Estimating the Ontogenetic Status of an Enantiornithine Bird from the Lower Barremian of El Montsec, Central Pyrenees, Spain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.0662123Keywords:
Enantiornithes, Growth, Early Cretaceous, Maturity, Morphometrics, Ontogeny, Taphonomy, AnatomyAbstract
An Enantiornithes specimen from El Montsec was initially described as an immature individual based upon qualitative traits such as its relatively large orbit and overall proportions of the skull and the postcranium. In this study we re-evaluate the precise determination of the ontogenetic stage of this individual, establishing a cross-talk among taphonomic, anatomic, and morphometric data. The exceptional preservation of the specimen has allowed pondering ontogenetic influence versus preservational bias in features like the external patterns of bone surfaces, instead of being aprioristically considered due to taphonomic alterations only. The rough texture of the periosteal bone associated with pores in the distal, proximal and mid-shaft areas of the humeral shaft, indicates a subadult stage when compared with long bones of modern birds. Forelimb proportions of embryo and juvenile Enanthiornithes are equivalent to those of adult individuals of other taxa within this clade, though this is not a reliable criterion for establishing a precise ontogenetic stage. The El Montsec specimen may be attributed a close adulthood, yet only if growth regimes in Enantiornithes are considered equivalent to those in Neornithes birds.
Downloads
References
Cambra-Moo, O., Buscalioni, A. D., Cubo, J., Castanet, J., Loth, M. M., De Margerie, E. y De Ricqlès, A. (2006). Histological observations of Enantiornithe bone (Saurischia, Aves) from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas (Spain). Compt. Rend. PALEVOL, 5: 287-293.
Cambra-Moo, O. (2006). Bioestratinomía y Fosildiagénesis de Arcosaurios. Aplicación de la actuotafonomía al estudio de la influencia paleobiológica en el proceso tafonómico. Tesis doctoral, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 334 pp.
Castanet, J. and Smirina, E. (1990). Introducction to skeletochronological method in amphibians and reptiles. Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool., 11: 191-196.
Chiappe, L. M., Shuan, J., Qiang, J. and Norell, M. A. (1999). Anatomy and systematics of the Confuciusornithidae (Theropoda: Aves) from the Late Mesozoic of Northeastern China. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 242: 3-89.
Chinsamy, A., Chiappe, L. M. and Dodson, P. (1994). Growth rings in Mesozoic birds, Nature, 368: 196-197. doi:10.1038/368196a0
Chinsamy, A., Chiappe, L. M. and Dodson, P. (1995). Mesozoic avian bone microstructure: physiological implications, Paleobiology, 21: 561-574.
Davis, P. G. & Briggs, D. E. G. (1999). Fossilization of feathers. Geology, 23: 783-786. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0783:FOF>2.3.CO;2
De Ricqlès, A. J., Padian, K., Horner, J. R., Lamm, E. T. and Myhrvold, N. (2003). Osteohistology of Confuciusornis sanctus (Theropoda: Aves), J. Vertebr. Paleont., 23: 373-386. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)023[0373:OOCSTA]2.0.CO;2
Gupta, N., Cambra-Moo, O., Briggs, D. E. G., Fregenal- Marítnez, M. & Love, G. (in press). Chemical preservation of fossils from the Las Hoyas formation, Spain. Cretaceous Res.
Hou, L. & Chen, P. (1999). Liaoxiornis delicatus gen. et sp. Nov., the smallest Mesaozoic bird. Chinese Sci. Bull., 44: 834-838. doi:10.1007/BF02885031
Ji, Q., Ji, S.-A., You, H.-L., Zhang, J.-P., Yuan, C.-X., Ji, X.-X., Li, J.-L. and Li, Y.-X. (2002). Discovery of an Avialae bird from China, Shenzhouraptor sinensis (gen. et sp. nov.). Geol. Bull. China, 21: 363-369.
