PSjd0AbW5o3oQ/s1600/dasypus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="640" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxIRlJZkKc2rBm7OzaDjgxcS8-SL0eZEhDzfTEAgX2SOAHruXMf5GhyphenhyphenzwKIy6wX1SzYo305yUV0Ypvm523hyphenhyphenuYhGwScH7RKwjCppVUphHzxaolGGllhGSPzs3XpQM_4PSjd0AbW5o3oQ/s400/dasypus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeleton of a nine-banded armadillo (<i>Dasypus novemcinctus</i>), a scratch digger, photographed by David F. Schmidt, public domain. This species is not even a particularly specialized digger as armadillos go, but the forelimbs (especially the forearms) are visibly short relative to its body size.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTP_KW1bqLTijOofXAIccnoFHaSthS0HCF4GMbuvIbCCjv29n8QHlCDme6o5U258GQ70uqjMAz0mvLfy37aEwm2bEFcsi-Do_MMjOb_UuwY7nnMwnqU5pM-QHKCuIKGNTKAImZLwg39ts/s1600/procavia.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTP_KW1bqLTijOofXAIccnoFHaSthS0HCF4GMbuvIbCCjv29n8QHlCDme6o5U258GQ70uqjMAz0mvLfy37aEwm2bEFcsi-Do_MMjOb_UuwY7nnMwnqU5pM-QHKCuIKGNTKAImZLwg39ts/s400/procavia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeleton of a rock hyrax (<i>Procavia capensis</i>), a non-digging <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantogenata">atlantogenatan</a> similar in size to the nine-banded armadillo, photographed by David F. Schmidt, public domain. Despite not being especially specialized for fast running (which tends to promote increased limb length), the hyrax has relatively longer forelimbs, even accounting for the more extended limb posture it has been mounted in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We need not even look only at mammals or forelimbs. Below are two species of burrowing frogs, the black rain frog (<i>Breviceps fuscus</i>), which digs with its hindlimbs, and the marbled snout-burrower (<i>Hemisus marmoratus</i>), which digs mostly with its head. Can you guess which is which?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_Jp35nEifgotaQLBM7LM_mxyrlPKtHhs_cpH2Be6GFJdwuNcecXuwafSfSAjSNFjGYPny9hLeGhaBQqjxTpmRoLg7sgSZBOhF7zo-F9hLP6FxkZ7ZHQGYf7Nm6UKcaUItZ6q3arQiZM/s1600/hemisusbreviceps.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_Jp35nEifgotaQLBM7LM_mxyrlPKtHhs_cpH2Be6GFJdwuNcecXuwafSfSAjSNFjGYPny9hLeGhaBQqjxTpmRoLg7sgSZBOhF7zo-F9hLP6FxkZ7ZHQGYf7Nm6UKcaUItZ6q3arQiZM/s400/hemisusbreviceps.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The marbled snout-burrower (left) digs mostly with its head, whereas the black rain frog (right) digs with its feet, from van Dijk (2001) and composited into a single figure by <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/the-remarkably-weird-skeletons-of-frogs/">Darren Naish</a>. The marbled snout-burrower has a more pointed snout that it uses to penetrate soil, but the overall length of its skull is shorter compared to the rest of its body. Meanwhile, the hindlimbs of the black rain frog are much shorter and stockier for its size.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
All right. But if short appendages are so useful for digging, why don't any of the extant hook-and-pull diggers have forelimbs reduced to the extent seen in alvarezsaurids? I suspect that it has to do with the fact that, even though these animals evolved this behavior several times independently, all of them are mammals that inherited quadrupedal locomotion from their ancestors. Using the limbs in locomotion exerts selective pressures on their anatomy that may be at odds with their use in digging. Not only are the stresses experienced during walking different from those during digging (Toledo et al., 2020), limbs that are used in weight support must be long enough to raise an animal's body off the ground, constraining them in how short they can get.<br />
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Ah, comes the rejoinder: pangolins are bipedal hook-and-pull diggers, and they haven't shrunk their forelimbs down to alvarezsaurid proportions! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B95NdS77fZM">bipedal locomotion</a> of pangolins is now fairly well known thanks to popular documentary footage of them trundling endearingly on two legs. Far be it from me to complain about any positive attention given to pangolins; they certainly <a href="https://www.pangolinsg.org/">could use</a> as much of it as they can get. However, many viewers appear to have come away from these video clips with misconceptions about the prevalence and frequency of pangolin bipedality.<br />
<br />
In reality, only one out of the eight extant pangolin species walks <i>primarily</i> on two legs (Kingdon and Hoffmann, 2013; Challender et al., 2020). That one is the ground pangolin, which happens to be the one most frequently featured in documentaries. Even the ground pangolin is not an obligate biped, however; it can and does use quadrupedal locomotion on occasion, especially to clamber over inclined surfaces. Perhaps more importantly, it also uses its forelimbs to excavate and enlarge burrows. Although burrowing involves digging, and thus would select for relatively short digging appendages, this must be balanced with pressures demanding that those appendages have sufficient reach, as would be required for an animal to construct a space large enough to fit its entire body into.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkFDZZM_R0cnrtOjoM0G73y0Vlp7XKRXIGTflWXzNdqx9toJxK14xRulCNqYJaJk4Dak2hS2OPDbEybWdtMBV3bDjBbNOMLFYdsZR4CFHiID7VJcXEx25m1Ox4s0LQ0b0eY79u9DNT1U/s1600/goldenmoledigging.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="754" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkFDZZM_R0cnrtOjoM0G73y0Vlp7XKRXIGTflWXzNdqx9toJxK14xRulCNqYJaJk4Dak2hS2OPDbEybWdtMBV3bDjBbNOMLFYdsZR4CFHiID7VJcXEx25m1Ox4s0LQ0b0eY79u9DNT1U/s320/goldenmoledigging.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram showing part of the burrowing cycle of a Grant's golden mole (<i>Eremitalpa granti</i>), from Gasc et al. (1986). Note how the forelimb skeleton is relatively short, but needs to be <i>just</i> long enough to reach past the head.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In contrast, alvarezsaurids evolved from fully bipedal ancestors that most likely did not use the forelimbs for any form of locomotion, which could have given their forelimbs the freedom to shrink to smaller relative sizes than in digging mammals. There may have been another factor at play here, too: limbs that are not involved in locomotion have a tendency to increase drag while an animal is moving about, and it is therefore beneficial for there to be a mechanism that can keep these limbs as close to the body as possible. As noted previously, the shoulder and elbow joints of alvarezsaurids had limited ranges of motion (potentially another adaptation to digging), which would have prevented the forelimbs from folding up against the body. An alternative to achieving a similar effect then would have been to reduce the size of the limbs themselves.<br />
<br />
Thus, there are at least two plausible selective pressures (improved digging mechanics and reduced drag) that would have favored short forelimbs in alvarezsaurids if they were using their forelimbs for digging, and both of these pressures may have conceivably acted to a greater extent on alvarezsaurids than on digging mammals on account of their demonstrably different ancestral body plan. Are these explanations speculative? Certainly. However, they illustrate how the short length of alvarezsaurid forelimbs could have been a logical <i>consequence</i> of specialization for digging, rather than a contradiction of the pickaxe model.<br />
<br />
Another argument I've sometimes seen leveled against the pickaxe model is that alvarezsaurid thumb claws were of the wrong shape to have served as digging implements; that they were not sharp enough, flat enough, or hooked enough compared to those of mammalian hook-and-pull diggers. I've found these allegations difficult to verify for several reasons, not least of which is because high-resolution photographs showing the hand claws of a range of extant hook-and-pull diggers from multiple angles and (especially critically) without the overlying keratin sheath are hard to come by.<br />
<br />
I can still give it a try though using what resources I can access. The vast majority of alvarezsaurid thumb claw fossils that I know of have worn tips, making it hard to assess how sharp they may have been in life. The most completely preserved example that I'm aware of is from <i>Linhenykus</i>, and it tapers to what looks like a serviceable point to me. The curvature, though seemingly not as hooked as in some mammalian hook-and-pull diggers, looks comparable to that of the digging claws in certain <a href="https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/userpics/10004/pangolin_anteater_scaly_anteater.jpg">pangolins</a>, especially given that the keratin sheath is not preserved. I will grant that the underside of the claw tends to be rounded instead of flattened in alvarezsaurids (though I remain uncertain as to the status of this feature in the bony claw core of mammalian hook-and-pull diggers). Despite this, a flat-bottomed claw doesn't seem imperative if the claw was being used mostly for breaking (as opposed to shoveling) hard substrate. I don't see anything that clearly would have prevented <i>Linhenykus</i> from using its thumb claw for hook-and-pull digging, let alone <i>Albertonykus</i>, <i>Mononykus</i>, or MPD 100/120 (the "Tugriken Shireh alvarezsaur") with their more robust claws.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuWpk1MdDnjgsKXwvp0yQ5m9Ncf5T-qdAPQ8nuOR9_zEQ_M83Qz6AJc1e-2NHTJSlSa8TZjnYWTRHIiw7UeQ3mvmmrj2KrTi7o8qB3mT0R23Im4CJCBjiL3UNqEQKvI8scfoqm78kcxE/s1600/linhenykusclaw.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="1080" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuWpk1MdDnjgsKXwvp0yQ5m9Ncf5T-qdAPQ8nuOR9_zEQ_M83Qz6AJc1e-2NHTJSlSa8TZjnYWTRHIiw7UeQ3mvmmrj2KrTi7o8qB3mT0R23Im4CJCBjiL3UNqEQKvI8scfoqm78kcxE/s400/linhenykusclaw.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The thumb claw of <i>Linhenykus</i> from multiple angles (attached to the rest of the thumb in the leftmost image), from Xu et al. (2013).</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As with the subject of limb length, we must also consider that extant hook-and-pull diggers additionally use their hand claws for other functions, like weight-bearing (armadillos), climbing (most pangolins and anteaters), and burrowing (armadillos and pangolins), exposing them to potentially competing selective pressures. Alvarezsaurids most likely weren't using their claws for any of these functions, and as a result I would not expect their claws to have been strictly identical to those of mammalian hook-and-pull diggers.<br />
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However, qualitative impressions only go so far. It would be nice if someone did a quantitative comparison between alvarezsaurid claw shape and those of other animals... well, as it turns out, someone has! Lautenschlager (2014) was mostly concerned with investigating the function of therizinosaur claws, but as part of this study he assembled a large dataset characterizing claw shape in a variety of mammals and theropods, including alvarezsaurids. When all the claw shapes were plotted out (using a <a href="https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G331/lectures/331biomech.html">principal components analysis</a>), alvarezsaurids fell right within the field formed by digging mammals. What's more, of the three mammals that alvarezsaurids plotted closest to, two of them were hook-and-pull diggers: the giant armadillo and a pangolin of unspecified species. (The third mammal was the plains pocket gopher, <i>Geomys bursarius</i>, a scratch-digging rodent.) Although this does not <i>demonstrate</i> that alvarezsaurids used their claws for digging, it does suggest that their claw shapes were within the range of variation we'd expect of digging animals.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9r_NxawoVNr7CiuRKrc2-JPNZ6sCshTePX_zQgjavjrXDusQO5Sh1l8FStGNJBwzfwTcvFIpsje0fALESI91yvSCrRHRRWNKNGuCHG3rtw6Pj9V_3f48IXtwU9nZLjB5Igl8KnisXjc/s1600/clawmorphospace.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1014" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9r_NxawoVNr7CiuRKrc2-JPNZ6sCshTePX_zQgjavjrXDusQO5Sh1l8FStGNJBwzfwTcvFIpsje0fALESI91yvSCrRHRRWNKNGuCHG3rtw6Pj9V_3f48IXtwU9nZLjB5Igl8KnisXjc/s400/clawmorphospace.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morphospace graph depicting the range of claw shapes observed in theropods and mammals, from Lautenschlager (2014). The claws of alvarezsaurids fall entirely within the space formed by those of fossorial (digging) mammals.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
So as far as I'm concerned, no aspect of alvarezsaurid morphology described to date is inconsistent with the pickaxe model. We can also approach this topic from a different perspective: what characteristics would we <i>expect</i> to see in an animal that practices hook-and-pull digging?<br />
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In a 1983 study on the functional morphology of clawed herbivorous mammals (e.g.: ground sloths, chalicotheres, etc.), Margery Chalifoux Coombs outlined a list of features that are commonly found in and likely adaptive for digging mammals, including hook-and-pull diggers. We can use this list as a guideline for predicting forelimb-dominated digging in extinct tetrapods. It's worthy of note that Coombs used these features to infer digging habits in mylodontid ground sloths, years before mylodontids were identified as probable tracemakers of large burrows from South America (Vizcaíno et al., 2001).<br />
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What follows is Coombs's list of digging-associated traits (not necessarily in the order she presented them in), with parenthetical comments assessing their presence in alvarezsaurids. I have modified the wording of each entry, partly to account for differences between the musculature of mammals and dinosaurs, but I've tried to preserve the functional significance of each feature:<br />
<ol><li>Relatively short forelimbs (<b>yes</b>)</li>
<li>Enlarged attachment points for muscles that pull the forelimb towards the body (<b>yes</b>, large deltopectoral crest and keeled sternum)</li>
