A diminutive perinate European Enantiornithes reveals an asynchronous ossification pattern in early birds.

ABSTRACT: Fossils of juvenile Mesozoic birds provide insight into the early evolution of avian development, however such fossils are rare. The analysis of the ossification sequence in these early-branching birds has the potential to address important questions about their comparative developmental biology and to help understand their morphological evolution and ecological differentiation. Here we report on an early juvenile enantiornithine specimen from the Early Cretaceous of Europe, which sheds new light on the osteogenesis in this most species-rich clade of Mesozoic birds. Consisting of a nearly complete skeleton, it is amongst the smallest known Mesozoic avian fossils representing post-hatching stages of development. Comparisons between this new specimen and other known early juvenile enantiorni

SUBMITTER: Knoll F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5838198 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature