Exceptional preservation and foot structure reveal ecological transitions and lifestyles of early theropod flyers
Open accessAbstract
Morphology of keratinised toe pads and foot scales, hinging of foot joints and claw shape and size all inform the grasping ability, cursoriality and feeding mode of living birds. Presented here is morphological evidence from the fossil feet of early theropod flyers. Foot soft tissues and joint articulations are qualitatively assessed using laser-stimulated fluorescence. Pedal claw shape and size are quantitatively analysed using traditional morphometrics. We interpret these foot data among existing evidence to better understand the evolutionary ecology of early theropod flyers. Jurassic flyers like Anchiornis and Archaeopteryx show adaptations suggestive of relatively ground-dwelling lifestyles. Early Cretaceous flyers then diversify into more aerial lifestyles, including generalists like Confuciusornis and specialists like the climbing Fortunguavis . Some early birds, like the Late Jurassic Berlin Archaeopteryx and Early Cretaceous Sapeornis , show complex ecologies seemingly unique among sampled modern birds. As a non-bird flyer, finding affinities of Microraptor to a more specialised raptorial lifestyle is unexpected. Its hawk-like characteristics are rare among known theropod flyers of the time suggesting that some non-bird flyers perform specialised roles filled by birds today. We demonstrate diverse ecological profiles among early theropod flyers, changing as flight developed, and some non-bird flyers have more complex ecological roles.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Compsognathus is directly documented to have fed on lizards.
“Compsognathus is directly documented to have fed on lizards [120] but like other vertivorous theropods it was most likely an opportunistic predator [92].”
From The ecology of Archaeopteryx (2026) · cites this paper as [120]
The Discussion mentions lizards preserved in Anchiornis’s digestive tract, and the References list a study of an ingested lizard in Microraptor. Searches for Compsognathus and lizard feeding found no passage in our copy addressing whether Compsognathus ate lizards. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The kappa statistic in reliability studies: use, interpretation, and sample size requirements
Sim, J., & Wright, C. C. (2005) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.1093/ptj/85.3.257 · Cited by 4,093 · see citing works
The global diversity of birds in space and time
Jetz, W., Thomas, G. H., Joy, J. B., Hartmann, K., & Mooers, A. O. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11631 · Cited by 3,934 · see citing works
Worldwide decline of specialist species: toward a global functional homogenization?
Clavel, J. G., Julliard, R., & Devictor, V. (2010) · Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment · doi:10.1890/080216 · Cited by 1,606 · see citing works
Extinction Vulnerability and Selectivity: Combining Ecological and Paleontological Views
McKinney, M. L. (1997) · Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.495 · Cited by 1,008 · see citing works
Adams, D. C. (2014) · Systematic Biology · doi:10.1093/sysbio/syu030 · Cited by 653 · see citing works
An exceptionally preserved Lower Cretaceous ecosystem
Zhou, Z.-H., Barrett, P., & Hilton, J. (2003) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01420 · Cited by 622 · see citing works
Archaeopteryx and the origin of birds
OSTROM, J. H. (1976) · Biological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1976.tb00244.x · Cited by 361 · see citing works
A Basal Dinosaur from the Dawn of the Dinosaur Era in Southwestern Pangaea
Martínez, R., Sereno, P., Alcober, O., Colombi, C., Renne, P., Montañez, I., & Currie, B. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1198467 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
A Complete Skeleton of a Late Triassic Saurischian and the Early Evolution of Dinosaurs
Nesbitt, S., Smith, N., Irmis, R., Turner, A., Downs, A., & Norell, M. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1180350 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
An Unbiased Molecular Approach Using 3′-UTRs Resolves the Avian Family-Level Tree of Life
Kuhl, H., Frankl‐Vilches, C., Bakker, A., Mayr, G., Nikolaus, G., Boerno, S. T., Klages, S., Timmermann, B., & Gahr, M. L. (2020) · Molecular Biology and Evolution · doi:10.1093/molbev/msaa191 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Getting a grip on tetrapod grasping: form, function, and evolution