<li>Enlarged attachment points for muscles that extend the elbow (<b>yes</b>, elongated olecranon process)</li>
<li>Enlarged attachment points for muscles that extend the wrist and fingers (<b>yes</b>, large humeral ectepicondyle)</li>
<li>Enlarged attachment points for muscles that flex the wrist and fingers (<b>yes</b>, large humeral entepicondyle in <i>Patagonykus</i>, merged or replaced with an enlarged distal condyle in later alvarezsaurids)</li>
<li>Sequential reduction of the forelimb elements towards the tip, such that the wrist and palm are shorter than the forearm, which is in turn shorter than the upper arm (<b>yes</b>), including palm bones that are short and wide (<b>yes</b>)</li>
<li>Hip region of the vertebral column long and fused to the pelvis (<b>yes</b>, synsacrum with up to seven vertebrae)</li>
<li>Reduced contact between the pubis bones (<b>yes</b>)</li>
</ol>(Funnily, several of these traits are convergent with modern birds, which once led some paleontologists to consider alvarezsaurids a type of avialan. It makes some sense why those traits would arise in both groups: forelimb-powered flight likely also favors the ability to draw the forelimbs forcefully towards the body. Of course, it selects in a rather different direction when it comes to forelimb <i>length</i>.)<br />
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Coombs additionally noted a long tail for balance as a common trait of large digging mammals, and one is certainly present in most mammalian hook-and-pull diggers. Like most other non-pygostylian theropods, alvarezsaurids had tails that would be considered long by mammalian standards. However, seeing as they would have inherited this tail from already long-tailed ancestors, I think it's fair to exclude it as an adaptation specifically for digging in this case, even if it was potentially of use during excavation.<br />
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Based on similarities among extant hook-and-pull diggers, we can probably add at least a few more anatomical predictions specific to this method of digging:<br />
<ol start="9"><li>Single massively enlarged claw on each hand (<b>yes</b>)</li>
<li>Great capacity for flexion of the enlarged claw (<b>yes</b>)</li>
</ol>As Coombs also pointed out, though we might expect digging species to possess <i>many</i> of these features, not all of them are found in all digging mammals. She specifically noted trade-offs with other forelimb functions (such as running and climbing) as potential reasons why the acquisition of these characteristics might be compromised. However, two of the digging taxa she examined did have all or nearly all of the listed features: pangolins and the giant armadillo. Beyond their ecological similarities, these two taxa share an interesting commonality: they may not be obligate bipeds, but they are the most bipedal of the taxa studied, habitually adopting bipedal locomotion for at least short distances (Vizcaíno and Milne, 2002). Perhaps, then, we can formulate one more prediction: <br />
<ol start="11"><li>A digging animal that is less dependent on its forelimbs for non-digging functions is likely to acquire more of the previously listed features</li>
</ol>Do alvarezsaurids fit this pattern? They sure do!<br />
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In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSpfakhXry8">conversation</a> with science communicator Aron Ra, Viktor Radermacher commented (around 1:16:30 in the linked video), "If you have the arm of <i>Shuvuuia</i> or <i>Mononykus</i>, there's only one thing you can do with it." One might say that that's not strictly true; extant hook-and-pull diggers may also use their forelimbs for walking, burrowing, climbing, fighting, or self defense. However, the core of the matter is this: none of those functions on its own is known (from extant analogues and biomechanical principles) to have favored the specific combination of features that we observe in alvarezsaurid forelimbs. The <i><b>only</b></i> behavior I know of that selects for this suite of characteristics is hook-and-pull digging, and I've yet to see any convincing evidence demonstrating that alvarezsaurids were incapable of it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5quJTd5ai-m_84VwWrsIGzXGmQkM8ZduLM_T94nQVG0TcPqh6aeryXKLje5fR0JO37NWTW6zPlzrYPYmyuFOlaQ0yX-eWkPmH0GYRsagkp1znxiqy9Xji86NiNwCIaUALW0y2Qafltyc/s1600/Nemegtonykus.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1280" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5quJTd5ai-m_84VwWrsIGzXGmQkM8ZduLM_T94nQVG0TcPqh6aeryXKLje5fR0JO37NWTW6zPlzrYPYmyuFOlaQ0yX-eWkPmH0GYRsagkp1znxiqy9Xji86NiNwCIaUALW0y2Qafltyc/s400/Nemegtonykus.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restoration of <i>Nemegtonykus</i> here to break up the wall of text, by <a href="https://drawingwithdinosaurs.tumblr.com/">Scott Reid</a> (used with permission).</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
If alvarezsaurids were digging, <i>what</i> were they digging into? Extant hook-and-pull diggers are all <b>myrmecophages</b> (eaters of ants and termites) that use their digging skills to open up insect nests so that they can consume the occupants. As a consequence, this behavior has been inferred for alvarezsaurids as well. In an abstract for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference in 2000, Nick Longrich called this concept the "<b>aardraptor</b>" hypothesis.<br />
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Besides their adaptations for hook-and-pull digging, alvarezsaurids do seem to have exhibited other traits that are common in myrmecophagous mammals (Longrich and Currie, 2009). These include a toothless gap at the tip of the lower jaw, a large number of small, simple teeth*, long, narrow jaws, weak mandibles, and simplified jaw joints. Additionally, myrmecophages often have a long, sticky tongue for capturing their prey. In alvarezsaurids, the bony hyoid that would have supported the tongue is known in <i>Shuvuuia</i>; it has not been described in detail, but has been said to be "well-developed" (Chiappe et al., 2002). (Unfortunately, <i>Shuvuuia</i> was not included in a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198078">recent study</a> on the hyoid morphology of archosaurs and its relation to tongue mobility.)<br />
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*Some myrmecophages (such as anteaters and pangolins) have lost teeth altogether. Nonetheless, increase in tooth number is also a recurring trend in myrmecophages: the giant armadillo, the numbat (<i>Myrmecobius fasciatus)</i>, and the bat-eared fox (<i>Otocyon megalotis</i>) all have some of the highest tooth counts among land mammals. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3eCjVt6vcghWojd6cQPiYbkgYeFAvIp_nB1PwQfRB7NoLlX9wowflQYVSsSNJtnh59RnzPmF4Q5NmVDlE0tAhfxXH7-LUngyZ4DgXO8w9dmsaxhfAe1OivtKdMdwI3TnAKdsTiclGgE/s1600/shuvuuiaskull.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="657" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3eCjVt6vcghWojd6cQPiYbkgYeFAvIp_nB1PwQfRB7NoLlX9wowflQYVSsSNJtnh59RnzPmF4Q5NmVDlE0tAhfxXH7-LUngyZ4DgXO8w9dmsaxhfAe1OivtKdMdwI3TnAKdsTiclGgE/s320/shuvuuiaskull.png" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull of <i>Shuvuuia</i>, from Chiappe et al. (1998). Note the long, tubular snout and well-developed hyoid ("hyo").</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Unlike hook-and-pull digging, myrmecophagy is widespread enough among living animals that we need not restrict ourselves to mammals in considering extant analogues. In fact, there are myrmecophagous theropods today: many species of woodpeckers feed primarily on ants (which can comprise 50-95% of their diet), particularly those in the genera <i>Colaptes</i>, <i>Geocolaptes</i>, <i>Jynx</i>, and <i>Picus</i>, as well as some species of <i>Dryocopus</i> and <i>Mulleripicus</i> (Billerman et al., 2020; Winkler and Christie, 2020), and they share some similarities with mammalian myrmecophages. As flying birds, woodpeckers naturally haven't modified their forelimbs into excavation tools, but their head is famously specialized for breaking through hard substrates. They also possess a long, sticky tongue for collecting prey. Myrmecophagous woodpeckers often forage on the ground, on rotting logs, and at the bases of trees, habitats that presumably would have been accessible to alvarezsaurids as well.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_iUfdkbp-vIR9idsKdIyov4xKc67IBr1hUED6_nJdSh4ukXuCIDrbVV4Nhep_b1hb5-c7pUdjsQQFXVhcidmOBQmF_noH_N4NIZwgYLZF9MsrcaNaQ531InBByXBsyu3C_k1NO0KOJo/s1600/751px-Picus_viridis_sharpei_108a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="751" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_iUfdkbp-vIR9idsKdIyov4xKc67IBr1hUED6_nJdSh4ukXuCIDrbVV4Nhep_b1hb5-c7pUdjsQQFXVhcidmOBQmF_noH_N4NIZwgYLZF9MsrcaNaQ531InBByXBsyu3C_k1NO0KOJo/s320/751px-Picus_viridis_sharpei_108a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An immature European green woodpecker (<i>Picus viridis</i>) feeding on ants using its long tongue, photographed by Luis García, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/es/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0 ES</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
What types of social insects might alvarezsaurids have eaten? Longrich and Currie (2009) suggested that their primary targets were wood-nesting termites, traces of which are commonly found in fossilized wood at some localities where alvarezsaurids are known from. Contrary to popular artistic depictions, it appears unlikely that alvarezsaurids fed on mound-building termites, which might not even have existed during the Mesozoic. Even though supposed fossil termite mounds have been reported from Jurassic and even Triassic deposits, these records have been viewed with much skepticism (Krishna et al., 2013; Genise, 2017). Instead, the termite body fossil record and molecular clock estimates suggest that mound-building termites only evolved during the Cenozoic.<br />
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Longrich and Currie also argued that Cretaceous ants probably weren't abundant enough to have been the main prey of alvarezsaurids, noting that ants only account for a small fraction of species in Cretaceous insect assemblages (up to 1.2% according to LaPolla et al., 2013). Although body fossils of Cretaceous termites account for similarly small fractions despite the presence of their trace fossils (1% or less according to Engel et al., 2009), Longrich and Currie suggested that their lower preservation potential could be attributed to the "cryptic lifestyle" of wood-nesting termites, likely referencing the fact that such species may spend all or most of their time inside their nests. In any event, the relatively limited insect fossil record seems to suggest that early termites were an available food source to alvarezsaurids, maybe supplemented by the possibly rarer ants.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihyphenhyphencIgwz9lI6XsZ25MHKlMy2jtfL78dMybBqwOAnxJ_IirUlClHDK7BH3iWcI37SFVz8OJoE3j-fhaY97wnl99z6pXrRR2tfu1gpRiP7-bJTo2irTBKO7pwYRaOCgb3cylDWC_y6F44s/s1600/termites.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="667" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihyphenhyphencIgwz9lI6XsZ25MHKlMy2jtfL78dMybBqwOAnxJ_IirUlClHDK7BH3iWcI37SFVz8OJoE3j-fhaY97wnl99z6pXrRR2tfu1gpRiP7-bJTo2irTBKO7pwYRaOCgb3cylDWC_y6F44s/s320/termites.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pacific dampwood termites (<i>Zootermopsis angusticollis</i>), photographed by Joe Kunkel, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>. These are an extant type of wood-nesting termite. Did alvarezsaurids feed on similar species during the Cretaceous? Maybe...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As with the pickaxe model, the aardraptor hypothesis has its critics. Agnolin et al. (2012) took exception to the evidence from cranial morphology that Longrich and Currie presented, pointing out that all of those characteristics are widespread in armadillos (only some of which are specialized myrmecophages). Regardless, the fact remains that the skull features mentioned have evolved independently in many myrmecophagous groups. Thus, the observable cranial anatomy of alvarezsaurids is at least <i>consistent</i> with a myrmecophagous diet.<br />
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A common concern I've seen directed towards the aardraptor hypothesis again centers around the short forelimbs of alvarezsaurids, namely that process of breaching a insect nest would put the rest of an alvarezsaurid's body too close to the bites and stings of its potential prey for much comfort. However, I have yet to come across any evidence that forelimb length in myrmecophages plays an important role in minimizing counterattacks from their prey, except possibly in anteaters (Navarrete and Ortega, 2011), and even they frequently take numerous bites and stings. Instead, both myrmecophagous mammals (Reiss, 2000) and woodpeckers (Winkler and Christie, 2020) tend to have thick, tough skin that allows them to tolerate retribution from the insects, at least long enough for a worthwhile feeding bout. Although most myrmecophages do eventually retreat from the onslaught, the skin of the aardvark is said to be such an effective defense that it is virtually unfazed by the bites of most termites (Kingdon et al., 2013). In addition, myrmecophages usually have behavioral adaptations that reduce their exposure to their prey's arsenal, such as targeting less aggressive insect species and limiting the amount of time spent at each nest (Redford, 1987; Reiss, 2000). Both of these certainly could have been options for alvarezsaurids.<br />
<br />
In any case, it's not clear to me how longer forelimbs in myrmecophages are critical protection against biting and stinging insects. Once the insects start mounting a defense, they're likely to attack any point of contact with the nest, no matter how long the appendage it is attached to. And even though myrmecophages generally feed only for short periods at each nest, these feeding bouts often still allow ample time for defending insects to march up beyond the snouts and forelimbs of their predators. Not to mention, what exactly is so vulnerable about the rest of the body that it needs to be unreachable by insects? If one is willingly exposing themselves to a multitude of bites and stings, a few more on the back are unlikely to be more painful than, say, on the nose, which already needs to be put in close contact with the nest to begin with. <br />
