Summary
First discovered in 1860,Archaeopteryx has played a prominent role in discussions of avian origin especially during the 20th century. One of the most dramatic discoveries in modern ornithology involved the revelation of a completely new clade of Mesozoic birds, the enantiornithines, first described in 1981. Among the most spectacular of these early birds isConfuciusornis from the early Cretaceous of China. Enantiornithines are now known from every continent except Antarctica, and from the Lower to Upper Cretaceous. They were the predominant landbirds of the Mesozoic Era, and produced a vast adaptive radiation of varied morphological types.
Zusammenfassung
Nach seiner erstmaligen Entdeckung im Jahr 1860 spielteArchaeopteryx eine herausragende Rolle in der Diskussion um die Entstehung der heutigen Vögel, insbesondere im 20. Jahrhundert. Eine der aufsehenerregendsten Entdeckungen der modernen Ornithologie war die Entdeckung einer neuen Klasse von Vögeln, den Enantiornithines, die 1981 erstmalig beschrieben wurden. Unter ihnen erregte am meisten AufsehenConfuciusornis aus der frühen Kreidezeit Chinas. Enantiornithines sind mit Ausnahme der Antarktis von allen Kontinenten und aus der gesamten Kreidezeit bekannt. Sie waren die dominierenden Landvögel des Mesozoikums und zeigten eine enorme Formenaufspaltung.
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Feduccia, A. The problem of bird origins and early avian evolution. J Ornithol 142 (Suppl 1), 139–147 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01651452
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01651452