Sustaita, D., Pouydebat, E., Manzano, A. S., Abdala, V. S. L., Hertel, F., & Herrel, A. (2013) · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1111/brv.12010 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Zhou, Z., & Zhang, F. (2003) · Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences · doi:10.1139/e03-011 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Evidence from Claw Geometry Indicating Arboreal Habits of <i>Archaeopteryx</i>
Feduccia, A. (1993) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.259.5096.790 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
The tenth skeletal specimen of Archaeopteryx
MAYR, G., POHL, B., HARTMAN, S., & PETERS, D. S. (2007) · Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00245.x · Cited by 149 · see citing works
The effects of locomotion on the structural characteristics of avian limb bones
Habib, M., & Ruff, C. B. (2008) · Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00402.x · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Parry, L. A., Smithwick, F., Nordén, K. K., Saitta, E. T., Lozano‐Fernandez, J., Tanner, A. R., Caron, J., Edgecombe, G. D., Briggs, D. E. G., & Vinther, J. (2018) · BioEssays · doi:10.1002/bies.201700167 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Field, D., Bercovici, A., Berv, J., Dunn, R. E., Fastovsky, D., Lyson, T., Vajda, V., & Gauthier, J. (2018) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.062 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Potential for Powered Flight Neared by Most Close Avialan Relatives, but Few Crossed Its Thresholds
Pei, R., Pittman, M., Goloboff, P. A., Dececchi, T. A., Habib, M. B., Kaye, T. G., Larsson, H. C. E., Norell, M. A., Brusatte, S. L., & Xu, X. (2020) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.105 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Self-citationFowler, D. W., Freedman, E. A., & Scannella, J. B. (2009) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007999 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
A juvenile coelurosaurian theropod from China indicates arboreal habits
Zhang, F., Zhou, Z., Xu, X., & Wang, X. (2002) · Naturwissenschaften · doi:10.1007/s00114-002-0353-8 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Self-citationOsteology of Khaan mckennai (Oviraptorosauria: Theropoda)
Balanoff, A. M., & Norell, M. (2012) · Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History · doi:10.1206/803.1 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
The Predatory Ecology of Deinonychus and the Origin of Flapping in Birds
Fowler, D., Freedman, E., Scannella, J., & Kambic, R. E. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Rauhut, O. W. M., Foth, C., & Tischlinger, H. (2018) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.4191 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
A diapsid skull in a new species of the primitive bird Confuciusornis
Hou, L., Martin, L., Zhou, Z.-H., Feduccia, A., & Zhang, F.-C. (1999) · Nature · doi:10.1038/21411 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Zheng, X., O’Connor, J., Wang, X., Wang, M., Zhang, X., & Zhou, Z. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1411070111 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Self-citationPennaraptoran Theropod Dinosaurs Past Progress and New Frontiers
Pittman, M., & Xu, X. (2020) · Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History · doi:10.1206/0003-0090.440.1.1 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Self-citationThe trophic habits of early birds
O'Connor, J. K. (2019) · Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology · doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.006 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Gender identification of the Mesozoic bird Confuciusornis sanctus
Chinsamy, A., Chiappe, L., Marugán-Lobón, J., Gao, C.-L., & Zhang, F.-J. (2013) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms2377 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
A chemo-ecologists’ practical guide to compositional data analysis
Brückner, A., & Heethoff, M. (2016) · Chemoecology · doi:10.1007/s00049-016-0227-8 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Fossil evidence of avian crops from the Early Cretaceous of China
Zheng, X.-T., Martin, L., Zhou, Z.-H., Burnham, D., Zhang, F.-C., & Miao, D.-S. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.1112694108 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Self-citationThe restoration of flattened fossils
Briggs, D., & Williams, S. (1981) · Lethaia · doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1981.tb01918.x · Cited by 88 · see citing works
A new Jurassic scansoriopterygid and the loss of membranous wings in theropod dinosaurs
Wang, M., O’Connor, J. K., Xu, X., & Zhou, Z. (2019) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1137-z · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence in Paleontology