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At most, longer limbs might limit the number of insects that can attack at once by placing a smaller surface area in contact with the nest, but this evidently isn't essential to most myrmecophages. In the video below, a feeding short-beaked echidna (<i>Tachyglossus aculeatus</i>) is shown climbing all over a termite mound with its belly held very close to the substrate, and at one point it shoves almost its entire head into the hole in the mound that it has dug out. Not exactly ideal actions to take if minimal contact with the nest was a top priority.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aKzy4vjuR0E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aKzy4vjuR0E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />
In this other video, a black-bellied pangolin (<i>Phataginus tetradactylus</i>) is shown eating ants. The ants climb up its body via its snout and limbs pretty quickly, but this doesn't prevent it from continuing to feed. Is this because its relatively long forelimbs (compared to those of an alvarezsaurid) bought it significantly more feeding time? I doubt it. (As an aside, notice how other than the strong flexion of the fingers, only a fairly small degree of motion by the rest of the forelimb is needed for the pangolin to tear off pieces of wood.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dMvMclikeCA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dMvMclikeCA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />
Another video on the same channel also shows how quickly ants can start climbing all over a feeding pangolin without deterring it. If anything, the pangolin in that video (understandably) looks more irritated by the ants on its face, which would have been there irrespective of its forelimb length.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MfC8LPiLXkY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MfC8LPiLXkY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />
Though one might be tempted to attribute these feeding patterns to the protection offered by the pangolins' scales, the scales are more suited to defense against predators than against insects (Challender et al., 2020), and the more heavily-armored ground pangolin is not immune to counterattacks from ants (Swart et al., 1999). Besides, can we really exclude the possibility that alvarezsaurids had their own integumentary specializations that served as armor against insect weaponry, perhaps akin to the dense, scale-like feathering on the faces of honey buzzards (Sievwright and Higuchi, 2016)? We cannot.<br />
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Furthermore, there is no particular reason to assume that if alvarezsaurids were myrmecophagous, they must have kept their forelimbs and chest constantly pressed up against the substrate while they were feeding. It is at least as likely that they stepped back once they had broken into a nest and then brought only their narrow snout in contact with defending insects. Even some extant myrmecophages, like the Indian pangolin (<i>Manis crassicaudata</i>), normally cease digging once they have exposed their prey (Challender et al., 2020).<br />
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Later alvarezsaurids not only had unusual forelimbs, but highly specialized hindlimbs as well, and it has been proposed that this, too, poses a problem for the aardraptor hypothesis. Their hindlimb anatomy indicates that they were likely well adapted to <b>cursoriality</b> (running), having very long lower legs and feet relative to their body size. Their feet also exhibit a very extreme form of the <a href="https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/what-is-an-acrtometatarsal/">arctometatarsalian</a> condition, in which the second and fourth metatarsals (long bones of the foot) are tightly appressed to each other close to the base of the foot, "pinching" the third metatarsal between them. An arctometatarsus evolved independently in many groups of Mesozoic theropods, and may have been advantageous for agile locomotion (Snively and Russell, 2003).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FpIKqvVC2WSF03IgUzcmoRpU4APsmNkyHrD8Ywy2meMw56WcvrF_LxbGA2edZbsScQZVTunY_51UD8q_zFBKdm3p6ETEkDd7CySHcp_J0oKgozAF_-aOeupevTKDeHgmRPzeFIKXu64/s1600/linhenykusfoot.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FpIKqvVC2WSF03IgUzcmoRpU4APsmNkyHrD8Ywy2meMw56WcvrF_LxbGA2edZbsScQZVTunY_51UD8q_zFBKdm3p6ETEkDd7CySHcp_J0oKgozAF_-aOeupevTKDeHgmRPzeFIKXu64/s320/linhenykusfoot.png" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The foot of <i>Linhenykus</i>, in front (left) and back (right) views, from Xu et al. (2013). Note how the two metatarsals on either side are tightly appressed to each other for much of the foot's length.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
These cursorial adaptations may seem at odds with myrmecophagy, because many myrmecophagous mammals have unusually low metabolic rates, which are unlikely to support a highly cursorial lifestyle. Myrmecophages have the potential to attain much larger body sizes than other insectivorous animals, because ants and termites tend to live at high concentrations. However, even though ants and termites are rich in protein, much of this protein is locked up inside their hard-to-digest chitin exoskeletons, and it appears that this may require large myrmecophages to maintain low metabolic rates.<br />
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A direct investigation of whether myrmecophagy could support alvarezsaurids would be highly theoretical at best, given that we'd need to obtain values for many variables we currently lack solid knowledge of, such as the productivity of ecosystems in which alvarezsaurids lived, insect abundance in those same communities, and the energy budgets of alvarezsaurids. Even so, maybe extant myrmecophages can provide us with clues about how large a myrmecophage can get without substantially reducing its metabolism.<br />
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Although early studies suggested that only mammals less than 1 kg could live off a mainly myrmecophagous diet while maintaining a typical mammalian metabolism (McNab, 1984), more recent research has upped this threshold to 11-13 kg (McNab, 2000a), which happens to be close to the maximum size of the aardwolf (<i>Proteles cristata</i>; Hunter, 2019), a myrmecophagous hyena. The aardwolf's metabolic rate was once considered to be abnormally low, which was interpreted as evidence that myrmecophagy promotes low metabolism at its size. Subsequent studies though have found that it has a metabolism typical for a mammal of its size (McNab, 2000b) and not significantly lower than expected of a carnivoran (Cooper and Withers, 2006). Among myrmecophagous woodpeckers, even the very specialized ground woodpecker (<i>Geocolaptes olivaceus</i>) does not have a reduced metabolism for a bird of its size (Kemp et al., 2017), but this is perhaps unsurprising given that even the largest woodpeckers are well below 1 kg in mass.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKf-ZNzvfqiECL3HcBwOcxeXeGcTYYyAZdo6qdXSsrrNRzW2EYKzJNab9pdGyxm54jBLq9nPoQDB_vVp-ef8uHnlo6I9zFbQ_R0hzZcGVTX_0AGxHSOygQcsK677vmAhsfuS9t-R7b5uw/s1600/Proteles_cristatus1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKf-ZNzvfqiECL3HcBwOcxeXeGcTYYyAZdo6qdXSsrrNRzW2EYKzJNab9pdGyxm54jBLq9nPoQDB_vVp-ef8uHnlo6I9zFbQ_R0hzZcGVTX_0AGxHSOygQcsK677vmAhsfuS9t-R7b5uw/s320/Proteles_cristatus1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An aardwolf, photographed by Dominik Käuferle, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>. Is this small hyena the largest an myrmecophage can get while maintaining a standard mammalian metabolism?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Interestingly, a threshold of 11-13 kg would exceed the body size of nearly all known alvarezsaurids (Benson et al., 2018), other than the emu-sized <i>Patagonykus</i> and <i>Bonapartenykus</i>. Although the forelimb of <i>Patagonykus</i> indicates that it had many of the digging-related traits mentioned previously, the hindlimbs of these larger taxa are incompletely known and their skulls remain undiscovered, so there exists a real possibility that they did not share the same ecology or physiology as the smaller alvarezsaurids. One of the most curious trends known in alvarezsaurid evolution is their tendency towards smaller body size later in their history, being among the few non-avialan dinosaurs known to have reached sizes smaller than 1 kg. Might this have been an adaptation to specialize in myrmecophagy without compromising metabolic rate? It would be hard to test, but it's not an unreasonable hypothesis.<br />
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It has also been suggested that the cursorial adaptations of alvarezsaurids could have been advantageous for a myrmecophagous lifestyle (Xu et al., 2010). Being speedy runners likely would have helped such small dinosaurs escape from predators, but cursorial limb proportions can allow for increased energy savings during locomotion as well (as has been recently proposed for large theropods by Dececchi et al., 2020). Due to the often patchy distribution of their prey, myrmecophages may need to travel long distances while foraging, and an efficient means of getting around certainly would have been conducive to doing so.<br />
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Even so, it's strange that there are no cursorial myrmecophages alive today, isn't it? Well... there are, actually: sengis!<br />
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Sengis are a group of small African mammals that are sometimes called "elephant shrews", though they are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrotheria">more closely related to elephants</a> than to shrews. Many sengi species feed primarily on ants and termites, which they lick up with a long, sticky tongue (Rathbun, 2009; Kingdon et al., 2013). They are also the most cursorially specialized mammals of their size (Lovegrove and Mowoe, 2014), able to run very quickly by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqmhPYPzjkk">bounding</a> in an antelope-like manner. The largest sengis are about the same size as some alvarezsaurids. In fact, at over 700 g (Rovero et al., 2008), they are more than four times the size of the smallest known alvarezsaurids!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhk-HdoYD8Wh2LKGYwF5dFDwjlkIt9IDSZ-x-NcQ02vlHWSkzEugC22aA3ljosX6Qajqq2PosRuhWbxCz7K98mtY8l3eN2zSFOA8Adq1TCXHCOQ2xQMfvceXdPNqKDvR0prTrv_ulx7E/s1600/800px-Rhynchocyon_petersi_from_side.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhk-HdoYD8Wh2LKGYwF5dFDwjlkIt9IDSZ-x-NcQ02vlHWSkzEugC22aA3ljosX6Qajqq2PosRuhWbxCz7K98mtY8l3eN2zSFOA8Adq1TCXHCOQ2xQMfvceXdPNqKDvR0prTrv_ulx7E/s320/800px-Rhynchocyon_petersi_from_side.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A black and rufous sengi (<i>Rhynchocyon petersi</i>), photographed by Joey Makalintal, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">CC BY 2.0</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Sengis provide some interesting insights into what it takes to be a cursorial insectivore. To sustain their cursorial lifestyle, sengis have higher body temperatures (averaging 37.2°C) than their closest living relatives, the tenrecs and golden moles (averaging 32.8°C) (Lovegrove and Mowoe, 2014). As it happens, the lower body temperatures of the latter groups are close to some of the body temperatures that have been estimated for non-avialan maniraptorans through eggshell geochemistry (Eagle et al., 2015; Dawson et al., 2020). Did alvarezsaurids exhibit elevated body temperatures compared to other non-avialan maniraptorans as well? It would be interesting to find out; we do have possible alvarezsaurid eggshell fossils (Agnolin et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2018).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLUKT4iXg3Fx8cjCAaZTsP-71xoNYbdtsHPR4LnfGIh5T7eBDiNKAZJUyJfU_bVY4Hha6is-MOyLR9T-phdyn8w83GfEG48LmcveCrQFzrJbpIE43FBfSUbEeGCgITM31Yp-jx4GnnuE/s1600/sengialvie.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLUKT4iXg3Fx8cjCAaZTsP-71xoNYbdtsHPR4LnfGIh5T7eBDiNKAZJUyJfU_bVY4Hha6is-MOyLR9T-phdyn8w83GfEG48LmcveCrQFzrJbpIE43FBfSUbEeGCgITM31Yp-jx4GnnuE/s400/sengialvie.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Wait, you combine cursoriality and insectivory at small body size? You're me!"<br />
"... Well, I also have armadillo arms."<br />
(Sengi head from a photograph by Joey Makalintal, figured previously, and <i>Shuvuuia</i> skull from Chiappe and Dyke, 2002.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The parallels between sengis and potentially myrmecophagous alvarezsaurids are not perfect, I'll grant. The giant sengis (<i>Rhynchocyon</i> spp.) that overlap in size with alvarezsaurids are less myrmecophagous than smaller sengis, instead feeding on invertebrates largely according to their availability (Rathbun, 2009; Kingdon et al., 2013). Then again, sengis lack any means of penetrating hard insect nests, and therefore would likely have trouble being specialized myrmecophages in environments where ants and termites are less exposed, such as the forested habitats where <i>Rhynchocyon</i> live.<br />
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Maybe this is another discrepancy that can be explained by the bipedal ancestry of alvarezsaurids. As described before, limbs suited to digging are typically short and robust, unlike the long, gracile limbs demanded by running. As a result, it would probably be difficult for a quadruped to specialize in both activities. I can think of two more extant myrmecophages that descended from relatively cursorial ancestors: the aardwolf and the bat-eared fox. Both of them have retained similar limb proportions to their close relatives, but are also unable to break into hard insect nests. The aardwolf instead licks up termites from the surface of the ground, whereas the bat-eared fox scratches them up from the soil. In an obligate biped, however, the function of the front and hind limbs do not need to be interlinked, and it may thus have the potential to become proficient at both digging and running, as alvarezsaurids might have done.<br />
