Verts Lecture Exam 3 - Birds

Pectoral girdle separate from the skull, limbs with carpels, tarsals, and phalanges, sacral region, and Zygapophyses

The largest group in Sarcopterygii.
characteristics of Tetrapods:
“Please Leave Sacred Zones”

Sarcopterygii

A class that 1st appeared in the early Devonian, characterized by paired lobed fins attached via a single basal element

Amniotic egg, impermeable skin, costal ventilation of lungs, and temporal fenestration

List the 4 characteristics of Amniota
“Animals In Coastal Towns”

temporal fenestration

The opening in the skull of some Amniotes for jaw muscles to pass through

Synapsida

The monophyletic group of amniotes with 1 temporal fenestra

Sauropsida

The monophyletic group of amniotes that have 0 or 2 temporal fenestra

Diapsida

A group that evolved in the Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic, over 300 mya. They are the most diverse amniote lineage, including Lepidosaurs and Archosaurs

Archosauria

A group that originated in the Permian period but took off in the Mesozoic. Includes Crocodilia and Aves

Late Permian

A Period where the Appalachians and Rockies were pushed up. It ended with the greatest known mass extinction event, called the “Permo-Triassic crisis”. 99% of life perished, including 50% of fish orders and 90% of fish species disappeared in a rapid extinction lasting just 1 million years.

Permo-Triassic crisis

An extinction event caused by the largest known volcanic eruption in history resulting in global glaciation and a sea level drop due to the blocked-out sunlight. 99% of life perished.

Early Triassic

A Period of warming after glaciation and extinctions. Pangea begins breaking up, resulting in regional variation. This is the age of dinosaurs and life diversifying after the extinction. Gymnosperms and other vegetation along with insects rebound and diversify. There are low levels of O2.

Late Jurassic

A Period where Pangea breaks into Laurasia and Gondwana as the Tethys sea expands, lowering sea levels. Gondwana begins separating into eastern and western segments. The high CO2, low O2 atmosphere is good for plants and subsequently herbivorous dinosaurs. Large sauropods dominate and insects and gymnosperms continue to diversify.

Late Cretaceous

A Period where the South Atlantic fully opens, sea levels increase due to new rifts in ocean basins, and India separates from Madagascar and moves toward Eurasia. Europe and North America are still connected, as are Australia and Antarctica. There are no ice caps and the warm water movement in polar regions allows dinosaurs and palm trees in the far north and south.

K/T boundary

A period with extensive mountain building and drying inland seas. Flowering plant radiation and 2nd insect radiation. Blossoming of life as mammals start taking off. Ends with an asteroid and volcanic activity in India shrouding the sky in dust and ash, causing an extinction.

Antiorbital fenestra, shape of the orbit, teeth, bipedalism, and a 4th trochanter

5 Archosaur synapomorphies

Archosauria

A group that has a majority of extinct members and radiated in the Mesozoic, as the low O2 levels were advantageous for them.

4th trochanter

The rough surface on the back of the femur of Archosaurs that serves to attach muscles between the femur and base of the tail, increasing running speed.

Alligatoridae, Crocodylidae, and Gavialidae

The 3 families of Crocodilians

Crocodylus porosus

largest living reptile

Gavialidae

The family of crocodilians with only 1 extant species, Gharial

Crocodilians

A group that arose in the Triassic and was diverse in the Cretaceous, getting extremely large. They have nostrils on the top of their snout.

atrium and ventricle

Which parts of the heart are divided in tetrapods?

valves in leg veins to resist backflow, higher blood pressure, and the lymphatic system

What 3 ways have terrestrial tetrapods compensated for gravity in circulation?

