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Basic Terminology and the Broader Phylogenetic and Geological Framework

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Paleogene Fossil Birds

Part of the book series: Fascinating Life Sciences ((FLS))

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Abstract

Many readers will be acquainted with phylogenetic terminology and avian osteology, and it is beyond the scope of the present work to provide an in-depth overview of these topics, each of which could fill a book on its own. For those less familiar with essential terms and definitions, these are outlined in the present chapter, which also introduces major features of the skull and some of the limb and pectoral girdle bones. Current hypotheses on the interrelationships of extant birds are reviewed, which constitute a phylogenetic framework for the study of fossil taxa. In order to set the following chapters on Paleogene birds into a full context, the Mesozoic fossil record of neornithine birds is furthermore discussed and an overview is given of major Paleogene fossil localities.

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Mayr, G. (2022). Basic Terminology and the Broader Phylogenetic and Geological Framework. In: Paleogene Fossil Birds. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87645-6_2

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