Forty new specimens of Ichthyornis provide unprecedented insight into the postcranial morphology of crownward stem group birds.

ABSTRACT: Ichthyornis has long been recognized as a pivotally important fossil taxon for understanding the latest stages of the dinosaur-bird transition, but little significant new postcranial material has been brought to light since initial descriptions of partial skeletons in the 19^th Century. Here, we present new information on the postcranial morphology of Ichthyornis from 40 previously undescribed specimens, providing the most complete morphological assessment of the postcranial skeleton of Ichthyornis to date. The new material includes four partially complete skeletons and numerous well-preserved isolated elements, enabling new anatomical observations such as muscle attachments previously undescribed for Mesozoic euornitheans. Among the elements that were previo

SUBMITTER: Benito J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9762251 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature