Paleornithology of China: A general review |
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Authors: | Lianhai Hou Zhonghe Zhou |
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Institution: | HOU Lianhai and ZHOU Zhonghe
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoantfiropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Heijing 100044, China;
Natural History Museum and Department of Ecology and Kvolut ionary Kiology , University of Kansas , Lawrence , KS 66045 , USA |
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Abstract: | Study of fossil birds in China was first conducted by western scholars in last century, and extensive study of Cenozoic birds by Chinese scholars since the 1970s. However, it is the finding of Mesozoic birds, mostly from northeast China since the 1990s, that has become the focus and highlight of paleornithology of China. Enantiornithine birds from the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous of China provide the most complete record of the early evolution of this extinct group. The co-existence of the most primitive ornithurine bird Liaoningornis with the oldest known Confuciusornis indicates an earlier and more significant diversification of birds than previously recognized. Evidence from the Chinese Mesozoic birds seems to support the arboreal hypothesis of the origin of avian flight. Despite the controversy, the recent discovery of various feathered dinosaurs in China may provide the most compelling evidence for the hypothesis of the dinosaurian origin of birds. |
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Keywords: | Mesozoic brids origin of brids origin of avian flight |
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