Secondary palate separating mouth and nasal passages, tissue at the base of the tongue to seal the throat, weak depressor mandibulae, and ventricular septum in heart

4 characteristics of crocodilians

4 chambers and 2 aorta connected by foramen of Panizza

Characteristics of crocodilian hearts

foramen of Panizza

The unique character of the crocodilian heart that allows them to have 3 different blood flow patterns for active, resting, and diving.

vocalizations, help young out of eggs, transport young, stay with parents for years, and build nests

5 ways Archosaurs display parental care

Ornithischia

“bird-hipped” - all extinct and herbivorous, with cheeks or horny beaks instead of teeth at the front of the mouth

Saurischia

“lizard-hipped” -actually includes birds

bipedal with legs directly under body and muscular changes related to the change in posture

Common traits of Ornithischia and Saurischia

Thyreophora, Ornithopoda, and Marginocephalia

3 groups of Ornithischians

Thyreophora

armored dinosaurs, with shorter front legs, that use their plates for thermoregulation
ex. stegosaurus

Ornithopoda

duck-billed dinosaurs. Large size, anterior jaw was toothless, includes hadrosaurs that diversified with flowering plants
ex. iguanodon

Marginocephalia

dinosaurs with unique hard skulls or frills, and knife-like teeth
ex. triceratops or pachycephalosaurs

Sauropodomorpha and Theropodomorpha

2 groups of Saurischians

Sauropodomorpha

herbivorous dinosaurs with small heads, long necks, and serrated teeth. They were huge and heavy, with modified vertebrae to support the weight
ex. brachiosaurus

Theropodomorpha

large, predatory dinosaurs, with strong bite forces and sharp teeth. It had large, slow predators and small fast ones, including bird-like hunters and species that attacked with a large hind claw
ex. T-rex or microraptors

Coleurosaurs

Small dinosaurs that diversified during the Cretaceous. They use their hands or feet to attack and share the furculum and keel with modern birds.

Dromeosaurs

Small Cretaceous dinosaurs with bird-like feet and a raised 2nd digit for attacking. They had tail modifications to stiffen the tail for balance and attacking and a wrist modified to twist sideways, a feature seen in modern birds.

Ornithomimus and Deinocheirus

2 non-Coelurosaur bird mimics, sharing a flexible wrist and opposable “thumb”

Pterosaurs

The 1st flying reptiles, evolving flight separately from birds. They had long, hollow bones, and a developed sternum but no keel. They also had large eyes and a large cerebellum. They evolved 50 mill. yrs before birds and lived alongside birds for 100 mill. yrs

hollow bones, S-shaped neck, tridactyl feet, and digitigrade posture

Characteristics shared by birds and theropods they were derived from (4)

furcula, bony sternum, birdlike brooding and sleeping posture, and T. rex proteins

4 shared derived characters of Coelurosaurs, a sub-Clade of Theropods

beta keratin

What protein is unique to feathers and connects the early protofeather filaments to modern feathers

filamentous feathers

The earliest form of feathers evolved 190 mill. yrs ago. They were single, hollow filaments 1-5 cm long

symmetrically vaned feathers

The kind of early feathers found on Caudipteryx. They were likely evolved for social displays and additionally used for insulation.

asymmetrically vaned feathers

The kind of feathers first found on Archaeopteryx. They were shaped for flight

pennaceous feather

The type of feather found in modern birds, with a Rachis and barbules.

Archaeopteryx

Considered the 1st “modern bird”. They had asymmetrical wings feathers, a bony tail, and could probably fly.

melanosomes

The structures that synthesize melanin and whose structure can reveal dinosaur feather colors

Arboreal and Terrestrial

2 hypothesis for the origin of flight

Arboreal hypothesis

The hypothesis that flight evolved from gliding from tree to tree. “from the trees down”

Terrestrial hypothesis

The hypothesis that flight evolved from assisted incline running. Supported by Dromeosaurs being terrestrial, having wrists adapted for prey seizing, and feathered forelimbs would be poor for climbing.

wing loading

mass/surface area of wing
reason why body mass decreased as flight evolved
small wings and large mass = high (ducks)

pygostyle

fused tail vertebra that tail feathers attach to

Jeholornis prima

An early Cretaceous dinosaur with birdlike wings, thorax, and skull. It had short, rounded wings, teeth, and a long bony tail.

Confuciusornis

An early-Cretaceous crow-sized dinosaur. They had a sharp beak to eat fish and a pygostyle with elongated tail feathers. 1st known dinosaur with a pygostyle.