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I'm not saying that the existence of sengis or the decoupling of front and hind limb function in bipeds shows that alvarezsaurids <i>must</i> have been myrmecophages. It's easy to come up with plausible-sounding evolutionary scenarios and analogies, but it's much more difficult to test them. However, I do think that these factors indicate that the aardraptor hypothesis has yet to be falsified.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKJJEyvn5Ph5sUiYf0dOwDcJYRg42knQEl72GR4pibSMMLkGqcOJYMDTXJXVZrX8JZSQIzqtuXw9usRVdD40V13Msb5nBzrwNKES6ropFFonAvughfFfGfufjCsRdXl2OhAc45JlRxtQ/s1600/Otocyon_megalotis_-_Etosha_2014.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKJJEyvn5Ph5sUiYf0dOwDcJYRg42knQEl72GR4pibSMMLkGqcOJYMDTXJXVZrX8JZSQIzqtuXw9usRVdD40V13Msb5nBzrwNKES6ropFFonAvughfFfGfufjCsRdXl2OhAc45JlRxtQ/s320/Otocyon_megalotis_-_Etosha_2014.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bat-eared fox, photographed by Yathin S Krishnappa, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>. This species feeds mostly on termites, but it retains the limb proportions of a typical fox and cannot dig into hard termite mounds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
An alternative to the aardraptor hypothesis was put forth in the scientific literature by Lü Junchang and colleagues in their 2018 description of <i>Qiupanykus</i>. They hypothesized that alvarezsaurids might have fed on the eggs of other dinosaurs. I <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-extinct-maniraptors-of-2018.html">previously commented</a> that their reasoning for this was "<b>extremely unconvincing</b>" (bold text included), and I stand by that. Simple association between an alvarezsaurid skeleton and an eggshell fragment does not make for direct evidence of alvarezsaurid dietary habits. <br />
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With that said... the <i>concept</i> of egg-eating alvarezsaurids may not be so unfathomable. Very few tetrapods today specialize in eating eggs, but eggs could have been a very abundant food source during the Mesozoic, during which most large terrestrial animals were probably egg layers. In addition, if recent estimates of months-long incubation periods for some Mesozoic dinosaur eggs are correct (Erickson et al., 2017), eggs may have been available for much of the year in many Mesozoic ecosystems. The powerful forelimbs of alvarezsaurids could have conceivably been used to break into eggs, as Lü et al. noted, and eating eggs might not have required a strong bite or large teeth, consistent with the delicately-built alvarezsaurid skull. I will say though that a long, narrow snout does not seem to me like a particularly appropriate tool for efficiently collecting the contents of a smashed egg. All in all, I still favor alvarezsaurid myrmecophagy on the basis of there being (more) suitable extant analogues, but I'd be interested in seeing the egg specialist hypothesis tested further in future studies.<br />
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At the very least, we probably can't rule out opportunistic egg eating in alvarezsaurids, even if they were primarily myrmecophagous. Many myrmecophages do feed almost entirely on social insects, but some regularly expand their diet (Redford, 1987) to include other types of invertebrates, small vertebrates, carrion, or fruit, as has been documented in the giant armadillo (Carter et al., 2016), the sloth bear (<i>Melursus ursinus</i>; Hunter, 2019), and the northern flicker (<i>Colaptes auratus</i>; Billerman et al., 2020), just to name a few examples.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKJt88R4TFw3g5C4245EB1lO6CnPD1ZudufHs75Wo8dR2ScwVs_n8nL-NzXnn46zrCjwPrtEwwm3NTKMBV9TJKnvo5VrwQ4f1FZADxrLj3Y53Z_C4Cz4OQ129PBHkW8ov1A1up68oihA/s1600/Alvarezsaurid2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKJt88R4TFw3g5C4245EB1lO6CnPD1ZudufHs75Wo8dR2ScwVs_n8nL-NzXnn46zrCjwPrtEwwm3NTKMBV9TJKnvo5VrwQ4f1FZADxrLj3Y53Z_C4Cz4OQ129PBHkW8ov1A1up68oihA/s400/Alvarezsaurid2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An alvarezsaurid devours a juvenile sauropod, by Scott Reid (used with permission). Even if alvarezsaurids were myrmecophagous, might they have occasionally expanded their palates to include larger prey items like this? It's possible.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
So what's my (non-expert) take on alvarezsaurid paleobiology? I consider the pickaxe model to be the most likely explanation of their forelimb anatomy, and a myrmecophagous diet at least seems plausible. In a discussion on the Dinosaur Mailing List, David Marjanović** <a href="http://dml.cmnh.org/2011Apr/msg00294.html">remarked</a>, "To me, the unique combination of traits in alvarezsaurs isn't more mysterious than <a href="https://svpow.com/2011/04/07/coombss-chimaera/">Coombs's chimera</a> [referencing a description of sauropods by Walter Coombs]." I agree. Both sauropods and alvarezsaurids had puzzling body plans not seen in any living animal, but that does not mean we cannot paint a broad picture of how they likely lived and functioned if we employ rigorous comparative anatomy, biomechanics, and multiple extant analogues.<br />
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**I should mention that Marjanović independently <a href="http://dml.cmnh.org/2008Aug/msg00162.html">came up with</a> many of the same points that I've brought up here, years before this blog even existed!<br />
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Is it possible we'll conclude one day that alvarezsaurids were <i>not</i> specialized for digging or myrmecophagy after all? Of course! However, I think we first need good reason to discard what seems to me like the most straightforward possibilities: that a forelimb that looks like that of a digging animal was used for digging, and that an animal with this specific type of digging limb was likely eating social insects. And though alvarezsaurids exhibited an odd combination of features for an animal with such a lifestyle, I have not yet encountered any compelling evidence for why this would be demonstrably inconsistent with the aardraptor hypothesis, especially when considered within their evolutionary context.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Fy7ozCbfAXn789PpeWZwhSQamwnj4Dwnj8m5Q_w6eEBqEDhSaxjYST6-rRrkYApgbiqG_Nkp8ZZd2Po1WcVEKXi6iLOIXl-zL2SGcuk7lTXJXs84UUqXnGV2YAuCC_a5af4TP-RgErw/s1600/Albertonykusnew.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="632" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Fy7ozCbfAXn789PpeWZwhSQamwnj4Dwnj8m5Q_w6eEBqEDhSaxjYST6-rRrkYApgbiqG_Nkp8ZZd2Po1WcVEKXi6iLOIXl-zL2SGcuk7lTXJXs84UUqXnGV2YAuCC_a5af4TP-RgErw/s320/Albertonykusnew.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this mean that the behavior depicted in my profile picture is still plausible? We shall see...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
What further studies could be applied to test our ideas about alvarezsaurid ecology? Plenty! More detailed descriptions of their skulls and teeth could reveal hints about how and what they ate, especially if relevant specimens could be CT-scanned. Perhaps direct evidence of their diet could be obtained through isotopic signatures in their teeth. Quantitative biomechanics might also help us narrow down what types of behaviors they could perform with their jaws and forelimbs. We still have much to learn about alvarezsaurids, some of the most delightfully bizarre of all dinosaurs.<br />
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<li>Vizcaíno, S.F. and N. Milne. 2002. <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1017/S0952836902000717">Structure and function in armadillo limbs (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Dasypodidae).</a> <i>Journal of Zoology</i> <b>257</b>: 117-127. doi: 10.1017/S0952836902000717</li>
<li>Vizcaíno, S.F., M. Zárate, M.S. Bargo, and A. Dondas. 2001. <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app46-289.html">Pleistocene burrows in the Mar del Plata area (Argentina) and their probable builders.</a> <i>Acta Palaeontologica Polonica</i> <b>46</b>: 289-301.</li>
<li>Winkler, H. and D.A. Christie. 2020. Woodpeckers (Picidae). In J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana (eds.), <i>Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive</i>. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.</li>
<li>Xu, X., D.-Y. Wang, C. Sullivan, D.W.E. Hone, F.-L. Han, R.-H. Yan, and F.-M. Du. 2010. <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2413.1.1/0">A basal parvicursorine (Theropoda: Alvarezsauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of China.</a> <i>Zootaxa</i> <b>2413</b>: 1-19. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.2413.1.1</li>
<li>Xu, X., P. Upchurch, Q. Ma, M. Pittman, J. Choiniere, C. Sullivan, D.W.E. Hone, Q. Tan, L. Tan, D. Xiao, and F. Han. 2013. <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app20110083.html">Osteology of the Late Cretaceous alvarezsauroid <i>Linhenykus monodactylus</i> from China and comments on alvarezsauroid biogeography.</a> <i>Acta Palaeontologica Polonica</i> <b>58</b>: 25-46. doi: 10.4202/app.2011.0083</li>
<li>Yang, T.-R., Y.-H. Chen, J. Wiemann, B. Spiering, and P.M. Sander. 2018. <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5144/">Fossil eggshell cuticle elucidates dinosaur nesting ecology.</a> <i>PeerJ</i> <b>6</b>: e5144. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5144</li>
</ul>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-60352764069670153242020-04-20T17:36:00.001-07:002021-04-25T19:32:07.049-07:00The Lost Mousebird DynastyIn sub-Saharan Africa there live six species of small, sociable birds called the mousebirds or colies. Classified into two genera (<i>Colius</i> and <i>Urocolius</i>), they are found in semi-open habitats such as savannah and woodlands, where they flit from tree to tree and feed on fruits, leaves, and flowers. Mousebirds climb with great agility, scurrying along tree branches in almost mouse-like fashion (hence "mousebirds").<br />
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Facilitating the arboreal activities of mousebirds are their unusual feet. Both the outermost and innermost toe on each foot can swivel to direct either forward or backward. As a result, mousebirds can adopt not only the anisodactyl toe arrangement of most modern birds, in which each foot has three toes pointing forward and one pointing back, but also zygodactyl (two toes forward, two toes back) and pamprodactyl (all four toes facing foward) configurations as well. Given this versatility, mousebirds can grasp and cling to surfaces in a variety of ways, as well as use their feet to handle food items. They often dangle from perches in a distinctive posture, with their feet held up at chest level and their very long, stiff tail feathers propped against a nearby surface. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqopPl_-k2lQdvNazvKDYbUbR8XomLe3D0BjXAbKy3CwKvVJ4bGI_R2gBZpvcRSXh2l37R0kEtwo6yg1e_bzXZxhXXsfnZUGkk53OBcS7IGyg-m8T6mKBf4sg_fItHRQYsr7x4i2YSa0I/s1600/mousebirdperch.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqopPl_-k2lQdvNazvKDYbUbR8XomLe3D0BjXAbKy3CwKvVJ4bGI_R2gBZpvcRSXh2l37R0kEtwo6yg1e_bzXZxhXXsfnZUGkk53OBcS7IGyg-m8T6mKBf4sg_fItHRQYsr7x4i2YSa0I/s400/mousebirdperch.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A speckled mousebird in the characteristic dangling pose frequently adopted by mousebirds, photographed by Bob McDougall, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>.</td></tr>
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Despite their specializations for climbing, mousebirds seem to have no trouble walking and running on the ground. They rarely drink water, but when they do, they are among the few birds that can drink by suction, and thus don't need to tip their head back to swallow each mouthful. (Among birds, similar abilities are also found in pigeons and some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrildidae">estrildid</a> songbirds.) When food is scarce, mousebirds may enter torpor at night, dramatically lowering their metabolism to conserve energy.<br />
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Genetic studies have consistently placed mousebirds within <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluraves">Telluraves</a>, a very diverse clade of mainly arboreal birds that also includes songbirds, parrots, woodpeckers, the various groups of birds of prey, and many, many more. Although some researchers have noted anatomical similarities between mousebirds and parrots, genetic studies generally don't favor a close relationship between these two groups within Telluraves. Instead, the most <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/346/6215/1320">comprehensive</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature15697">recent</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/66/5/857/3091102">analyses</a> recover mousebirds as the closest living relatives of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitaves">Cavitaves</a>, a clade that unites woodpeckers, kingfishers, hornbills, trogons, and the Malagasy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_roller">courol</a>. Even so, uncertainty remains, as some types of genetic material <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/zsc.12213">strongly favor</a> placing mousebirds as more distant relatives of cavitavians than are hawks and owls.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWraQAdSTFpvGGOp38KZrE7dVpSp7N0CwJIHzksHnmyAjBCqYAU6HnFL596Ef3m_-TUC4cVmfGwW3NEyDuZ7OlDJ7B_x-gzNZ4289T1tpT2I_K0gccpq084u9Ov-38UIhlOuUsQW4_xCk/s1600/afroaves.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="964" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWraQAdSTFpvGGOp38KZrE7dVpSp7N0CwJIHzksHnmyAjBCqYAU6HnFL596Ef3m_-TUC4cVmfGwW3NEyDuZ7OlDJ7B_x-gzNZ4289T1tpT2I_K0gccpq084u9Ov-38UIhlOuUsQW4_xCk/s400/afroaves.png" width="380" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phylogeny showing the phylogenetic position of mousebirds (Coliiformes) recovered by the most recent large-scale genetic studies (though see main text).</td></tr>
