Praeornis
| Praeornis Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 154 Ma | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | †Praeornithiformes Rautian, 1978 |
| Family: | †Praeornithidae Rautian, 1978 |
| Genus: | †Praeornis Rautian, 1978 |
| Species: | †P. sharovi |
| Binomial name | |
| Praeornis sharovi Rautian, 1978 | |
Praeornis is a dubious genus of possible early bird, named on the basis of a single possible feather discovered in the Balabansai Formation of Kazakhstan by Sharov in 1971. A second specimen has been discovered in 2010 by Dzik et al.[1]
In 1978, Rautian officially named the feather (cataloged as specimen PIN 2585/32) Praeornis sharovi. He believed it belonged to a bird more primitive than Archaeopteryx, and assigned it to its own sublcass (Praeornithes), order (Praeornithiformes) and family (Praeornithidae).[2] However, in 1986, Bock published a paper arguing that the "feather" was in fact the leaf of a cycad.[3] This opinion was followed by Doludenko and colleagues in 1990, who noted that it was similar to the leaves of the cycad species Paracycas harrisii. L.A. Nessov, in 1992, also suggested that it belonged to a cycad, but synonymized it with the species Cycadites saportae. The opinion that it represents a leaf has since been followed by Alan Feduccia in 1996 and Peter Wellnhofer in 2004.[4][5]
Three studies since the original description has supported the identification of Praeornis as a feather, rather than a leaf. In 1991, Glazunova and colleagues examined the specimen using an electron microscope, and found that the microstructure had features in common with the "primitive" feathers of ratite birds [since ratites are now known to be secondarily flightless paleognathous birds, their feathers are not primitive but degenerate flight and contour feathers].[6] In a 2001 paper, Kurochkin also accepted its identity as a feather.[7] A more comprehensive study was published in 2010 by Dzik et al., in which the authors conducted a biochemical analysis of a Praeornis feather and other fossils from the same site, including plants and fish. The analysis showed that the chemical markers of the Praeornis fossil was more similar to the fish scales than to the plant leaves, supporting the hypothesis that the feathers were animal in origin.[1] Besides identifying Praeornis as a feather, Dzik et al. also noticed similarities between the purported feathers of Longisquama and those of Praeornis.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Dzik, J., Sulej, T. and Niedzwiedzki, G. (2010). "Possible link connecting reptilian scales with avian feathers from the early Late Jurassic of Kazakstan." Historical Biology, 22(4): 394–402.
- ↑ Rautian (1978). "A unique bird feather from Jurassic lake deposits in the Karatau." Paleontological Journal, 4: 520-528.
- ↑ Bock (1986). "The arboreal origin of avian flight." Pp. 57-72 in Padian, K. (ed.). The Origin of Birds and the Evolution of Flight. California Academy of Sciences, Memoir 8.
- ↑ Feduccia, A. (1996). The Origin and Evolution of Birds. New Haven: Yale University Press. 420 pp.
- ↑ Wellnhofer, P. (2004). "The plumage of Archaeopteryx: Feathers of a dinosaur." Pp. 282-300 in Currie, Koppelhus, Shugar and Wright (eds). Feathered Dragons: Studies on the Transition from Dinosaurs to Birds.
- ↑ Glazunova, Rautian and Filin (1991). "Praeornis sharovi: Bird feather or plant leaf?" Materialy 10 Vsesoyuznoi Ornitologicheskoi Konferentzii, Vitebsk, 2(1): 149-150. [in Russian]
- ↑ Kurochkin (2001). "Mesozoic birds of Mongolia and the former USSR." Pp. 533-559 in Benton, Shishkin, Unwin and Kurochkin (eds.). The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia.