Avian Evolution

FOREWORD PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1. AN INTRODUCTION INTO BIRDS, THE GEOLOGICAL SETTINGS OF THEIR EVOLUTION, AND THE AVIAN SKELETON 4 Birds are evolutionary nested within theropod dinosaurs 4 The geological settings of avian evolution in a nutshell 6 Characteristics of the avian skeleton 7 2. THE ORIGIN OF BIRDS 13 Archaeopteryx: The German "urvogel" and its bearing on avian evolution 13 The closest maniraptoran relatives of birds 15 Feather evolution 21 The origin of avian flight 25 3. THE MESOZOIC FLIGHT WAY TOWARDS MODERN BIRDS 29 Jeholornithids: Early Cretaceous long-tailed birds 30 Confuciusornis, Sapeornis, and kin: Basal birds with a pygostyle 31 Ornithothoraces and the origin of sustained flapping flight capabilities 34 The Ornithuromorpha: Refinement of modern characteristics 37 Ornithurae and the origin of modern birds 40 4. MESOZOIC BIRDS: INTERRELATIONSHIPS AND CHARACTER EVOLUTION 43 The interrelationships of Mesozoic birds - controversial phylogenetic placements and well-supported clades 43 Character evolution in Mesozoic birds 45 Ontogenetic development of Mesozoic birds 53 5. THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS AND ORIGIN OF CROWN GROUP BIRDS (NEORNITHES) 55 Phylogenetic interrelationships of neornithine birds 56 The Mesozoic fossil record of neornithine-like and neornithine birds 58 6. PALAEOGNATHOUS BIRDS (OSTRICHES, TINAMOUS, AND ALLIES) 61 The interrelationships of extant Palaeognathae 62 Early Cenozoic palaeognathous birds of the Northern Hemisphere 63 The long-winged ostriches, rheas, and tinamous 64 The short-winged palaeognathous birds 67 Biogeography: A textbook example of Gondwanan vicariance has become dismantled 70 7. GALLOANSERES: "FOWL" AND KIN 71 Galliformes - from herbivorous forest dwellers to seed eaters of open landscapes 72 The waterfowl 75 Gastornithids: Giant herbivorous birds in the early Paleogene of the Northern Hemisphere 79 Dromornithids (mihirungs or thunderbirds): Gastornis-like birds from Australia 80 Pelagornithids: The bony-toothed birds 81 8. THE "DIFFICULT-TO-PLACE GROUPS": BIOGEOGRAPHIC SURPRISES AND AERIAL SPECIALISTS 83 The columbiform birds: Doves, sandgrouse, ... and mesites? 84 The Hoatzin - a South American relict species 85 Turacos and cuckoos 86 Bustards 87 The "wonderful" Mirandornithes, or how different can sister taxa be? 88 Strisores: The early diversification of nocturnal avian insectivores 91 9. SHOREBIRDS, CRANES, AND RELATIVES 97 Charadriiformes: One of the most diverse groups of extant birds 97 From rail to crane 103 10. AEQUORNITHES: AQUATIC AND SEMI-AQUATIC CARNIVORES 107 Loons: Foot-propelled divers of the Northern Hemisphere 107 The pelagic tubenoses and albatrosses 108 Penguins: More than 60 million years of flightlessness 111 The polyphyletic "Pelecaniformes" and "Ciconiiformes" 115 Late Cenozoic turnovers in marine avifaunas 125 11. CARIAMIFORMS AND DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY 126 Seriemas and allies: Two species now, a lot more in the past 127 Diurnal birds of prey: Multiple cases of convergence among raptorial birds 131 12. THE CENOZOIC RADIATION OF SMALL ARBOREAL BIRDS 137 The Courol and mousebirds: Two African relict groups 137 The long evolutionary history of owls 140 Parrots and passerines: An unexpected sister group relationship and its potential evolutionary implications 142 Trogons, rollers, and woodpeckers: Cavity-nesters with diverse foot morphologies 148 13. INSULAR AVIFAUNAS NOW AND THEN, ON VARIOUS SCALES 153 Islands and isolated continents as refugia 154 The evolution of flightlessness in predator-free environments 155 Insular gigantism and islands as cradles of unusual morphologies 160 GLOSSARY 163 REFERENCES 165 INDEX