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Mousebirds are generally unfamiliar to people outside of Africa today. However, during the Eocene Epoch (56-33.9 million years ago), the close extinct relatives of mousebirds were likely some of the most common birds in the forests of Europe and North America, as evidenced by the discovery of numerous fossil specimens. (<i>Eocolius</i> from the Eocene London Clay Formation in England probably wasn't one of them though. Known from a partial skeleton, it was originally described as a mousebird, but subsequent studies have found that it exhibits no convincing mousebird traits.)<br />
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A number of early mousebirds belonged to the extinct group Sandcoleidae, named by Peter Houde and Storrs Olson in 1992. Some sandcoleids, such as <i>Botauroides</i>, <i>Eobucco</i>, and the two species of <i>Uintornis</i> from the Bridger Formation of North America, are only known from feet. In contrast, <i>Sandcoleus</i> from the Willwood Formation and <i>Anneavis</i> from the Green River Formation of North America are known from nearly complete skeletons, as is <i>Eoglaucidium</i> from Geisel Valley and the Messel Formation in Germany. <br />
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In addition to Eocene fossil deposits, sandcoleids are also known from rocks dating to the preceding epoch, the Paleocene. In fact, ~62.5-million-year-old <i>Tsidiiyazhi</i>, known from a partial skeleton discovered in the Nacimiento Formation of New Mexico, represents the oldest well-corroborated fossil of any kind of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoaves">neoavian</a> bird, indicating that modern-type birds had already diversified greatly by the early Paleocene.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vWE21WxrFes5AGuQMw7zPJCe8YKHI3TjfhS-ngSjK2KycEwQ-t1ypkkx6KzsRTwOq5QqgS92OsCSBc2bj5PCZIwVRKV1vlgiY_UzRHMplZ-bG5mPL0D0q0-DDmRFlpXg_yUqcYwSkbE/s1600/eoglaucidium.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="1344" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vWE21WxrFes5AGuQMw7zPJCe8YKHI3TjfhS-ngSjK2KycEwQ-t1ypkkx6KzsRTwOq5QqgS92OsCSBc2bj5PCZIwVRKV1vlgiY_UzRHMplZ-bG5mPL0D0q0-DDmRFlpXg_yUqcYwSkbE/s320/eoglaucidium.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A specimen of <i>Eoglaucidium</i> preserved with feathers, from Mayr (2018).</td></tr>
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Sandcoleids had "generalist", thrush-like beaks, suggesting that they weren't particularly specialized for feeding on any specific type of food. However, seeds have been found as gut contents in some specimens. These seeds had been swallowed intact rather than crushed, perhaps implying that sandcoleids swallowed fruits whole at least on occasion, similar to modern mousebirds. <br />
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Some specimens of <i>Anneavis</i> and <i>Eoglaucidium</i> have been found with preserved feathers. Like extant mousebirds, they had short, rounded wings, but at least <i>Eoglaucidium</i> differed from them in lacking a head crest. The tail feathers of sandcoleids were fairly long, but not elongated to the extent seen in modern mousebirds. This, along with a pygostyle (fused vertebrae at the end of the tail) that was not as broad as it is in living mousebirds, indicate that sandcoleids did not habitually prop their tail against surfaces.<br />
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The feet of sandcoleids were more robust than those of extant mousebirds, further implying that they did not typically use a dangling perching posture. They were probably still skilled climbers and clingers, as was proposed by Houde and Olson, and later supported in a functional study by Nikita Zelenkov and Gareth Dyke in 2008. Sandcoleid feet bore curved claws, which have been likened to those of raptors. Although sandcoleids seem to otherwise lack raptorial adaptations, perhaps this indicates that they used their feet for manipulating food items. Like modern mousebirds, sandcoleids appear to have had flexible toes that could alternate between several different toe configurations.<br />
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Intriguingly, the raptor-like claws of sandcoleids may be consistent with the hypothesis that the last common ancestor of all telluravians was a raptorial bird. Might this also explain the apparently convergent similarities between mousebirds and parrots, in that their shared features could have both resulted from the adoption of a fruit-eating ecology by a raptorial ancestor? Food for thought. (Maybe someone should keep an eye on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm-nut_vulture">palm-nut vulture</a>...)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0Vxx8uuhHTQvUC0HYi6sIqtyI3YbnMzcaYNfCCoczHMllKYIhuLwhT8aFnbDFtzf9TL8_NGCnyJrSMIGauMUBtSbUcR4if8rkRsN31a0nppQ3kp0aZMjXiyO_EKFajpWeezF2UojDp4/s1600/eoglaucidiumfeet.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1200" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0Vxx8uuhHTQvUC0HYi6sIqtyI3YbnMzcaYNfCCoczHMllKYIhuLwhT8aFnbDFtzf9TL8_NGCnyJrSMIGauMUBtSbUcR4if8rkRsN31a0nppQ3kp0aZMjXiyO_EKFajpWeezF2UojDp4/s400/eoglaucidiumfeet.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The feet of <i>Eoglaucidium</i> showing large, curved claws, from Mayr (2018).</td></tr>
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Formerly thought to be a sandcoleid was <i>Selmes</i> from the Messel Formation. (Its genus name is an anagram of "Messel".) Originally named in 1999, a better-preserved specimen described by Gerald Mayr in 2001 exhibited several features, including slender feet and a broad pygostyle, that suggested it was more closely related to modern mousebirds than sandcoleids were. In addition, these characteristics suggest that it often perched in the dangling pose of modern mousebirds. <i>Selmes</i> was also initially interpreted as having toes that were permanently fixed in a pamprodactyl arrangement, but Mayr argued that its feet more likely functioned similarly to those of sandcoleids and living mousebirds. Like sandcoleids, <i>Selmes</i> has been found with seeds preserved as gut contents. A mousebird foot from the Eocene Quercy Phosphorites may represent a French record of <i>Selmes</i>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5izBzY_VLFqfrKbmPUN0VtIC0KMoRedTU9xVqqS4tPRMkLIbLgJmWzNLlN0p9TJ-wHIUjnPYdsYKPW4a0cLF_OJDHohTvvBS9VKOqWDrT8bN60m7OjiyCy04xu8UIGYdRn5MGqe7rvI/s1600/selmes.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="469" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5izBzY_VLFqfrKbmPUN0VtIC0KMoRedTU9xVqqS4tPRMkLIbLgJmWzNLlN0p9TJ-wHIUjnPYdsYKPW4a0cLF_OJDHohTvvBS9VKOqWDrT8bN60m7OjiyCy04xu8UIGYdRn5MGqe7rvI/s320/selmes.png" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A specimen of <i>Selmes</i>, from Mayr (2001). The black arrow points to the broad pygostyle.</td></tr>
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There is, however, another Messel mousebird that might have actually had permanently pamprodactyl feet. That mousebird is <i>Masillacolius</i>, known from three specimens that all have the toes preserved in a pamprodactyl posture. Other than mousebirds, the only extant birds that adopt a pamprodactyl foot configuration with any regularity are some types of swifts (though <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4086480">they don't do so</a> as frequently as sometimes implied by popular texts), which use this ability to cling to vertical surfaces. Perhaps <i>Masillacolius</i> did the same. <br />
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A seed is associated with one specimen of <i>Masillacolius</i>; this may represent yet another example of ingested material preserved in an extinct mousebird, though in this case the seed is not directly preserved in the body cavity. <i>Masillacolius</i> is also one of several fossil mousebirds (as we shall see) known to have had long bony projections on the back of its lower jaw. These projections are relatively reduced in living mousebirds, but are often well developed in birds that need to open their jaws widely and forcefully.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp73uHEBzNABtjIN_jyHT5elmEh1ecTV_i1PlKRXacmpGN8imZ-hOzAYo_-WBsck4mrJvG0jYrM03IAjtjcfGypinFABlz0Hp6C_DSn3eevSwxFsTwKhCFdJBN2B_hF1lKKlbhU9Xt_xo/s1600/masillacolius.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp73uHEBzNABtjIN_jyHT5elmEh1ecTV_i1PlKRXacmpGN8imZ-hOzAYo_-WBsck4mrJvG0jYrM03IAjtjcfGypinFABlz0Hp6C_DSn3eevSwxFsTwKhCFdJBN2B_hF1lKKlbhU9Xt_xo/s400/masillacolius.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A specimen of <i>Masillacolius</i>, from Mayr (2015). An associated seed is marked as "sd".</td></tr>
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Among fossil mousebirds, such well-developed projections were first noted in <i>Chascacocolius</i>. The first species of <i>Chascacocolius</i> to be named was <i>C. oscitans</i> from the Willwood Formation. It was described as a sandcoleid by Houde and Olson (1992), but more recent studies suggest that it was more closely related to extant mousebirds. Although a lower jaw is known for <i>C. oscitans</i>, the rest of its skull has not been found. <br />
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However, a second species from the Messel Formation, <i>C. cacicirostris</i>, was named by Mayr in 2005, and it is known from a complete skull as well as some neck vertebrae. And what an unexpected skull it had! Its long, pointed beak more closely resembles those of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icterid">New World blackbirds</a> than that of any other kind of mousebird, living or extinct. In fact, Mayr noted that if it weren't for his knowledge of a privately-owned specimen that preserves a complete skeleton (figured in his paper), it would have been difficult to identify <i>C. cacicirostris</i> as a mousebird at all! (Unfortunately, the current location of the complete skeleton is unknown.) New World blackbirds use their enhanced gaping abilities and pointed bills to pry open crevices in search of prey and to open up large fruits so they can lap up the juices inside. <i>Chascacocolius</i> may have done so as well. Zelenkov and Dyke (2008) proposed that <i>Chascacocolius</i> had a woodpecker-like, trunk climbing ecology, though a later study by Dan Ksepka and Julia Clarke in 2010 was unable to verify the presence of features that purportedly supported this hypothesis.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LmwHYEByN9AYmcKYTWLNIq9onvbs5InfJ69y2ffvEfjfPhpvv1EDbwqdKkFZrXZOZs3NAJ2eoD58xHJG08vDxsly5E94f03hjCLoDHvmuSdUIY5yJp9_ICR0Tdtu_AXfKCKvP4vx-Qg/s1600/chascacocolius.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="415" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LmwHYEByN9AYmcKYTWLNIq9onvbs5InfJ69y2ffvEfjfPhpvv1EDbwqdKkFZrXZOZs3NAJ2eoD58xHJG08vDxsly5E94f03hjCLoDHvmuSdUIY5yJp9_ICR0Tdtu_AXfKCKvP4vx-Qg/s320/chascacocolius.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skull of <i>Chascacocolius cacicirostris</i>, from Mayr (2005).</td></tr>
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Ksepka and Clarke (2010) also named one of the most unusual fossil mousebirds that have been described so far, <i>Celericolius</i> from the Green River Formation. <i>Celericolius</i> is known from a complete skeleton preserved with traces of the wing and tail feathers. These feather remains indicate that it had very long, pointed wings, quite unlike the short, rounded wings of modern mousebirds and sandcoleids. Such wings are commonly found in birds that specialize in catching insects in flight, such as swallows and swifts. Was <i>Celericolius</i> a mousebird version of a swallow? The only known specimen has a poorly-preserved skull and no associated gut contents, so it's hard to say.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwGQqQiL1k_XEqVUDVwucQyDsncpq1TFfHSQ-kzm5Au9yPm3gTFAYGh4U0JPNk_NibWGUPqCytKvZJEQZcVijlcHLRjJfa9dVOD-dBvSN8v2DlWurVoIxqbYONGP2NrTPl89DxaeBg24/s1600/celericolius.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="642" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwGQqQiL1k_XEqVUDVwucQyDsncpq1TFfHSQ-kzm5Au9yPm3gTFAYGh4U0JPNk_NibWGUPqCytKvZJEQZcVijlcHLRjJfa9dVOD-dBvSN8v2DlWurVoIxqbYONGP2NrTPl89DxaeBg24/s320/celericolius.png" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Celericolius</i>, from Ksepka and Clarke (2010). The arrows indicate preserved wing and tail feathers.</td></tr>
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The youngest known mousebird from North America was <i>Palaeospiza</i> from the late Eocene Florissant Formation. It is known from a partial skeleton preserved with feathers, and appears to have been closely related to modern mousebirds. However, it still differed from living mousebirds in details of the feet and forelimb bones. Possibly similar to <i>Palaeospiza</i> were the two species of <i>Primocolius</i> that lived at around the same time in what would become France, but a detailed comparison is difficult because <i>Primocolius</i> is only known only from isolated bones.<br />
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In Europe, mousebirds continued to persist beyond the Eocene. Two species of the appropriately named <i>Oligocolius</i> have been identified, both of which lived during the Oligocene in what would become Germany. The slightly older <i>O. brevitarsus</i> is known from a partial skeleton, whereas the younger <i>O. psittacocephalon</i> is known from a nearly complete skeleton, including a skull. <br />
