Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx
| العنوان: | Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx |
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| المؤلفون: | Voeten, Dennis F. A. E., Cubo, Jorge, de Margerie, Emmanuel, Roeper, Martin, Beyrand, Vincent, Bures, Stanislav, Tafforeau, Paul, Sanchez, Sophie |
| المصدر: | Nature Communications. 9 |
| الوصف: | Archaeopteryx is an iconic fossil taxon with feathered wings from the Late Jurassic of Germany that occupies a crucial position for understanding the early evolution of avian flight. After over 150 years of study, its mosaic anatomy unifying characters of both non-flying dinosaurs and flying birds has remained challenging to interpret in a locomotory context. Here, we compare new data from three Archaeopteryx specimens obtained through phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography to a representative sample of archosaurs employing a diverse array of locomotory strategies. Our analyses reveal that the architecture of Archaeopteryx's wing bones consistently exhibits a combination of cross-sectional geometric properties uniquely shared with volant birds, particularly those occasionally utilising short-distance flapping. We therefore interpret that Archaeopteryx actively employed wing flapping to take to the air through a more anterodorsally posteroventrally oriented flight stroke than used by modern birds. This unexpected outcome implies that avian powered flight must have originated before the latest Jurassic. |
| وصف الملف: | electronic |
| URL الوصول: | https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-350610 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8 https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1209492/FULLTEXT01.pdf |
| قاعدة البيانات: | SwePub |
| تدمد: | 20411723 |
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| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8 |