Kaye, T. G., Falk, A. R., Pittman, M., Sereno, P. C., Martin, L. D., Burnham, D. A., Gong, E., Xu, X., & Wang, Y. (2015) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125923 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Self-citationMüller, R., & Garcia, M. (2020) · Biology Letters · doi:10.1098/rsbl.2020.0417 · Cited by 73
Birn-Jeffery, A. V., Miller, C. E., Naish, D., Rayfield, E. J., & Hone, D. W. E. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050555 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Self-citationThe wings before the bird: an evaluation of flapping-based locomotory hypotheses in bird antecedents
Dececchi, T. A., Larsson, H. C. E., & Habib, M. B. (2016) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.2159 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Basal paravian functional anatomy illuminated by high-detail body outline
Wang, X., Pittman, M., Zheng, X., Kaye, T. G., Falk, A. R., Hartman, S. A., & Xu, X. (2017) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms14576 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Self-citationAdditional specimen of <i>Microraptor</i> provides unique evidence of dinosaurs preying on birds
O'Connor, J., Zhou, Z., & Xu, X. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1117727108 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Zhou, Z.-H., Clarke, J., Zhang, F.-C., & Wings, O. (2004) · Die Naturwissenschaften · doi:10.1007/s00114-004-0567-z · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Pei, R., Li, Q., Meng, Q., Gao, K.-Q., & Norell, M. A. (2014) · American Museum Novitates · doi:10.1206/3821.1 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
New Specimens of Yanornis Indicate a Piscivorous Diet and Modern Alimentary Canal
Zheng, X., O'Connor, J. K., Huchzermeyer, F., Wang, X., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., & Zhou, Z. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095036 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationMoreno, K., Carrano, M., & Snyder, R. (2007) · Journal of morphology · doi:10.1002/jmor.10498 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Dececchi, T. A., & Larsson, H. C. E. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022292 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Food remains in Confuciusornis sanctus suggest a fish diet
Dalsätt, J., Zhou, Z., Zhang, F., & Ericson, P. (2006) · Die Naturwissenschaften · doi:10.1007/s00114-006-0125-y · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Foraging modes of Mesozoic birds and non-avian theropods
Glen, C. L., & Bennett, M. B. (2007) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.09.026 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
A new robust enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous of China with scansorial adaptations
Wang, M., O'Connor, J. K., & Zhou, Z. (2014) · Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology · doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.812101 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Points on the curve: An analysis of methods for assessing the shape of vertebrate claws
Tinius, A., & Russell, A. P. (2016) · Journal of Morphology · doi:10.1002/jmor.20625 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Falk, A., Kaye, T. G., Zhou, Z.-H., & Burnham, D. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167284 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationHendrickx, C., Bell, P. R., Pittman, M., Milner, A. R., Cuesta, E., O'Connor, J. K., Loewen, M. A., Currie, P. J., Mateus, O., Kaye, T. G., et al. (2022) · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1111/brv.12829 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationPISCIVORY IN THE FEATHERED DINOSAUR MICRORAPTOR
Xing, L., Persons, W., Bell, P. R., Xu, X., Zhang, J., Miyashita, T., Wang, F.-P., & Currie, P. (2013) · Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · doi:10.1111/evo.12119 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationMicroraptor with Ingested Lizard Suggests Non-specialized Digestive Function
O’Connor, J., Zheng, X., Dong, L., Wang, X., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., & Zhou, Z. (2019) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.020 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationInferring lifestyle for Aves and Theropoda: A model based on curvatures of extant avian ungual bones
Cobb, S. E., & Sellers, W. I. (2020) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211173 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Pu, H.-Y., Chang, H.-L., Lu, J.-C., Wu, Y.-H., Xu, L., Zhang, J.-M., & Jia, S.-H. (2013) · Paleontological Research · doi:10.2517/1342-8144-17.1.27 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Ksepka, D., & Clarke, J. (2012) · Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology · doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.641704 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Statistical approach for inferring ecology of Mesozoic birds