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<i>O. psittacocephalon</i> is yet another extinct mousebird known to have had elongated projections behind the lower jaw. However, its beak was short and stout, more similar to those of extant mousebirds than that of <i>Chascacocolius</i>. It also had a marked hinge between its upper jaw and the rest of its skull, which likely allowed the upper jaw more freedom to flex up and down. As it happens, <i>O. psittacocephalon</i> was found with several large seeds preserved in its throat region. Its well-developed lower jaw projections and hinge at the base of the upper jaw may have both allowed it to swallow large fruits.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswJ1ftZJ52li_DBEuQBvskUGYwOkHj9-00yUS7pP0HhEh9cLUVVk_XKjuCHTq0jLgWheak2zCnXTCsSTxOms0coJnfMUnOT58Mk4faX4aY4NDP5BFn19LHrJpoLwRtCxWmftZKpomNwM/s1600/oligocolius.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="1315" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswJ1ftZJ52li_DBEuQBvskUGYwOkHj9-00yUS7pP0HhEh9cLUVVk_XKjuCHTq0jLgWheak2zCnXTCsSTxOms0coJnfMUnOT58Mk4faX4aY4NDP5BFn19LHrJpoLwRtCxWmftZKpomNwM/s400/oligocolius.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holotype of <i>Oligocolius psittacocephalon</i>, from Mayr (2013). Note the large seeds preserved in the throat region.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Mousebirds remained part of the European avifauna during the first half of the Miocene, and two genera, <i>Limnatornis</i> and <i>Necrornis</i>, have been named for European mousebird fossils from this time. Yet no mousebird fossils younger than the mid-Miocene have been discovered in Europe, nor anywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere.<br />
<br />
What happened to the northern mousebird dynasty? In 2019, Erin Saupe and colleagues showed that climatic conditions in North America and Europe during the early Eocene were similar to those favored by living mousebirds, matching the known occurrences of mousebird fossils. However, the cooling and drying of global climate throughout the Cenozoic gradually restricted such favorable conditions to regions near the equator. Saupe et al. also found similar patterns for several other bird groups that have geographically restricted distributions in modern times.<br />
<br />
It is not clear whether mousebirds already lived in Africa before climate change limited them to that continent. However, the oldest known African mousebird is <i>Colius hendeyi</i> from the Pliocene of South Africa, postdating mousebird fossils from North America and Europe. Although assigned to the extant mousebird genus <i>Colius</i>, it is uncertain whether <i>C. hendeyi</i> really belonged to the modern radiation of mousebirds.<br />
<br />
Mousebirds today are greatly diminished not only in geographic range but also in ecological diversity. The six living species only differ from one another in relatively minor details. Yet despite occasionally falling victim to persecution (due to their feeding on fruiting trees), pesticides, and collisions with vehicles, none of them are under immediate threat of extinction. In fact, mousebirds have benefited from some human activity, as gardens, orchards, and fruit plantations provide suitable habitat for them. As long as such conditions are maintained, it is likely that these curious little birds will continue the legacy of their incredible former diversity.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrKiB59hw1pn-c1aeTgl6km-QNPEShwb8IyFO7mH22y1olHPbC60JNencu6YXhDRFR0JF9T-e3gN9Nz9WUXecBytEhYoV3dCwZfq3sqJRcuEu9bkkJqCju2sEwkpN1jOKjaQxu-hPu5w/s1600/Coliiforms.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1450" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrKiB59hw1pn-c1aeTgl6km-QNPEShwb8IyFO7mH22y1olHPbC60JNencu6YXhDRFR0JF9T-e3gN9Nz9WUXecBytEhYoV3dCwZfq3sqJRcuEu9bkkJqCju2sEwkpN1jOKjaQxu-hPu5w/s400/Coliiforms.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My amateur restorations of some fossil mousebirds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>References</b><br />
<ul><li>de Juana, E. 2020. Mousebirds (Coliidae). In J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E. de Juana (eds.), <i>Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive</i>. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.</li>
<li>Houde, P. and S.L. Olson. 1992. A radiation of coly-like birds from the early Eocene of North America (Aves: Sandcoleiformes new order). <i>Natural History of Museum of Los Angeles County, Science Series</i> <b>36</b>: 137-160.</li>
<li>Ksepka, D.T. and J.A. Clarke. 2009. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/126/2/245/5148388">Affinities of <i>Palaeospiza bella</i> and the phylogeny and biogeography of mousebirds (Coliiformes).</a> <i>The Auk</i> <b>126</b>: 245-259. doi: 10.1525/auk.2009.07178</li>
<li>Ksepka, D.T. and J.A. Clarke. 2010. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/160/4/685/2625581">New fossil mousebird (Aves: Coliiformes) with feather preservation provides insight into the ecological diversity of an Eocene North American avifauna.</a> <i>Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</i> <b>160</b>: 685-706. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00626.x</li>
<li>Ksepka, D.T., T.A. Stidham, and T.E. Williamson. 2017. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/8047">Early Paleocene landbird supports rapid phylogenetic and morphological diversification of crown birds after the K–Pg mass extinction.</a> <i>PNAS</i> <b>114</b>: 8047-8052. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1700188114</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2000. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01651775">A new mousebird (Coliiformes: Coliidae) from the Oligocene of Germany.</a> <i>Journal für Ornithologie</i> <b>141</b>: 85-92. doi: 10.1007/BF01651775</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2001. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2001.tb04943.x">New specimens of the Middle Eocene fossil mousebird <i>Selmes absurdipes</i> Peters 1999.</a> <i>Ibis</i> <b>143</b>: 427-434. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2001.tb04943.x</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2005. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439609205000280">A new Eocene <i>Chascacocolius</i>-like mousebird (Aves: Coliiformes) with a remarkable gaping adaptation.</a> <i>Organisms Diversity and Evolution</i> <b>5</b>: 167-171. doi: 10.1016/j.ode.2004.10.013</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2010. <a href="https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/njgpa/detail/258/75392/Mousebirds_Coliiformes_parrots_Psittaciformes_and_other_small_birds_from_the_late_Oligocene_early_Miocene_of_the_Mainz_Basin_Germany">Mousebirds (Coliiformes), parrots (Psittaciformes), and other small birds from the late Oligocene/early Miocene of the Mainz Basin, Germany.</a> <i>Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen</i> <b>258</b>: 129-144. doi: 10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0089</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2013. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ibi.12034">Late Oligocene mousebird converges on parrots in skull morphology.</a> <i>Ibis</i> <b>155</b>: 384-396. doi: 10.1111/ibi.12034</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2015. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068315000743">A new specimen of the Early Eocene <i>Masillacolius brevidactylus</i> and its implications for the evolution of feeding specializations in mousebirds (Coliiformes).</a> <i>Comptes Rendus Palevol</i> <b>14</b>: 363-370. doi: 10.1016/j.crpv.2015.05.007</li>
<li>Mayr, G. 2018. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12549-018-0328-1">New data on the anatomy and palaeobiology of sandcoleid mousebirds (Aves, Coliiformes) from the early Eocene of Messel.</a> <i>Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments</i> <b>98</b>: 639-651. doi: 10.1007/s12549-018-0328-1</li>
<li>Mayr, G. and C. Mourer-Chauviré. 2004. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/1970">Unusual tarsometatarsus of a mousebird from the Paleogene of France and the relationships of <i>Selmes</i> Peters, 1999.</a> <i>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</i> <b>24</b>: 366-372. doi: 10.1671/1970</li>
<li>Mayr, G. and D.S. Peters. 1998. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03042768">The mousebirds (Aves: Coliiformes) from the Middle Eocene of Grube Messel (Hessen, Germany).</a> <i>Senckenbergiana lethaea</i> <b>78</b>: 179-197. doi: 10.1007/BF03042768</li>
<li>Peters, D.S. 1999. <i>Selmes absurdipes</i>, new genus, new species, a sandcoleiform bird from the oil shale of Messel (Germany, Middle Eocene). <i>Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology</i> <b>89</b>: 217-222.</li>
<li>Saupe, E.E., A. Farnsworth, D.J. Lunt, N. Sagoo, K.V. Pham, and D.J. Field. 2019. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/26/12895">Climatic shifts drove major contractions in avian latitudinal distributions throughout the Cenozoic.</a> <i>PNAS</i> <b>116</b>: 12895-12900. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1903866116</li>
<li>Zelenkov, N.V. and G.J. Dyke. 2008. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00814.x">The fossil record and evolution of mousebirds (Aves: Coliiformes).</a> <i>Palaeontology</i> <b>51</b>: 1403-1418. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00814.x</li>
</ul>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-88085782800529810652020-04-01T08:15:00.000-07:002020-04-01T08:33:16.522-07:00Why I Like My Little Pony: Friendship is MagicMy <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-walking-with-beasts-evolution-game.html">new April 1st tradition</a> is to write about topics that would normally be off-topic for this blog. This year, let's talk about... this.<br />
<br />
Fan art does not comprise the bulk of my artistic output, but I've drawn a <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/gallery/37284443/my-little-maniraptor">fair amount</a> for <i>My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic</i> (henceforth "MLP" for brevity, though I realize that that also refers to the entire franchise instead of just this particular iteration of it). It's even been the primary basis for one of the <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Little%20Raptormaniacs">major storylines</a> in the Raptormaniacs comic. Why do I keep drawing fan art of MLP?<br />
<br />
This isn't a post that anyone asked me to write. Some might even think it's inane that I've spent time writing it. I suspect that most of my friends and followers would be satisfied if I answered that question with "because I like the show".<br />
<br />
At the same time, I also suspect that few if any people who follow me did so for the fan art. It wouldn't surprise me if I have followers who are curious, perplexed, or even frustrated every time I drop a new piece of MLP fan art in their social media feeds. So I'm going to talk a little bit about what this show means to me. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5pgBR9yCk405K0Fn79mcdePrBVKpAy5hgf-_GI9xN60zq26zg5cyq9W2g7tLmuHwzC3dJAa-yFKcOx0Q2pmoi6kanNr65QHyx40Sbb7GHLDo3iQ3kfonoufD0prwboVWwls9OL9KJLA/s1600/My+Little+Maniraptor+-+Ending.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5pgBR9yCk405K0Fn79mcdePrBVKpAy5hgf-_GI9xN60zq26zg5cyq9W2g7tLmuHwzC3dJAa-yFKcOx0Q2pmoi6kanNr65QHyx40Sbb7GHLDo3iQ3kfonoufD0prwboVWwls9OL9KJLA/s400/My+Little+Maniraptor+-+Ending.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Is the show really that great? I certainly think that it's <i>good</i> overall, and much better than a glorified toy commercial needs to be. However, it is not my favorite show, and though I would consider it a standout animated series for when it premiered in 2010, I feel that both the absence of a coherent vision in series direction (due to it changing hands between several different showrunners) and the surge of other high-quality cartoons in recent years has rendered it in some ways unexceptional.<br />
<br />
Even so, there's a lot I like about MLP. The fact that the protagonists are six female characters with contrasting personalities and career choices who are all multifaceted beyond what first impressions might suggest is a big plus. The concept that there are many ways of being a girl is a great message for the target audience, and it also means that almost anyone watching the show can likely identify with one (or more) of the main characters. (I relate most to Twilight and Fluttershy, for the record.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxv6tTP1GPKThLi6peCjhsHIDUgKyUmOgAG4sq10AHcKCLE5p3rEPlBS0BxHUfTfhrGlrBAISInacDAs8RT8z98TKueNc4tyCcTD6KWfuhIRdl8CsjlDXwa2nVzIMTFOcv-eLC1cxdUk/s1600/lettherainbowremindyou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxv6tTP1GPKThLi6peCjhsHIDUgKyUmOgAG4sq10AHcKCLE5p3rEPlBS0BxHUfTfhrGlrBAISInacDAs8RT8z98TKueNc4tyCcTD6KWfuhIRdl8CsjlDXwa2nVzIMTFOcv-eLC1cxdUk/s400/lettherainbowremindyou.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I suppose I should have at least one image here showing what the main characters <i>actually</i> look like in the cartoon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I would be lying if I claimed that MLP hasn't made me more aware of common pitfalls in the portrayal and representation of female characters in popular media, including my own rare forays into fiction writing. It's had a real influence on my work for <a href="https://time.tetzoo.com/">TetZoo Time</a> (which, uh, probably won't ever be released) and <a href="https://chile-and-yi-official.tumblr.com/">Chile & Yi</a>. And, boy, do I regret having only one female character on the main cast of Raptormaniacs.<br />
<br />
Beyond the characters themselves, I find it refreshing to watch a show that revolves around adults making and maintaining friendships, instead of constantly putting each other down. Sure, a world in which "friendship conquers all" may come across as sickeningly sweet to jaded adult audiences, but the show doesn't shy away from the notion that one may need to fight (figuratively or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoowtoEle14">literally</a>) to maintain such a world. Friendship is powerful, but it's not always easy, and that is a lesson that can be just as applicable to adult lives as to those of children.<br />
<br />
