Early Evolution of Avian Flight and Perching: New Evidence from the Lower Cretaceous of China
Abstract
Fossil bird skeletons discovered in Lower Cretaceous lake deposits in China shed new light on the early evolution of avian flight and perching. The 135 million-year-old sparrow-sized skeletons represent a new avian, Sinornis santensis , n. gen. n. sp., that preserves striking primitive features such as a flexible manus with unguals, a footed pubis, and stomach ribs (gastralia). In contrast to Archaeopteryx , however, Sinornis exhibits advanced features such as a broad sternum, wing-folding mechanism, pygostyle, and large fully reversed hallux. Modern avian flight function and perching capability, therefore, must have evolved in small-bodied birds in inland habitats not long after Archaeopteryx .
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A definitive, reversed hallux first appeared in the basal avian Sapeornis and is present in many other Cretaceous birds.
“A definitive, reversed hallux first appeared in the basal avian Sapeornis [67], is present in many other Cretaceous birds [66]”
From Assessing Arboreal Adaptations of Bird Antecedents: Testing the Ecological Setting of the Origin of the Avian Flight Stroke (2011) · cites this paper as [66]
Unlike non-avian theropods and Archaeopteryx, other early Mesozoic birds cluster with perching birds and have limb indices and hindfoot adaptations that suggest they were adept at perching in trees.
“Unlike non-avian theropods and Archaeopteryx, other early Mesozoic birds cluster with perching birds and have limb indices and hindfoot adaptations that suggest they were adept at perching in trees [66].”
From Assessing Arboreal Adaptations of Bird Antecedents: Testing the Ecological Setting of the Origin of the Avian Flight Stroke (2011) · cites this paper as [66]
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- Authors
- Sereno, P. C., & Chenggang, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Beijing Museum of Natural History (CN)
- ORCID
- Sereno, Paul C.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1992-02-14
- Volume
- 255
- Issue
- 5046
- Pages
- 845-848
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2095317708
- Cited by
- 159
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 13.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fossil Insects in Amber
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Keywords
- avian flight evolution, perching, Archaeopteryx, new genus and species, bird skeletal anatomy, gastralia, wing folding mechanism, pygostyle, lake sediments
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