Bell, A., & Chiappe, L. (2011) · Journal of Systematic Palaeontology · doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.525536 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Did all theropods have chicken-like feet? First evidence of a non-avian dinosaur podotheca
Cuesta, E., Díaz-Martínez, I., Ortega, F., & Sanz, J. (2015) · Cretaceous Research · doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.03.008 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Serrano, F. J., & Chiappe, L. M. (2017) · Journal of The Royal Society Interface · doi:10.1098/rsif.2017.0182 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Miller, C. V., & Pittman, M. (2020) · Biological Reviews of The Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1002/essoar.10504068.1 · Cited by 34
Self-citationIs foot squeezing pressure by two raptor species sufficient to subdue their prey
Csermely, D., & Gaibani, G. (1998) · doi:10.2307/1369762 · Cited by 34
Exceptional dinosaur fossils reveal early origin of avian-style digestion
Zheng, X., Wang, X., Sullivan, C., Zhang, X., Zhang, F., Wang, Y., Li, F., & Xu, X. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32202-x · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citationHedrick, B. P., Cordero, S. A., Zanno, L. E., Noto, C. R., & Dodson, P. (2019) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.5507 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Gianechini, F. A., Ercoli, M. D., & Díaz‐Martínez, I. (2020) · Journal of Anatomy · doi:10.1111/joa.13153 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Snake constriction rapidly induces circulatory arrest in rats
Boback, S., McCann, K. J., Wood, K. A., McNeal, P., Blankenship, E., & Zwemer, C. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Biology · doi:10.1242/jeb.121384 · Cited by 30
Thomson, T. J., & Motani, R. (2021) · Journal of Morphology · doi:10.1002/jmor.21317 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Aerodynamics Show Membrane-Winged Theropods Were a Poor Gliding Dead-end
Dececchi, T. A., Roy, A., Pittman, M., Kaye, T. G., Xu, X., Habib, M., Larsson, H. C. E., Wang, X., & Zheng, X. (2020) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101574 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationZhang, Z.-H., Gao, C.-L., Meng, Q.-J., Liu, J.-Y., Hou, L., & Zheng, G.-M. (2009) · Journal of Ornithology · doi:10.1007/s10336-009-0399-x · Cited by 22 · see citing works
A Functional Study of Papillae and Pads in the Foot of Passerines, Parrots, and Owls
Lennerstedt, I. (1975) · doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.1975.tb00723.x · Cited by 21
The exquisitely preserved integument of Psittacosaurus and the scaly skin of ceratopsian dinosaurs
Bell, P. R., Hendrickx, C., Pittman, M., Kaye, T. G., & Mayr, G. (2022) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-022-03749-3 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationThe skin of birds' feet: Morphological adaptations of the plantar surface
Höfling, E., & Abourachid, A. (2020) · Journal of morphology · doi:10.1002/jmor.21284 · Cited by 18
Tsang, L., & Mcdonald, P. (2018) · Emu (Print) · doi:10.1080/01584197.2018.1483203 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationMiller, C. V., Pittman, M., Kaye, T. G., Wang, X.-L., Bright, J., & Zheng, X.-T. (2020) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01252-1 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationMiller, C. V., Pittman, M., Wang, X.-L., Zheng, X.-T., & Bright, J. A. (2022) · BMC Biology · doi:10.1186/s12915-022-01294-3 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationMayr, G., Gingerich, P., & Smith, T. (2020) · Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology · doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1769116 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Tsang, L., Wilson, L., & Mcdonald, P. (2019) · Journal of morphology · doi:10.1002/jmor.21057 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationScansorial and aerial ability in Scansoriopterygidae and basal Oviraptorosauria
Sorkin, B. (2020) · Historical Biology · doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1855158 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 77 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 19
- [3]Dececchi, T. A., Larrson, H. C. E., Pittman, M. & Habib, M. B. in Pennaraptoran Dinosaurs: Past Progress and New Frontiers. 440 (eds Pittman, M. & Xu, X.) 295–320 (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 2020).