And frankly? Friendship may not manifest as villain-vanquishing lasers in real life, but a society built upon collaboration, acceptance, and compassion is one that I would like to live in, and it's one that we have the power to create. Especially in times like the ones we're living in right now, that seems like a worthy goal to strive for.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILBICtB4RB941MSGPXITEaIYWWWOSaqNI9fKVJHaL2UE2W03JysihFFmuN50nUTTRuVUSZRiOJHJW5P03VOpc8mQJscyMC-mceu4gq_LEuvzBDDgbZQlAGluzOWI4lEwTzKmhp0G6XWk/s1600/My+Little+Maniraptor+-+Vs+Changelings.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILBICtB4RB941MSGPXITEaIYWWWOSaqNI9fKVJHaL2UE2W03JysihFFmuN50nUTTRuVUSZRiOJHJW5P03VOpc8mQJscyMC-mceu4gq_LEuvzBDDgbZQlAGluzOWI4lEwTzKmhp0G6XWk/s400/My+Little+Maniraptor+-+Vs+Changelings.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes friendship is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugoK4BwelUY">zapping insectoid shapeshifters in the face</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Uh, right, I got sidetracked there for a bit. What else do I like about MLP? Well, the music is pretty great. I think just about anyone who has worked on a creative project can relate at least a little to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_V_niMzmM0">"Art of the Dress"</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9BAeyZhAdE">"Winter Wrap Up"</a> is a nice piece of worldbuilding packaged into a catchy tune, and I find <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB1xquEOtk8">"A Kirin Tale"</a> to be quite uplifting, just to name a few of my favorites.<br />
<br />
That much explains the main reasons why I like the show. But why do I draw so much fan art of it? Partly it's because fan art adds a layer of novelty to otherwise unremarkable concepts. I <i>could</i> draw a <i>Microraptor</i> flying or an oviraptorosaur kicking a predator, but there's not much I could bring to those subjects that a better artist couldn't conceive of and execute. However, if I drew <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/My-Little-Maniraptor-Flying-Buddies-817015824">Rainbow Dash as a microraptorian in flight</a> and <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/My-Little-Maniraptor-Vs-Changelings-822135319">Rarity as an oviraptorosaur kicking a changeling</a>? That's <i>much</i> less likely to have already been done by someone else.<br />
<br />
Yet there remains the question of why it's MLP that features so frequently in my fan art, as opposed to the handful of other fictional works I follow. I <i>have</i> tried my hand at "dinosaurifying" some <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Last-Day-of-Summer-539141413">other</a> <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/We-are-the-Crystal-Raptors-and-Others-556350366">cartoons</a> I enjoy, but so far they haven't inspired as many creative works from me as MLP has.<br />
<br />
One reason is practical: MLP's art style is fairly easy to emulate. It's probably testament to the design and characterization in the series that it's relatively straightforward to adapt the characters into alternate forms. It's even been done in canon <a href="https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/My_Little_Pony_Equestria_Girls_(franchise)">more</a> <a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/3/31/Main_cast_in_Breezie_forms_S4E16.png/revision/latest">than</a> <a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/b/b5/MLP_The_Movie_Seaquestria_panorama_poster.jpg/revision/latest">once</a> (albeit to... <a href="http://babbletrish.blogspot.com/2013/12/in-which-trish-watches-three-bad.html">varying results</a>).<br />
<br />
Another important factor is that the series setting presents a mixture of familiar and fantastical elements that readily provides a springboard for creativity. It may be simple enough to come up with alternate forms for the characters, but what might this change about how they interact with their world? How would a sapient paravian <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/My-Little-Maniraptor-Tea-with-Chaos-827492174">use a teacup</a>? Would an event analogous to the Chicxulub impact be a <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/albertonykus/art/Why-the-K-Pg-Won-t-Occur-in-My-Little-Maniraptor-631902011">major concern</a> when your ruler can move the sun? In some ways, it's not dissimilar to a speculative biology project about dinosaurs that have evolved <a href="http://tetzoo.com/blog/2019/12/13/alternative-timeline-dinosaurs-the-view-from-2019-part-3-the-dinosauroid-and-its-chums">human-like intelligence</a> (and magic, apparently).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF18tbStYpMueWun8xdqgi_nCNNGhmqIvgwyfHkQIFhOwPRaECQW0Ia8zN0pCq35yP5p_odoSYR_CqJYB5mr46l6x-1sovBsPWRz62YMUsjtajjScVcm6eY9MX5qn0hDsLB8aP4EC9pSE/s1600/My+Little+Maniraptor+-+Chaos+Tea+Party.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="889" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF18tbStYpMueWun8xdqgi_nCNNGhmqIvgwyfHkQIFhOwPRaECQW0Ia8zN0pCq35yP5p_odoSYR_CqJYB5mr46l6x-1sovBsPWRz62YMUsjtajjScVcm6eY9MX5qn0hDsLB8aP4EC9pSE/s400/My+Little+Maniraptor+-+Chaos+Tea+Party.png" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Besides, how often does one get to draw a dinosaur having tea with a chaos spirit?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
That about covers everything I wanted to say. I'll leave you with a record of my artistic evolution as documented by My Little Maniraptor. This was the first MLP fan art I ever drew, and I've redrawn it twice since then. Time will tell if I revisit it again.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2bN_InD5I2iGewzWiAAYGrltwsOsn5UOIZnG6N6p3Y4zA8NFoTv7259iNDCrGg4KqdgQfVvPqR9XGEkg7qOsdR_lYV-8mC1YynRU-9JFZqvKFAUasDNFySvIS2pqv3mXarW4pdMR9yU/s1600/my_little_maniraptor_by_albertonykus-d4scvnc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1024" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2bN_InD5I2iGewzWiAAYGrltwsOsn5UOIZnG6N6p3Y4zA8NFoTv7259iNDCrGg4KqdgQfVvPqR9XGEkg7qOsdR_lYV-8mC1YynRU-9JFZqvKFAUasDNFySvIS2pqv3mXarW4pdMR9yU/s400/my_little_maniraptor_by_albertonykus-d4scvnc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVQ5Z8s5_fooLunk0d5X8yqDb4t7r31lm1zfcM-JhsO2aR4DWAiRgZPndFfAS91mD5f_lodj85hbNrCeMQ7YLxOTVN7jIbjyszu4GQJrm3ywm3V89SvJxC9Za2llv2ue6brt6YN9npfE/s1600/My+Little+Maniraptor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1024" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVQ5Z8s5_fooLunk0d5X8yqDb4t7r31lm1zfcM-JhsO2aR4DWAiRgZPndFfAS91mD5f_lodj85hbNrCeMQ7YLxOTVN7jIbjyszu4GQJrm3ywm3V89SvJxC9Za2llv2ue6brt6YN9npfE/s400/My+Little+Maniraptor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8C33x1SR0yp7mfsR7vtbmklkUDAhrYYq_CXVtmBFkUrIFmYEMEirZ6opssD7cKTx4Oqe1yY0gPVilUp4XZpM_aoBjhJsj9YtH0TDUzyy6-WBytEkMzOKCqnWpxWinnWHVVy7wWJyNUoE/s1600/My+Little+Maniraptor-remaster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8C33x1SR0yp7mfsR7vtbmklkUDAhrYYq_CXVtmBFkUrIFmYEMEirZ6opssD7cKTx4Oqe1yY0gPVilUp4XZpM_aoBjhJsj9YtH0TDUzyy6-WBytEkMzOKCqnWpxWinnWHVVy7wWJyNUoE/s400/My+Little+Maniraptor-remaster.png" width="400" /></a></div>Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893026474426881196.post-11186136426968731882020-03-18T09:12:00.000-07:002020-05-19T03:41:39.835-07:00Catch a Falling Star: Meet Asteriornis!Today marks the publication of a very exciting study that I have been waiting to talk about for a long time. Led by my supervisor <a href="http://www.danieljfield.com/Home/Home.html">Daniel Field</a>, we describe a new species of fossil bird from the Late Cretaceous of Europe, and it's a doozy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgir_o2qbnCG1vxau5XieLTcUFMUVdhoP_6ledtqRf6Lvlc2_ve6bS9wcbGNIEeyYy4VpvkhbV0BM0-G3KrjZZQATm0hv8cpIZj413tihY8vad87C4HGYhdhhqx3cPdRO-IJCXNhB50XEg/s1600/fossil4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgir_o2qbnCG1vxau5XieLTcUFMUVdhoP_6ledtqRf6Lvlc2_ve6bS9wcbGNIEeyYy4VpvkhbV0BM0-G3KrjZZQATm0hv8cpIZj413tihY8vad87C4HGYhdhhqx3cPdRO-IJCXNhB50XEg/s320/fossil4.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't look like much, does it? But read on... (Photo by Daniel Field.)</td></tr>
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Among the most highly sought-after discoveries in the avian fossil record are specimens of the oldest modern-type birds. Although we now know of numerous bird-like dinosaur fossils that document the evolutionary acquisition of many notable avian features, the origin of the modern bird group (Neornithes) itself remains cryptic.<br />
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Molecular clock analyses, which use molecular sequences from different organisms and estimated mutation rates to infer the age of divergence between different lineages, place the origin of modern-type birds in the Cretaceous. For reasons that I won't go into here (lest I wander too far off topic), timing the origin of modern birds is a subject fraught with controversy. However, all recent molecular clock analyses of modern-type birds agree in placing the divergences between the three main extant avian lineages—paleognaths (ostriches, emus, and their kin), galloanserans (chickens, ducks, and their kin), and neoavians (all other living birds)—by the end of the Cretaceous. Despite this, fossil evidence for these hypothetical modern-type birds in the Cretaceous has been limited.<br />
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There <i>have</i> been a number of specimens purported to represent Cretaceous modern-type birds, but most of them are so fragmentary that their supposed affinities are best taken with an unhealthy serving of salt. By far the best represented (and probably the most convincing) example of a Mesozoic modern-type bird is <i>Vegavis iaai</i>, known from two <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03150">partial</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature19852">skeletons</a> from the Late Cretaceous of Antarctica. However, the skull of <i>Vegavis</i> is largely unknown. Furthermore, how <i>Vegavis</i> relates to living birds is not well understood. Although it was originally described as a close relative of modern ducks and geese, this has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667117305232">questioned</a> by some recent studies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjKu8RPj7WotmzNI1Y5ooazM1JsYdCYmFkcI1ybeSsxA-b_mdfNBmdcCpvqOFQjiEwt9-ko8t0oVwtNvwn1n0KC4eoW1Trrfm2pNxseCF8CWp2jArC4YJbHJjvcQ0s86AjAkn_QAnQl0/s1600/birddivergence.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="530" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjKu8RPj7WotmzNI1Y5ooazM1JsYdCYmFkcI1ybeSsxA-b_mdfNBmdcCpvqOFQjiEwt9-ko8t0oVwtNvwn1n0KC4eoW1Trrfm2pNxseCF8CWp2jArC4YJbHJjvcQ0s86AjAkn_QAnQl0/s400/birddivergence.png" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago), modern-type birds had likely diverged into at least three major lineages.</td></tr>
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In 2018, Daniel arranged a loan of a fossil bird specimen with the Maastricht Natural History Museum (Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht or NHMM) in the Netherlands. My labmate Juan Benito Moreno traveled to Maastricht to borrow the specimen from curator and coauthor John Jagt, who also provided us with information about the geologic setting in which the fossil had been discovered.<br />
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The specimen had been recovered from a quarry in Belgium, hailing from the Valkenburg Member of the Maastricht Formation. This site dates to 66.8-66.7 million years old, very close to the end of the Late Cretaceous (66 million years ago). Another fossil from this site had been previously <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00114-002-0352-9">described briefly</a> as an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyornis"><i>Ichthyornis</i></a>-like bird. Seeing as it preserves at least one tooth, this previously-studied specimen was certainly not a modern-type bird.<br />
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The new specimen is a very unassuming fossil, composed of four blocks of rock matrix that together take up about as much space as a deck of playing cards. In fact, the only reason we paid any attention to it was because one of the blocks (pictured at the beginning of this post) had an avian leg bone exposed on its surface. Bits and pieces of other bones were visible as well, but nothing that looked particularly exciting at a glance. Little did we know what we would find when we took a look inside.<br />
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To visualize the fossil material still hidden inside the rock, Daniel and Juan CT-scanned the specimen at the Cambridge Biotomography Centre. Shortly after they'd done so, Juan sent me a photo of what they saw inside the aforementioned block.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc6qn9P9Xa_Wvl1A5lnusKBINIxj31hrhcfB3237KorjM8zkuqg1UC_U0QBviD9kAcxAfSmFeYcdDT_eV77J9hq_GGEabbgqZezpexyu-mFJkaLLlN6E33utJD7CueF382moKBXMWoMI/s1600/48428200_329753227617870_7706838665393078272_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc6qn9P9Xa_Wvl1A5lnusKBINIxj31hrhcfB3237KorjM8zkuqg1UC_U0QBviD9kAcxAfSmFeYcdDT_eV77J9hq_GGEabbgqZezpexyu-mFJkaLLlN6E33utJD7CueF382moKBXMWoMI/s320/48428200_329753227617870_7706838665393078272_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy fucking shit.</td></tr>
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It was the nearly complete skull of a modern-type bird! Although it was distinct from any other bird skull known, we immediately noticed similarities with those of extant galloanserans. For reasons that I will explain near the end of this post, we eventually decided to give this bird the scientific name <i>Asteriornis maastrichtensis</i>. However, while we were in the process of studying the specimen, we called it by the nickname "Wonderchicken", for its suspected galloanseran affinities.<br />
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Due to the delicate nature of the fossil, we chose not to physically separate the bones from the surrounding rock. (For some perspective, the preserved length of that skull is less than 5 cm long, shorter than my thumb.) Instead, we spent much of 2019 digitally isolating each of the bones in the CT scans. In addition to the amazing skull, we were able to identify several wing and leg bones contained within the blocks, even though these bones were broken or incomplete.<br />
