[ad_1]
A new species of the famous & # 39; first bird & # 39; Archeopteryx, supporting its fossil transition status between birds and dinosaurs, was published in the newspaper Historical biology.
Unlike some previous studies, Archeopteryx can now be conclusively demonstrated as an antecedent of primitive bird and an evolving intermediate between birds and dinosaurs, which possessed clawed teeth and fingers.
The new study also used state-of-the-art 3D X-ray analysis (synchrotron microtomography) to virtually dissect the fossil and identify skeletal adaptations that could have helped. Archeopteryx albersdoerferi steal.
The fossil was made available to scientists who, after more than seven years of research, have recognized it as a new species – Archeopteryx albersdoerferi.
"Archeopteryx albersdoerferi is one of the most important specimens of Archeopteryx, as it is about 400,000 years younger than all the others discovered so far, "said lead author Martin Kundrát of Pavol University Jozef Šafárik, in Slovakia.
"This is the first time that many Archeopteryx bones and teeth have been seen in all their aspects, including the exposure of their internal structure.The synchrotron microtomography was the only way to study the specimen because it is strongly compressed with many fragmented bones, partially or totally, hidden in limestone, "continued Kundrát.
"The geochemical analysis of the rock covering the bones implies that this specimen originates, unlike others, from the youngest Mörnsheim formation," said Dr. John Nudds of the University of Manchester , UK.
"Our analysis showed that Archeopteryx albersdoerferi share more in common with modern birds than their dinosaur ancestors, "said Professor Per Ahlberg of the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
These traits suggest that Archeopteryx albersdoerferi may have possessed improved flight capability compared to geologically older Archeopteryx species.
The most notable were thin bones filled with air, an increased surface for attaching the muscles of flight to the wishbone and a reinforced configuration of bones on the wrist and hand. Archeopteryx albersdoerferi had also fused bones in the skull and fewer teeth than the other species of these "first birds".
"Significantly, however, when we examined the evolutionary relationships of different species of Archeopteryx we found that its flight-related features had emerged separately from those of more advanced bird-line dinosaurs, implying that flight lifestyles developed more than once, "he said. Dr. Benjamin Kear of the University of Uppsala.
"The specimen has an accumulation of mosaics of morphologies supporting the flight before reaching adulthood.If this trend applies to other basal birds, it should be studied when more virtual data will be available, "added Kundrát.
In the end, these findings uncovered a possible evolutionary mechanism through which flight support features developed during the course of dinosaur evolution, with Archeopteryx in particular, having independently acquired traits more and more similar to birds over time.
The fossils of 150 million years of Archeopteryx have been known since 1861, with 12 specimens recovered to date. The fossil in this study, the 8th or specimen of Daiting, is most mysterious.
It would have been discovered in a quarry near Daiting, in southern Germany, in 1990, but would have remained private until its purchase by paleontologist Raimund Albersdoerfer in 2009.
Source link