- [17]Lacasse, C. in Fowler’s Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine (eds Miller, R. E. & Fowler, M. E.) 127–142 (Elsevier, 2014).
- [20]Smith, J. & Farlow, J. in The Great Rift Valleys of Pangea in Eastern North America, Vol. 2: Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, and Paleontology (eds LeTourneau, P. & Olsen, P.) 273–292 (Columbia University Press, 2003).
- [27]Quinn TH Baumel JJ The digital tendon locking mechanism of the avian foot (Aves) Zoomorphology 1990 109 281 293 10.1007/BF00312195 · DOI
- [29]Kambic, R. E. Multivariate Analysis of Avian and Non-avian Theropod Pedal Phalanges (Montana State University-Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2008).
- [48]Collyer ML Adams DC RRPP: an r package for fitting linear models to high‐dimensional data using residual randomization Methods Ecol. Evolution 2018 9 1772 1779 10.1111/2041-210X.13029 · DOI
- [50]Pittman, M. et al. in Pennaraptoran Theropod Dinosaurs: Past Progess and New Frontiers (eds Pittman, M. & Xu, X.) 7–36 (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 2020).
- [58]Zhou, Z. H., Wang, Y., Xu, X. & Dong, R. in Extraordinary Fossil Occurrences of Continental Animals and Plants (eds Fraser, N. & Sues, H.) (The University of California Press, 2017).
- [66]Hopson, J. A. in New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds: Proceedings of the International Symposium in Honor of John H. Ostrom (eds Ostrom, J. H., Gall, L. F. & Gauthier, J.) 211–235 (Peabody Museum of Natural History, 2001).
- [71]Chiappe, L. M., Shu’an, J., Qiang, J. & Norell, M. A. in Anatomy and Systematics of the Confuciusornithidae (Theropoda: Aves) from the Late Mesozoic of Northeastern China. 3–89 (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 1999).
- [72]Elzanowski, A. in Proceedings of the 5th Symposium of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution (eds Zhou, Z. & Zhang, F.) 211–226.
- [74]Zhou, Z. & Hou, L. in Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs (eds Chiappe, L. M. & Witmer, L. M.) 160–183 (University of California Press, 2002).
- [76]Zinoviev AV An attempt to reconstruct the lifestyle of confuciusornithids (Aves, Confuciusornithiformes) Paleontological J. 2009 43 444 452 10.1134/S0031030109040145 · DOI
- [84]Pennycuick CJ Thermal soaring compared in three dissimilar tropical bird species, Fregata magnificens, Pelecanus occidentals and Coragyps atratus J. Exp. Biol. 1983 102 307 325 10.1242/jeb.102.1.307 · DOI
- [88]Hargrave, L. L. Mexican Macaws: Comparative Osteology and Survey of Remains from the Southwest. (University of Arizona Press, 1970).
- [93]Rico-Guevara, A. et al. in Feeding in Vertebrates: Evolution, Morphology, Behavior, Biomechanics (eds Bels, V. & Whishaw, I. Q.) 643–693 (Springer International Publishing, 2019).
- [96]Hawkins, P. in The Welfare of Domestic Fowl and Other Captive Birds (eds Duncan, I. J. H. & Hawkins, P.) 53–102 (Springer Netherlands, 2010).
