A non-archaeopterygid avialan theropod from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany.

ABSTRACT: The Late Jurassic 'Solnhofen Limestones' are famous for their exceptionally preserved fossils, including the urvogel Archaeopteryx, which has played a pivotal role in the discussion of bird origins. Here we describe a new, non-archaeopterygid avialan from the Lower Tithonian Mörnsheim Formation of the Solnhofen Archipelago, Alcmonavis poeschli gen. et sp. nov. Represented by a right wing, Alcmonavis shows several derived characters, including a pronounced attachment for the pectoralis muscle, a pronounced tuberculum bicipitale radii, and a robust second manual digit, indicating that it is a more derived avialan than Archaeopteryx. Several modifications, especially in muscle attachments of muscles that in modern birds are related to the downstroke of the wing, indicate an increased adaptati

SUBMITTER: Rauhut OW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6516837 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature