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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2014-07-06
    Description: Discoveries of bird-like theropod dinosaurs and basal avialans in recent decades have helped to put the iconic 'Urvogel' Archaeopteryx into context and have yielded important new data on the origin and early evolution of feathers. However, the biological context under which pennaceous feathers evolved is still debated. Here we describe a new specimen of Archaeopteryx with extensive feather preservation, not only on the wings and tail, but also on the body and legs. The new specimen shows that the entire body was covered in pennaceous feathers, and that the hindlimbs had long, symmetrical feathers along the tibiotarsus but short feathers on the tarsometatarsus. Furthermore, the wing plumage demonstrates that several recent interpretations are problematic. An analysis of the phylogenetic distribution of pennaceous feathers on the tail, hindlimb and arms of advanced maniraptorans and basal avialans strongly indicates that these structures evolved in a functional context other than flight, most probably in relation to display, as suggested by some previous studies. Pennaceous feathers thus represented an exaptation and were later, in several lineages and following different patterns, recruited for aerodynamic functions. This indicates that the origin of flight in avialans was more complex than previously thought and might have involved several convergent achievements of aerial abilities.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Foth, Christian -- Tischlinger, Helmut -- Rauhut, Oliver W M -- England -- Nature. 2014 Jul 3;511(7507):79-82. doi: 10.1038/nature13467.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, Bayerische Staatssammlung fur Palaontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 10, 80333 Munich, Germany [2] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and GeoBioCenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 10, 80333 Munich, Germany. ; Tannenweg 16, 85134 Stammham, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24990749" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
    Keywords: Animals ; *Biological Evolution ; Birds/anatomy & histology ; Dinosaurs/*anatomy & histology ; Feathers/*anatomy & histology ; *Fossils ; Germany ; Hindlimb/anatomy & histology ; Phylogeny ; Skeleton ; Tail/anatomy & histology ; Wings, Animal/anatomy & histology
    Print ISSN: 0028-0836
    Electronic ISSN: 1476-4687
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General , Physics
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2015-07-25
    Description: Snakes are a remarkably diverse and successful group today, but their evolutionary origins are obscure. The discovery of snakes with two legs has shed light on the transition from lizards to snakes, but no snake has been described with four limbs, and the ecology of early snakes is poorly known. We describe a four-limbed snake from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Crato Formation of Brazil. The snake has a serpentiform body plan with an elongate trunk, short tail, and large ventral scales suggesting characteristic serpentine locomotion, yet retains small prehensile limbs. Skull and body proportions as well as reduced neural spines indicate fossorial adaptation, suggesting that snakes evolved from burrowing rather than marine ancestors. Hooked teeth, an intramandibular joint, a flexible spine capable of constricting prey, and the presence of vertebrate remains in the guts indicate that this species preyed on vertebrates and that snakes made the transition to carnivory early in their history. The structure of the limbs suggests that they were adapted for grasping, either to seize prey or as claspers during mating. Together with a diverse fauna of basal snakes from the Cretaceous of South America, Africa, and India, this snake suggests that crown Serpentes originated in Gondwana.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Martill, David M -- Tischlinger, Helmut -- Longrich, Nicholas R -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 24;349(6246):416-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa9208.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK. ; Tannenweg 16, 85134 Stammham, Germany. ; Department of Biology and Biochemistry and Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26206932" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
    Keywords: Africa ; Animals ; *Biological Evolution ; Brazil ; Extinction, Biological ; Extremities/*anatomy & histology ; Fossils ; India ; Lizards/*anatomy & histology ; Phylogeny ; Skull/anatomy & histology ; Snakes/*anatomy & histology/*classification ; South America ; Spine/anatomy & histology ; Tooth/anatomy & histology
    Print ISSN: 0036-8075
    Electronic ISSN: 1095-9203
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Computer Science , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General , Physics
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2012-07-02
    Print ISSN: 0027-8424
    Electronic ISSN: 1091-6490
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2012-07-18
    Description: Recent discoveries in Asia have greatly increased our understanding of the evolution of dinosaurs’ integumentary structures, revealing a previously unexpected diversity of “protofeathers” and feathers. However, all theropod dinosaurs with preserved feathers reported so far are coelurosaurs. Evidence for filaments or feathers in noncoelurosaurian theropods is circumstantial and debated. Here we report an exceptionally preserved skeleton of a juvenile megalosauroid, Sciurumimus albersdoerferi n. gen., n. sp., from the Late Jurassic of Germany, which preserves a filamentous plumage at the tail base and on parts of the body. These structures are identical to the type 1 feathers that have been reported in some ornithischians, the basal tyrannosaur Dilong, the basal therizinosauroid Beipiaosaurus, and, probably, in the basal coelurosaur Sinosauropteryx. Sciurumimus albersdoerferi represents the phylogenetically most basal theropod that preserves direct evidence for feathers and helps close the gap between feathers reported in coelurosaurian theropods and filaments in ornithischian dinosaurs, further supporting the homology of these structures. The specimen of Sciurumimus is the most complete megalosauroid yet discovered and helps clarify significant anatomical details of this important basal theropod clade, such as the complete absence of the fourth digit of the manus. The dentition of this probably early-posthatchling individual is markedly similar to that of basal coelurosaurian theropods, indicating that coelurosaur occurrences based on isolated teeth should be used with caution.
    Print ISSN: 0027-8424
    Electronic ISSN: 1091-6490
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2010-10-07
    Print ISSN: 0260-1230
    Electronic ISSN: 1464-3766
    Topics: Biology
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