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Once we had digitally extracted the bones, we could look at them more thoroughly and make detailed comparisons with the anatomy of other birds. Here our coauthor Dan Ksepka brought his extensive experience in studying bird skeletons to bear, and we were able to confirm the presence of several features in <i>Asteriornis</i> that are also seen in most galloanserans. These include long, curved retroarticular processes (projections at the back of the lower jaws), narrow, upward-pointing medial processes (projections on the inside of the lower jaws), and a shallow groove along the top of the skull. In addition, the quadrate (a bone at the back of the upper jaw) of <i>Asteriornis</i> closely resembles that of the Paleogene waterfowl <i>Presbyornis</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinJQnku-Z-T3xeF-wjcaj8fuoOr6yx3SHztCXjH5wL0HiAhJv7qSQhIUAmrB2hPYb7RchUsvjz_qN6rIoQmlodUbxN1HSTupFOoJJPs2uSYdbYwF39VffRUnu3YjmORB7pJQD5brof_o/s1600/asteriornisskull.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1142" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinJQnku-Z-T3xeF-wjcaj8fuoOr6yx3SHztCXjH5wL0HiAhJv7qSQhIUAmrB2hPYb7RchUsvjz_qN6rIoQmlodUbxN1HSTupFOoJJPs2uSYdbYwF39VffRUnu3YjmORB7pJQD5brof_o/s400/asteriornisskull.png" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skull of <i>Asteriornis</i> in multiple views. Juan spent a copious amount of time preparing the anatomical figures in our paper. This image is Extended Data Fig. 2 from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0">Field et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr>
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To test our phylogenetic hypothesis and to give us a better handle on exactly what type of galloanseran <i>Asteriornis</i> might have been, we added <i>Asteriornis</i> to a modified version of the phylogenetic dataset used by <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/186/3/673/5281199">Tambussi et al. (2019)</a> in their description of the Paleocene waterfowl <i>Conflicto</i>. (As an aside, the last sentence in my <a href="http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2019/02/conflicto-and-evolution-of-waterfowl.html">blog post</a> about <i>Conflicto</i> was intended to be an oblique reference to <i>Asteriornis</i>.) This dataset includes a range of extant and extinct galloanserans, and originated from <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150871">Worthy et al. (2016)</a>.<br />
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The phylogenetics section of our study was my primary contribution to the description of <i>Asteriornis</i>. I implemented many of the changes to the dataset that we'd agreed to make, set up the phylogenetic analyses, and wrote up our phylogenetic methods and results. (Readers interested in those details are encouraged to check out our 136-page supplementary material. It contains more than just phylogenetics, but my input does take up a pretty big chunk!)<br />
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Ultimately, one of our analyses found <i>Asteriornis</i> to have most likely been a stem-galloanseran (more closely related to galloanserans than to any other living group, but not a member of either the landfowl or the waterfowl lineages). However, some of our other analyses found it best supported as an early stem-landfowl (more closely related to chickens than to ducks, but outside of the group uniting all modern landfowl), and we found that an early stem-waterfowl position was potentially plausible as well. This is not terribly surprising; species that retain many ancestral traits of a given group are often very difficult to confidently place on one specific branch or another. Yet regardless of exactly where <i>Asteriornis</i> goes in galloanseran phylogeny, no other fossil has been identified as a better representative for what the ancestral galloanseran probably looked like.<br />
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Landfowl and waterfowl have not always been widely accepted to be close relatives. Some previous authors have even provided long lists of anatomical differences between these two groups while expressing <a href="https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/6310">skepticism</a> of such a relationship. Although the close ties between landfowl and waterfowl are now strongly supported by more recent studies, the distinct anatomy between the two groups has made it difficult to infer what their ancestral form was like. <i>Asteriornis</i> exhibits a mixture of traits from both lineages. Like landfowl, the bones in its snout are only weakly joined to each other and there is no obvious hinge at the base of its upper beak. On the other hand, its rounded, unhooked bill tip is more commonly found in waterfowl, as are the forward-pointing bony projection behind each eye socket and the hourglass-shaped depression on the top of its skull.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsC__iHD2PaEDMOFq9ecU4zz5lYCDiSSgVWW0JthUZkT6heQkLx3K97Xzdf5RxkbM5Bv29oLzlHqcy13oO-GfgNNinme_hdaYCaM0RcDsQOfOUOnXE2baI1q3y6-jqohcfkCk63SIHiu4/s1600/asteriorniscomparison.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1129" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsC__iHD2PaEDMOFq9ecU4zz5lYCDiSSgVWW0JthUZkT6heQkLx3K97Xzdf5RxkbM5Bv29oLzlHqcy13oO-GfgNNinme_hdaYCaM0RcDsQOfOUOnXE2baI1q3y6-jqohcfkCk63SIHiu4/s400/asteriorniscomparison.png" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skull of <i>Asteriornis</i> (with particular focus on the quadrate bone) compared to those of other galloanserans, including an Australian brushturkey (<i>Alectura lathami</i>), an... actual turkey (<i>Meleagris gallopavo</i>), the Eocene waterfowl <i>Presbyornis</i>, the Paleocene waterfowl <i>Conflicto</i>, a southern screamer (<i>Chauna torquata</i>), and a mallard (<i>Anas platyrhynchos</i>). This image is Extended Data Fig. 4 from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0">Field et al. (2020)</a>.</td></tr>
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We recovered a few additional phylogenetic results that I found especially interesting. First of all, none of our analyses found a particularly close relationship between <i>Vegavis</i> and waterfowl, supporting recent studies that have raised questions about its affinities. In fact, one of our analyses even found it outside of modern-type birds, though support for this result was very weak (and we are pretty skeptical of it). Secondly, in some (but not all) of our analyses, we recovered the extinct, long-legged presbyornithids as stem-waterfowl instead of their more traditional position as extinct members of the modern waterfowl group, similar to the findings of Tambussi et al. (2019). Having seen the similarities between <i>Asteriornis</i> and <i>Presbyornis</i>, I personally feel quite amenable towards the possibility that presbyornithids were stem-waterfowl. <br />
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We were also interested in adding two species of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagornithidae">pelagornithids</a> to our phylogenetic analyses. These large, extinct seabirds with tooth-like projections in their beaks have been suggested to have been aberrant galloanserans or close relatives thereof, but had not been included in previous versions of the dataset we used. However, our analyses did not find any consistent position for them. Resolving their evolutionary relationships will probably require a detailed study for another time.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvFHnFMMAkz1XjhmXOW-oSN2IlYF47l7NrW7_s4z2cfdeiKuTovLNlwArzvVySdCwIldGLow-vdnysf-XW5sY6uWbI_-XZrTnv13E1dEFBEY-aETABYJNJTM4px1sS3291rkRsGTvDrc/s1600/asteriornisphylogeny.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvFHnFMMAkz1XjhmXOW-oSN2IlYF47l7NrW7_s4z2cfdeiKuTovLNlwArzvVySdCwIldGLow-vdnysf-XW5sY6uWbI_-XZrTnv13E1dEFBEY-aETABYJNJTM4px1sS3291rkRsGTvDrc/s400/asteriornisphylogeny.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The results of one of our phylogenetic analyses. This one recovered <i>Asteriornis</i> as a stem-galloanseran. This image is modified from Extended Data Fig. 9 from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0">Field et al. (2020)</a>, and the restorations of <i>Asteriornis</i> were painted by Phillip Krzeminski.</td></tr>
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Given that <i>Asteriornis</i> lived near the end of the Cretaceous, it provides us with a potential test of previous ideas about Cretaceous modern-type birds. Recent studies have predicted that the modern-type birds at the end of the Cretaceous were likely <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/67/1/1/3960267">small-bodied</a>, <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30534-7">ground-dwelling</a> animals, and that these factors may have been critical to their survival across the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction. To determine the body size of <i>Asteriornis</i>, Daniel used <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082000">equations</a> for estimating avian body mass from the width of their limb bones, and calculated its body mass at less than 400 g. That's much smaller than the average domestic duck or chicken, falling within the size range of a teal or partridge: relatively small by galloanseran standards.<br />
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As for the preferred habitat of <i>Asteriornis</i>, the preserved limb bones in our specimen are mostly incomplete, but enough is present to show that the hindlimbs of <i>Asteriornis</i> were relatively long and slender, well within the expected proportions for a ground-dwelling bird. This, along with the nearshore marine rocks that the specimen was preserved in, may even suggest that it mainly lived and foraged on the beach. Interestingly, the idea that all modern birds evolved from shore-dwelling ancestors has been <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/267/5198/637">put forth</a> by other paleontologists in the past. Our current understanding of avian evolution does not support the notion that the group of <i>living</i> birds popularly known as "shorebirds" (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charadriiformes">Charadriiformes</a>) gave rise to other modern birds, but <i>Asteriornis</i> suggests that a shorebird-<i>like</i> ancestral ecology may well be plausible for at least some modern bird groups.<br />
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Finding a single species of modern-type bird from near the end of the Cretaceous that fits these predictions certainly does not <i>demonstrate</i> that these features were widespread in end-Cretaceous modern-type birds, nor that they contributed to avian survival across the K-Pg. However, it is at least consistent with these hypotheses. Here's hoping more well-preserved modern-type bird specimens from Late Cretaceous rocks will be found that can further inform us about this subject!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj52v0GSO_R54yCf5Yz_J9iKza2o1d1SjStb7EnPyxloH2bpi2IyjqJg3NG2dk5of-BYtxw-LSW6MSBdwFfx7q0T7JLUGjoyIZQEdydV6dqAojOBG5RACYPMKxVc_J-8dfBw7L0Xe0w0s/s1600/Wonderchicken+ecosystem-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj52v0GSO_R54yCf5Yz_J9iKza2o1d1SjStb7EnPyxloH2bpi2IyjqJg3NG2dk5of-BYtxw-LSW6MSBdwFfx7q0T7JLUGjoyIZQEdydV6dqAojOBG5RACYPMKxVc_J-8dfBw7L0Xe0w0s/s400/Wonderchicken+ecosystem-small.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonderful restoration of <i>Asteriornis</i> in what was likely its natural habitat, by <a href="https://www.phillipmk.com/">Phillip Krzeminski</a>. Two <i>Ichthyornis</i>-like birds squabble over a mosasaur carcass in the background.</td></tr>
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One final takeaway from our study that I would like to highlight pertains to where <i>Asteriornis</i> was discovered. Some researchers have proposed that modern-type birds most likely <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/11/e1501005">originated</a> in the Southern Hemisphere, largely based on the distribution of bird groups today and seemingly corroborated by the discovery of <i>Vegavis</i> and similar birds from the Cretaceous of Antarctica. Being from Europe, however, <i>Asteriornis</i> shows that modern-type birds were present in the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous as well. This does not necessarily indicate that modern-type birds instead arose in the north, but it does warn us that the available data <a href="https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-018-1212-3">does</a> <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/26/12895">not</a> unambiguously point to a southern origin.<br />
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I promised that I would explain why we named <i>Asteriornis</i> the way we did. The species name, <i>maastrichtensis</i>, naturally reflects the Maastricht Formation in which the fossil had been found. Selecting a genus name, however, was a source of internal debate within our team for some time, until Dan Ksepka, in a stroke of genius, came up with "<i>Asteriornis</i>". This name translates to "Asteria's bird", after the Titaness <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteria_(Titaness)">Asteria</a> from Greek mythology. Asteria relates to our fossil bird in three different ways: she was the goddess of falling stars (referencing the K-Pg asteroid impact that would occur shortly after the time that <i>Asteriornis</i> was alive), in mythology she transformed into a quail (referencing the galloanseran affinities of <i>Asteriornis</i>), and she threw herself into the sea to escape an amorous Zeus (referencing the preservation of <i>Asteriornis</i> in marine rocks).<br />
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Fossils from the Maastricht Formation have been collected and studied for over 200 years. That a remarkable find like <i>Asteriornis</i> had gone undiscovered for so long is testament to the fact that even well-excavated fossil sites can continue to surprise us. As for <i>Asteriornis</i> itself, there is still much left to learn about our Wonderchicken and we are excited to continue studying it. <br />
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Also... yeah, I suppose I've helped describe a new Mesozoic dinosaur in <i>Nature</i> now.<br />
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<b>Reference:</b> Field, D.J., J. Benito, A. Chen, J.W.M. Jagt, and D.T. Ksepka. 2020. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0">Late Cretaceous neornithine from Europe illuminates the origins of crown birds.</a> <i>Nature</i> <b>579</b>: 397-401. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2096-0Albertonykushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345306530772709064noreply@blogger.com2