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| Kompsornis longicaudus
Wang, Huang, Kundrát, Cau, Liu, Wang & Ju, 2020
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Highlights:
• A new genus of Jeholornithiformes from the Jehol Biota in China.
• The earliest occurrence of fused pelvis during the evolution from non-avian dinosaurs to birds.
• The skeletal reinforcement occurred during the juvenile ontogeny in some Jeholornithiformes.
Abstract
A new jeholornithiform - Kompsornis longicaudus gen. et sp. nov. - is reported based on a nearly complete specimen from the Jehol Biota in western Liaoning, China. Comprehensive comparisons and phylogenetic analysis, including all published species of Jeholornithiformes, are provided and indicate that Shenzhouraptor sinensis, Jeholornis prima, Jixiangornis orientalis, Jeholornis palmapenis and Jeholornis curvipes are all valid species of this clade, but that Dalianraptor cuhe is regarded as a nomen dubium. In particular, K. longicaudus possesses completely fused sternum and pelvis, a combination of advanced features that is for the first time recognized among jeholornithiforms and non-pygostylian avialans. The osteohistological investigation suggests that the skeletal reinforcement occurred during the juvenile ontogeny in some Jeholornithiformes. Therefore, the new discovery further enriches the diversity of Jeholornithiformes and suggests an unexpected developmental disparity in ossification patterns along the lineage from non-avian dinosaurs to birds.
Keywords: Early Cretaceous, Jehol Biota, Jeholornithiformes, osteohistology, taxonomy
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twitter.com/TheropodaBlog DOI: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2020.104401 theropoda.blogspot.com |
Dinosauria Owen, 1842
Theropoda sensu Gauthier, 1986
Maniraptora Gauthier, 1986
Avialae Gauthier, 1986
Jeholornithiformes Zhou and Zhang, 2006
Genus Kompsornis gen. nov.
Etymology. Kompsornis is composed of the Greek ‘Kompsos’ (elegant or pretty) and ‘ornis’ (bird).
Kompsornis longicaudus sp. nov.
Etymology. The term longicaudus is composed of Latin ‘longis’ (elongated) and ‘caudus’
(tail), referring to the relatively long tail vertebrae of the type specimen.
Type locality and horizon. Jiufotang Formation, Lingyuan locality, western Liaoning, China.
Xuri Wang, Jiandong Huang, Martin Kundrát, Andrea Cau, Xiaoyu Liu, Yang Wang and Shubin Ju. 2020. A New Jeholornithiform exhibits the Earliest Appearance of the Fused Sternum and Pelvis in the Evolution of Avialan Dinosaurs. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. In Press, 104401. DOI: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2020.104401