Enantiornithines

“opposite birds” Present during the Cretaceous, they had different articulation between the scapula and coracoid and differently fused metatarsals from modern birds. They had teeth, were moderately sized, and ecologically diverse. They went extinct during the K/T boundary to make way for Neornithes.

Ornithurines

A family of birds present throughout the Cretaceous that started small and finch-like and diversified into aquatic and secondarily flightless aquatic birds. They had teeth. They went extinct during the K/T boundary to make way for Neornithes.

Neornithes

Birds present from the Paleocene onwards

Ornithurines and Enantiornithines

2 protobird groups most prevalent during the Cretaceous

Archaeopteryx

Protobird present in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous

Neornithes

A group of birds originating in the late Cretaceous that are remarkably uniform due to their specializations for flight. It is divided into Neognathae and Palaeognathae.

calamus

The part of the feather that anchors to the skin

rachis

The semi-hollow central core of a modern feather

contour feathers, semiplumes, down, bristles, and filoplumes

List the 5 types of feathers

Rectrices and Remiges

The 2 types of contour feathers, both used for flight

Remiges

wing feathers

Rectrices

tail feathers

semiplumes

feathers with long rachis and plumulaceous vanes

down

feathers with a short or nonexistent rachis that is entirely plumulaceous

bristles

feathers made up of a stiff rachis with no vanes and sometimes barbs on the base. Found around the mouths of insectivores.

filoplumes

fine, hairlike feathers with barbs at the end, for sensory purposes

ulna

to what bone do the secondaries attach?

hand bones

what are the primary feathers attached to?

tarsometatarsus

fused bone of the lower leg

tibiotarsus

fused bone of the upper leg

synsacrum

The fused hip bones and vertebrae, provide stability but prevent those vertebrae from moving.

Alula

The part of a bird wing that lifts when the wing tips back to force air against the top of the wing, reducing turbulence

devil ducks

10 ft tall flightless Australian birds that moved slowly, used their feet to attack, and weighed ½ a ton.

terror birds

1 meter-tall flightless birds in the Americas known for their fast running speed and sharp, predatory beaks.

Teratornis

The largest known flying bird, found in North and South America and closely related to New World vultures. Wingspan of 24 ft.

Moas

flightless New Zealand birds. All 15 species were hunted to extinction, causing the raptor that preyed on them to go extinct as well.

Elephant birds

Over 10 ft tall flightless birds from Madagascar. They went extinct over 500 years ago when the island was first colonized.

Avian malaria

What killed most of the endemic birds of Hawaii when it was colonized?

passenger pigeon

The most abundant bird species in the world before it was hunted to extinction for being a crop pest.

Palaeognathae

A group with around 60 species of Tinamous and Ratites. They are often large and flightless, with male parental care. Tinamous are still flighted.

It means that Ratites lost flight multiple times after Pangea broke up

What is the significance of Tinamous being the sister group of Rheas, aside from making Ratites non-monophyletic?

Galliformes, Anseriformes, and Neoaves

The 3 main groups of Neognathae

Anseriformes

Which group is the sister group to Neoaves?

Galliformes and Anseriformes

fowl and waterfowl in the superorder Galloanserae

Galliformes

An order of 5 families of birds that appeared in the late Cretaceous. They are now granivores and distributed globally. They are polygynous or polygamous and prolific breeders, ideal for domestication.
ex. peacocks

Anseriformes

order with 3 families of birds that appeared in the late Cretaceous. They are divers or grazers and distributed globally. They are polygynous or polygamous and prolific breeders, ideal for domestication.

Neoaves

A group that makes up 95% of extant birds with rapid diversification

Columbiformes

order containing 1 family of birds with 310 species. Doves and pigeons

Phoenicopteriformes

order containing 1 family with 5 species of flamingos

Podicipediformes

order containing 1 family with 20 species, all with lobed toes
ex. grebes

Caprimulgiformes

order containing 4 families of nightbirds. Crepuscular insectivores with bristles around the mouth and reduced feet.

Gruiformes

order containing 2 monophyletic families in “superfliers”. Enigmatic, crane-like.

Apodiformes

order containing 3 families with 450 species. They are aerial specialists with extremely reduced feet.
ex. swifts and hummingbirds