- [103]Jombart T Devillard S Balloux F Discriminant analysis of principal components: a new method for the analysis of genetically structured populations BMC Genet. 2010 11 94 10.1186/1471-2156-11-94 20950446 PMC2973851 · DOI
- [106]Chiappe, L. M. & Meng, Q. J. Birds of Stone: Chinese Avian Fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs (John Hopkins University Press, 2016).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Rondon, M., Ewane, E. B., Abdullah, M. M., Watt, M. S., Blanton, A., Abulibdeh, A., Burt, J. A., Rogers, K., Ali, T., Reef, R., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Marine Science · doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1241928 · Cited by 63
Chicago Archaeopteryx informs on the early evolution of the avian bauplan
O’Connor, J., Clark, A., Kuo, P.-C., Kiat, Y., Fabbri, M., Shinya, A., Van Beek, C., Lu, J., Wang, M., & Hu, H. (2025) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08912-4 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“These traces reveal small, tightly packed, uniformly sized non-spiculate (spiculate scales present in the raptorial Microraptor 40 ) reticulate scales (scutella) 36 .”
Articular surface interactions distinguish dinosaurian locomotor joint poses
Manafzadeh, A., Gatesy, S., & Bhullar, B. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-44832-z · Cited by 19
Tse, Y. T., Miller, C. V., & Pittman, M. (2024) · BMC Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1186/s12862-024-02222-5 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Given that Microraptor , which has the smallest skull among our sample, is known to have taken a variety of animal prey [73] and shows macrocarnivorous adaptations [74], we find it unlikely that body size can be used to narrow the ecological interpretations of other dromaeosaurids investigated here.”
BackgroundSelf-citationEnlargement of sternum traits facilitated the evolution of powered flight in birds
Lowi‐Merri, T. M., Benson, R., Hu, H., O'Connor, J. K., Claramunt, S., & Evans, D. C. (2025) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-025-02795-4 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“…to have been primarily ground-dwelling 95 , while more aerial and arboreal tendencies have been identified in the pygostylians Confuciusornis and Sapeornis 80,95,96 and Ornithuromorpha has been suggested to represent a transition to terrestrial lifestyle from the arboreal Enantiornithes 10,97 .”
Kaye, T. G., Bąk, J., Marcelo, H. W., & Pittman, M. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.2421517122 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Self-citationForelimb feathering, soft tissues, and skeleton of the flying dromaeosaurid Microraptor
Grosmougin, M., Wang, X., Zheng, X., Kaye, T. G., Chotard, M., Barlow, L. A., Dececchi, T., Habib, M., Zariwala, J., Hartman, S. A., et al. (2025) · BMC Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1186/s12862-025-02397-5 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationChotard, M., Wang, X., Zheng, X., Kaye, T. G., Grosmougin, M., Barlow, L. A., Kundrát, M., Dececchi, T. A., Habib, M., Zariwala, J., et al. (2025) · BMC Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1186/s12862-025-02372-0 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“In Microraptor , three well-developed pads are preserved under digit III [2].”
InfluentialSelf-citationMiller, C. V., Bright, J., Wang, X.-L., Zheng, X.-T., & Pittman, M. (2024) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.89871 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationMoutrille, L., Cau, A., Chinzorig, T., Escuillié, F., Tsogtbaatar, K., Ganzorig, B., Mallet, C., & Godefroit, P. (2025) · Historical Biology · doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2530148 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“In predatory birds, both size and curvature of the unguals are related to the maximum size of the prey and are a good indicator of feeding ecology, niche partitioning and prey preference (Tsang et al., 2019), an approach applied to paravian theropods (Pittman et al., 2022).”
