| Description |
xii, 520 pages : illustrations, ; 29cm |
| Contents |
The debate on avian ancestry: phylogeny, function, and fossils / Lawrence M. Witmer -- Cladistic approaches to the relationships of birds to other theropod dinosaurs / James M. Clark, Mark A. Norell and Peter J. Makovicky -- The enigmatic birdlike dinosaur Avimimus portentosus: comments and a pictorial atlas / Patricia Vickers-Rich, Luis M. Chiappe and Sergei Kurzanov -- The Cretaceous short-armed Alvarezsauridae: Mononykus and its kin / Luis M. Chiappe, Mark A. Norell and James M. Clark -- Alvarezsaurid relationships reconsidered / Fernando E. Novas and Diego Pol -- Archaeopterygidae (Upper Jurassic of Germany) / Andrzej Elzanowski -- The discovery and study of Mesozoic birds in China / Zhou Zhonghe and Hou Lianhai -- Sinornis santensis (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the early Cretaceous of northeastern China / Paul C. Sereno, Rao Chenggang and Li Jianjun -- The birds from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas (Province of Cuenca, Spain) / José L. Sanz ... [et al.] -- Nogueromis gonzalezi (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the early Cretaceous of Spain / Luis M. Chiappe and Antonio Lacasa-Ruiz -- Skeletal morphology and systematics of the Cretaceous Euenantiornithes (Ornithothoraces: Enantiornithes) / Luis M. Chiappe and Cyril A. Walker -- Vorona berivotrensis, a primitive bird from the late Cretaceous of Madagascar / Catherine A. Forster ... [et al.] -- Osteology of the flightless Patagopteryx deferrariisi from the late Cretaceous of Patagonia (Argentina) / Luis M. Chiappe -- Enaliornis, an early Cretaceous hesperornithiform bird from England, with comments on other Hesperornithiformes / Peter M. Galton and Larry D. Martin -- |
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The Mesozoic radiation of Neornithes / Sylvia Hope -- A review of avian Mesozoic fossil feathers / Alexander W.A. Kellner -- The track record of Mesozoic birds and pterosaurs: an ichnological and paleoecological perspective / Martin G. Lockley and Emma C. Rainforth -- Bone microstructure of early birds / Anusuya Chinsamy -- Locomotor evolution on the line to modern birds / Stephen M. Gatesy -- Basal bird phylogeny: problems and solutions / Luis M. Chiappe |
| Summary |
"Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs is the most authoritative and up-to-date source on early avian evolution currently available. This unique resource provides a comprehensive examination of the known fossil record and is also an unparalleled guide to the fast-paced developments in current research." "The origin of birds and their relationship to dinosaurs continue to be hotly debated among paleontologists, ornithologists, and evolutionary biologists. This cutting-edge reference will become an essential resource for those interested in this debate and in many other fascinating topics relating to the evolution of the earliest known birds."--Book Jacket |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Birds, Fossil.
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Paleontology -- Mesozoic.
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Birds -- Evolution.
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| Author |
Witmer, Lawrence M.
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Chiappe, Luis M.
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| LC no. |
2001044600 |
| ISBN |
0520200942 alkaline paper |
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