[dinosaur] Enantiornithine foot and tail feather in Cretaceous Burmese amber (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper with free pdf:

Lida Xing, Ryan C. McKellar, Jingmai K. O’Connor, Kecheng Niu & Huijuan Mai
(2019)
A mid-Cretaceous enantiornithine foot and tail feather preserved in Burmese
amber.
Scientific Reports Article number: 15513
doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51929-9
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41598-2D019-2D51929-2D9&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=V2qFjrnpQmYC42be32804TOZuVTv4LNQ14LDwJSVs_g&s=BcLimsR1rulJ1kJukigyFnq_SmuMSTXZeXLXicth2cQ&e= 

Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41598-2D019-2D51929-2D9.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=V2qFjrnpQmYC42be32804TOZuVTv4LNQ14LDwJSVs_g&s=jxvrQS2BRnetO00mNHA3uHLjRbyuPWhk2ewCBlB2SIQ&e= 


Since the first skeletal remains of avians preserved in amber were
described in 2016, new avian remains trapped in Cretaceous-age Burmese
amber continue to be uncovered, revealing a diversity of skeletal and
feather morphologies observed nowhere else in the Mesozoic fossil record.
Here we describe a foot with digital proportions unlike any previously
described enantiornithine or Mesozoic bird. No bones are preserved in the
new specimen but the outline of the foot is recorded in a detailed skin
surface, which is surrounded by feather inclusions including a partial
rachis-dominated feather. Pedal proportions and plumage support
identification as an enantiornithine, but unlike previous discoveries the
toes are stout with transversely elongated digital pads, and the outer toe
appears strongly thickened relative to the inner two digits. The new
specimen increases the known diversity and morphological disparity among
the Enantiornithes, hinting at a wider range of habitats and behaviours. It
also suggests that the Burmese amber avifauna was distinct from other
Mesozoic assemblages, with amber entrapment including representatives from
unusual small forms.


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