Kubo, K., & Kobayashi, Y. (2025) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.241178 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
O'Connor, J. K. (2025) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2023.0426 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Diet of bird‐like troodontid dinosaurs: synthesis of a contentious clade
Fan, Y.-C., Miller, C. V., & Pittman, M. (2026) · Biological Reviews of The Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1002/brv.70145 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationMiller, C. V., Pittman, M., Wang, X.-L., Zheng, X.-T., & Bright, J. (2023) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106211 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Some Mesozoic birds appear to perform the roles played by large living raptorial birds, a niche commonly viewed as exclusive to dromaeosaurids during the Mesozoic.(26,52) The morphological evolution of birds has long been viewed as not a linear gradation from dinosaur to bird but a mosaic of ancestral and derived trai…”
BackgroundSelf-citationMartin, E. M., Norris, R., Porto, A., & Sherratt, E. (2026) · Evolutionary biology · doi:10.1007/s11692-026-09666-1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Epidermal scale growth, allometry and function in non‐avian dinosaurs and extant reptiles
Enriquez, N., Campione, N., Hendrickx, C., & Bell, P. R. (2025) · Journal of Anatomy · doi:10.1111/joa.14247 · Cited by 1
“Constricted–protrusive scales are presently unknown in other dinosaurs (Bell et al., 2022; Hendrickx et al., 2022; Pittman, Enriquez et al., 2022), including other saurolophines such as Edmontosaurus that are known from multiple specimens and for which skin is known across almost the entire body…”
InfluentialSelf-citationO’Connor, J. K., & Clark, A. D. (2026) · Discover Ecology · doi:10.1007/s44396-026-00026-z
Solving Paleobotany’s 200-year problem with fluorescence and artificial intelligencePreprint
Maccracken, S., Barclay, R., Kaye, T. G., Butrim, M., Koger, B., Lyson, T., Johnson, K., Miller, I., Robertson, S. S., Bercovici, A., et al. (2026) · bioRxiv · doi:10.64898/2026.10.12.758007
Self-citationTsang, L., & McDonald, P. G. (2026) · Journal of morphology · doi:10.1002/jmor.70182
“…of form and function since the absence of usable forelimbs and digits results in the hindlimb and indeed the foot being relied on considerably to perform roles typically conducted by forelimbs in other tetrapod lineages (Sustaita et al. 2013; Pittman et al. 2022; Gutiérrez‐Ibáñez et al. 2023).”
Self-citationMicroraptor reveals specialized gliding capabilities in multiwinged early paravians
Hefler, C., Wang, Y., Wang, X., Zheng, X., Kaye, T. G., Grosmougin, M., Chotard, M., Barlow, L. A., Qiu, H., Dececchi, T. A., et al. (2026) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2518106123
Self-citationXing, L.-D., Jiang, S., Chen, Q.-Y., Ye, Y., Peng, G., Romilio, A., Klein, H., & Gong, Y. (2025) · Journal of Palaeogeography · doi:10.1016/j.jop.2025.100311
Feliú, J. V. N., & Blázquez, A. P. (2024) · Zubía. Revista de ciencias · doi:10.66737/ier.zub.80
“Taxones fósiles con una paleoetología claramente conocida como Deinonychus (Fowler et al., 2011) o Yanornis (Pittman et al., 2022) con-cuerdan con su posición en el morfoespacio respecto a los taxones control (Figura 1 A-B).”
Elemental analysis of fossils using portable time-gated fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging.
Kaye, T. G., & Pittman, M. (2026) · Spectrochimica Acta Part A - Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy · doi:10.1016/j.saa.2026.128469
Self-citation
- Authors
- Pittman, M., Bell, P. R., Miller, C. V., Enriquez, N. J., Wang, X., Zheng, X., Tsang, L. R., Tse, Y. T., Landes, M., & Kaye, T. G.
- Affiliations
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- University of New England (AU)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Linyi University (CN)
- Australian Museum (AU)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Pittman, Michael
- Wang, Xiaoli
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2022-12-20
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 7684-7684
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9768147
- OpenAlex
- W4313340077
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 77
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 11
- FWCI
- 5.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RUNE (Research UNE) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Research Grant Council of Hong Kong General Research Fund; School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Postgraduate Scholarship, The University of Hong Kong
- Research Training Program scholarship, Australian Government
- Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fossil Insects in Amber
- Keywords
- fossil birds, foot morphology, joint articulation, Microraptor, Archaeopteryx, Confuciusornis, cursoriality, feeding mode, evolutionary ecology, flight evolution, Jurassic, Cretaceous
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Biological Evolution, Fossils, Musculoskeletal System, Phylogeny, Dinosaurs
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
