New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds: Proceedings of the International Symposium in Honor of John H. Ostrom

About this book

Includes papers presented by leading researchers in paleontology and ornithology at the historic two-day international conference of the same name, held in New Haven, Connecticut, on February 13 and 14, 1999, along with additional papers not presented at the symposium, for a total of 31 articles.

Contents

CONTENTS

Reviewers
Symposium Participants
Acknowledgements
Foreword (Peter Wellnhofer)
Introduction (Jacques Gauthier)


PHYLOGENY OF FEATHERED DINOSAURS

Definitions of Taxon Name Aves
Feathered dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs, and the name "Aves" (Jacques Gauthier & Kevin de Queiroz)
How can we define a feathered dinosaur as a bird? (Ji Qiang & Ji Shu-an)

Phylogeny of Coelurosauria
Phylogenetic relationships among coelurosaurian theropods (Mark A. Norell, James M. Clark & Peter J. Makovicky)
Alvarezsaurids: Birds or ornithomimosaurs? (Paul C. Sereno)
Arctometatarsalia revisited: The problem of homoplasy in reconstructing theropod phylogeny (Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.)

Phylogeny of Flying Dinosaurs
Phylogenetic relationships among basal birds (Luis M. Chiappe)

Phylogeny of Living Dinosaurs
The basal clades of modern birds (Joel Cracraft & Julia Clarke)
Morphological and molecular support for nonmonophyly of the Galloanserae (Per G.P. Ericson, Thomas J. Parsons & Ulf S. Johansson)


EVOLUTION OF FEATHERED DINOSAURS

Feathers
The beginnings of feathers (Alan H. Brush)
Evolutionary implications of possible protofeather structures associated with a specimen of Shuvuuia deserti (Mary Higby Schweitzer)

Flight: Origin of Flight
Methods of inferring unknown aspects of organisms and the behavioral origins of bird flight (E. Nicholas Arnold)
Ecomorphology of avian and nonavian theropod phalangeal proportions: Implications for the arboreal versus terrestrial origin of bird flight (James A. Hopson)
Flight capability and habits of Confuciusornis (Zhonghe Zhou & James O. Farlow)
Stages in the origin of bird flight: Beyond the arboreal-cursorial dichotomy (Kevin Padian)

Flight: Form and Function
Forelimb shape and the evolution of birds (Gareth J. Dyke & Jeremy M. V. Rayner)
The wrist of Allosaurus (Saurischia: Theropoda), with observations on the carpus in theropods (Daniel J. Chure)
The function of the manus and forelimb of Deinonychus antirrhopus and its importance for the origin of avian flight (Alan D. Gishlick)
The function of the supracoracoideus muscle during takeoff in the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris): Maxheinz Sy revisited (Alan J. Sokoloff, Jennifer Gray-Chickering, Jason D. Harry, Samuel O. Poore & George E. Goslow, Jr.)
The evolutionary history of the theropod caudal locomotor module (Stephen M. Gatesy)

Flight: Biophysics of Flight
Why thrust and ground effect are more important than lift in the evolution of sustained flight (Phillip Burgers & Kevin Padian)
On the origin and evolution of flapping flight aerodynamics in birds (Jeremy M. V. Rayner)

Growth and Physiology
A new perspective on the origin of endothermy (Colleen G. Farmer)
The bone histology of basal birds in phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives (Armand de Ricqles, Kevin Padian & John R. Horner)

Archosaur Respiratory Systems
Functional morphology of the reptilian and avian respiratory systems and its implications for theropod dinosaurs (Steven F. Perry)
Respiratory structure and function in theropod dinosaurs and some related taxa (Terry D. Jones & John A. Ruben)
Were the respiratory complexes of predatory dinosaurs like crocodilians or birds? (Gregory S. Paul)


CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN BIRD ORIGINS

The false issues of bird origins: An historiographic perspective (Kevin Padian)
Naive falsification and the origin of birds (Peter J. Makovicky & Gareth J. Dyke)
Time and trees: A quantitative assessment of temporal congruence in the bird origins debate (Christopher A. Brochu & Mark A. Norell)
The role of Protoavis in the debate on avian origins (Lawrence M. Witmer)
Biostratigraphy and avian origins in northeastern China (Joshua B. Smith, Jerald D. Harris, Gomaa I. Omar, Peter Dodson & You Hailu)


Index

Customer Reviews