Paleogene Fossil BirdsIn the present book the Paleogene fossil record of birds is detailed for the first time on a worldwide scale. I have developed the idea for such a project for several years, and think that it is an appropriate moment to present a summary of our c- rent knowledge of the early evolution of modern birds. Meanwhile not only is there a confusing diversity of fossil taxa, but also significant progress has been made concerning an understanding of the higher-level phylogeny of extant birds. Hypotheses which were not considered even a decade ago are now well supported by independent analyses of different data. In several cases these group together morphologically very different avian groups and allow a better understanding of the mosaic character distribution found in Paleogene fossil birds. The book aims at bringing some of this information together, and many of the following data are based on first-hand examination of fossil specimens. |
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161128_Mayr_appendixpdf | 221 |
161128_Mayr_Referpdf | 227 |
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Common terms and phrases
Accipitridae Alvarenga Anseriformes Apodiformes assigned Aves Avian Paleontology avifaunas beak BMNH bones Brodkorb Cariamidae carpometacarpus Charadriiformes clade clade including Coliiformes coracoid Cracraft crown group deposits described distal tarsometatarsus distal tibiotarsus Dyke earliest early Eocene early Oligocene early Paleogene Eocene Eocene MP Eocene of Messel Ericson Europe evolution extant Feduccia flightless foramen fossil birds fourth toe France Galliformes Gastornithidae Germany Green River Formation Harrison and Walker holotype Houde humerus Kurochkin late Cretaceous late Eocene late Oligocene late Paleocene London Clay Mayr G middle Eocene Milne-Edwards Miocene Mlíkovský 2002 molecular morphology Mourer-Chauviré North America Oligocene Olson Paleogene Paleogene fossil record Paleontol Pelagornithidae penguins Phoenicopteriformes Phorusrhacidae Photo by Sven phylogenetic affinities Piciformes plesiomorphic postcranial Presbyornithidae Procellariiformes proximal Psittaciformes Quercy Quercy fissure fillings Rallidae ratites Sect Senckenberg similar sister group relationship sister taxon skeleton skull species specimens Sphenisciformes stem group stem group representatives Strigiformes Sven Tränkner tarsometatarsus taxa tibiotarsus trochlea ulna Wetmore