Martínez-Delclós, X. (1991). Les calcàries litogràfiques del Cretaci inferior del Montsec. Deu anys de campanyes paleontológiques. Institut D’ Estudis Ilerdencs. Lleida. Martínez-Delclós, X., Briggs, D. E. G., & Peñalver, E. (2004). Taphonomy of insects in carbonates and amber. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., 203: 19-64. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(03)00643-6
Marugán-Lobón, J., Cambra-Moo, O., Martínez-Delclós, X., Sanz, J. L. & Buscalioni, A. D. (2002). Juvenile Enantiornithine skeleton from Montsec (Catalonia, Spain) lower cretaceous revisited: taphonomy and morphometrics to assess ontogenetic stage. 62nd Annual Meeting of the Society Vertebrate Paleontology. J. Vertebr. Paleont., 22, Abstracts (84A).
Merino, L. (2000). Mineralogía y Geoquímica del esqueleto de mamíferos del Neógeno español. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, departamento de Paleobiología, Madrid, 245 pp.
Middleton, K. M. and Gatesy, S. M. (2000). Theropod forelimb design and evolution. Zool. J. Linnean Soc., 128: 149-187.
Ponton, F., Elzanowsky, A., Castanet, J., Chinsamy, A., de Margerie, E., de Ricqlès, A. and Cubo, J. (2004). Variation of the outer circumferential layer in the limb bones of birds. Acta Ornithol., 39: 137-140.
Sanz, J. L., Chiappe, L. M., Pérez-Moreno, B. P., Moratalla, J. J., Hernández-Carrasquilla, F., Delgado Buscalioni, A., Ortega, F., Poyato-Ariza, F. J., Rasskin-Gutman, D. & Martínez-Delclós, X. (1997). A nestling Bird from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain: Implications for Avian Skull and Neck Evolution. Science, 276: 1543-1546. doi:10.1126/science.276.5318.1543
Sanz, J. L., Pérez-Moreno, B. P., Chiappe, L. M. and Buscalioni, A. D. (2002). The birds from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas (Province of Cuenca, Spain) In: Chiappe, L. M. and Witmer, L. M. (eds.), Mesozoic Birds. Above the heads of dinosaurs. Universty of California Press, 209-229.
Sereno, P. C., Rao, C. and Li, J. (2002). Sinornis santensis (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern China. In: Chiappe, L. M. and Witmer, L. M. (eds.), Mesozoic Birds. Above the heads of dinosaurs. Universty of California Press, Los Angeles, USA, 184-208.
Starck, J. M. (1998). Structural variants and invariants in avian embryonic and postnatal development. In: Starck, J. M. and Ricklefs, R. E. Avian growth and development. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 59-88.
Tumarkin-Deratzian, A. R., Vann, D. R. and Dodson, P. (2006). Bone surface textura as an ontogenetic indicator in long bones of the Canada goose Branta canadensis. Zool. J. Linnean Soc., 148: 133-168. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00232.x
Zhang, F. & Zhou, Z. (2000). A primitive enantiornithine bird and the origin of feathers. Science, 290: 1955-1959. doi:10.1126/science.290.5498.1955
Zhou, Z. (2002). A new and primitive enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of China. J. Vertebr. Paleont., 22: 49-57. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0049:ANAPEB]2.0.CO;2
Zhou, Z. & Zhang, F. (2002). A long-tailed, seed-eating bird from the Early Cretaceous of China. Nature, 418: 405-9. doi:10.1038/nature00930
Zhou, Z. and Zhang, F. (2004). A precocial avian embryo from the Lower Cretaceous of China. Science 306: 653. doi:10.1126/science.1100000
Zhou, Z., Chiappe, L. M. and Zhang, F. (2005). Anatomy of the Early Cretaceous bird Eoenantiornis buhleri (Aves: Enantiornithes) from China. Can. J. Earth Sci., 42: 1331-1338. doi:10.1139/e05-038
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2006 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
