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Palaeontology: leg feathers in an Early Cretaceous bird.
Nature. 2004 Oct 21; 431(7011):925.Nat

Abstract

Here we describe a fossil of an enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous period in China that has substantial plumage feathers attached to its upper leg (tibiotarsus). The discovery could be important in view of the relative length and aerodynamic features of these leg feathers compared with those of the small 'four-winged' gliding dinosaur Microraptor and of the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx. They may be remnants of earlier long, aerodynamic leg feathers, in keeping with the hypothesis that birds went through a four-winged stage during the evolution of flight.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Zhang F
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China. fuchengzhang@yeah.net
Zhou Z
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AnimalsBirdsChinaDinosaursFeathersFlight, AnimalFossilsHindlimbPhylogenyTail

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

15496911

Citation

Zhang, Fucheng, and Zhonghe Zhou. "Palaeontology: Leg Feathers in an Early Cretaceous Bird." Nature, vol. 431, no. 7011, 2004, p. 925.
Zhang F, Zhou Z. Palaeontology: leg feathers in an Early Cretaceous bird. Nature. 2004;431(7011):925.
Zhang, F., & Zhou, Z. (2004). Palaeontology: leg feathers in an Early Cretaceous bird. Nature, 431(7011), 925.
Zhang F, Zhou Z. Palaeontology: Leg Feathers in an Early Cretaceous Bird. Nature. 2004 Oct 21;431(7011):925. PubMed PMID: 15496911.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Palaeontology: leg feathers in an Early Cretaceous bird. AU - Zhang,Fucheng, AU - Zhou,Zhonghe, PY - 2004/10/22/pubmed PY - 2004/12/16/medline PY - 2004/10/22/entrez SP - 925 EP - 925 JF - Nature JO - Nature VL - 431 IS - 7011 N2 - Here we describe a fossil of an enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous period in China that has substantial plumage feathers attached to its upper leg (tibiotarsus). The discovery could be important in view of the relative length and aerodynamic features of these leg feathers compared with those of the small 'four-winged' gliding dinosaur Microraptor and of the earliest known bird, Archaeopteryx. They may be remnants of earlier long, aerodynamic leg feathers, in keeping with the hypothesis that birds went through a four-winged stage during the evolution of flight. SN - 1476-4687 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/15496911/Palaeontology:_leg_feathers_in_an_Early_Cretaceous_bird_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -