[dinosaur] Halszkaraptor not a semiaquatic fish-eater (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper with free pdf:

Chase D. Brownstein (2019)
Halszkaraptor escuilliei and the evolution of the paravian bauplan.
Scientific Reports 9, Article number: 16455
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1038_s41598-2D019-2D52867-2D2&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=5AFWIqhneBl5N9ek5t09yRXKkVjtR842OIYyNAU15uI&s=ZPWjHGMw49g-sWEXsi_0aW6zrBxQjZvUL7syeK3CNuk&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41598-2D019-2D52867-2D2&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=5AFWIqhneBl5N9ek5t09yRXKkVjtR842OIYyNAU15uI&s=oxrIAwMtncaW6C2HFNUoueQJpOKBW639wLMnh6SBld8&e= 

Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41598-2D019-2D52867-2D2.pdf&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=5AFWIqhneBl5N9ek5t09yRXKkVjtR842OIYyNAU15uI&s=tTL8DlOsmpN_s1AalvueFpp2qTmxMuGJK6l_xAhO2yI&e= 

The evolution of birds from dinosaurs is a subject that has received great
attention among vertebrate paleontologists. Nevertheless, the early
evolution of the paravians, the group that contains birds and their closest
non-avian dinosaur relatives, remains very poorly known. Even the most
basal members of one paravian lineage, the Dromaeosauridae, already show a
body plan that differs substantially from their closest non-paravian
relatives. Recently, the dromaeosaurid Halszkaraptor escuilliei was
described from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. Halszkaraptor possesses numerous
unserrated premaxillary teeth, a platyrostral rostrum with a developed
neurovascular system, an elongate neck, bizarrely-proportioned forearms,
and a foreword-shifted center of mass, differing markedly from other
paravians. A reevaluation of the anatomy, taphonomy, environmental setting,
and phylogenetic position of H. escuilliei based on additional comparisons
with other maniraptorans suggests that, rather than indicating it was a
semiaquatic piscivore, the body plan of this dinosaur bears features widely
distributed among maniraptorans and in some cases intermediate between the
conditions in dromaeosaurids and related clades. I find no evidence for a
semiaquatic lifestyle in Halszkaraptor. A phylogenetic reevaluation of
Halszkaraptorinae places it as the sister clade to Unenlagiinae, indicating
the bizarre features of unenlagiines previously interpreted as evidence of
piscivory may also represent a mosaic of plesiomorphic, derived, and
intermediate features. The anatomy of Halszkaraptor reveals that
dromaeosaurids still possessed many features found in more basal
maniraptoran and coelurosaur clades, including some that may have been tied
to herbivory. Rather than being a semiaquatic piscavore, Halszkaraptor was
a basal dromaeosaurid showing transitional features.