Diet of Mesozoic toothed birds (Longipterygidae) inferred from quantitative analysis of extant avian diet proxies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Birds are key indicator species in extant ecosystems, and thus we would expect extinct birds to provide insights into the nature of ancient ecosystems. However, many aspects of extinct bird ecology, particularly their diet, remain obscure. One group of particular interest is the bizarre toothed and long-snouted longipterygid birds. Longipterygidae is the most well-understood family of enantiornithine birds, the dominant birds of the Cretaceous period. However, as with most Mesozoic birds, their diet remains entirely speculative.

Results

To improve our understanding of longipterygids, we investigated four proxies in extant birds to determine diagnostic traits for birds with a given diet: body mass, claw morphometrics, jaw mechanical advantage, and jaw strength via

SUBMITTER: Miller CV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9097364 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature