A new bohaiornithid-like bird from the Lower Cretaceous of China fills a gap in enantiornithine disparity

Abstract. A new enantiornithine, Musivavis amabilis n. gen. n. sp., is reported from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Biota in western Liaoning, China. The new taxon is similar to the bohaiornithids in the robust subconical teeth, bluntly expanded omal ends of the furcula, caudolaterally oriented lateral trabeculae with triangular distal ends of the sternum, and a robust second pedal digit. Yet it differs from members of Bohaiornithidae in several features recalling other enantiornithine lineages, such as the acuminate rostral ramus of maxilla, the shape of the coracoid lateral margin, the presence of craniolateral processes on the sternum, the proportions of the manual phalanges, and the unspecialized third pedal ungual phalanx. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Mesozoic birds shows that homoplasy significantly affects the reconstruction of enantiornithine relationships. When all phylogenetic characters are considered of equal weight, Musivavis is reconstructed in a lineage related to a radiation of large-bodied enantiornithines including Bohaiornithidae and Pengornithidae. Alternative scenarios based on progressive downweighting of the homoplastic characters support more basal placements of the pengornithids among Enantiornithes, but do not alter the affinity of Musivavis as a member of the “bohaiornithid-grade” group.

[1]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Cretaceous bird with dinosaur skull sheds light on avian cranial evolution , 2021, Nature Communications.

[2]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Two new Early Cretaceous ornithuromorph birds provide insights into the taxonomy and divergence of Yanornithidae (Aves: Ornithothoraces) , 2020 .

[3]  Xiaoting Zheng,et al.  New information on the plumage of Protopteryx (Aves: Enantiornithes) from a new specimen , 2020 .

[4]  Xiaoting Zheng,et al.  Confirmation of ovarian follicles in an enantiornithine (Aves) from the Jehol biota using soft tissue analyses , 2020, Communications Biology.

[5]  M. Kundrát,et al.  A new jeholornithiform exhibits the earliest appearance of the fused sternum and pelvis in the evolution of avialan dinosaurs , 2020 .

[6]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Anatomy of a New Specimen of Piscivorenantiornis inusitatus (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Biota , 2020, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

[7]  P. Mcdonald,et al.  New anatomical information on the bohaiornithid Longusunguis and the presence of a plesiomorphic diapsid skull in Enantiornithes , 2020 .

[8]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Study on the Jehol Biota: Recent advances and future prospects , 2020, Science China Earth Sciences.

[9]  L. Chiappe,et al.  New Bohaiornis-like bird from the Early Cretaceous of China: enantiornithine interrelationships and flight performance , 2019, PeerJ.

[10]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  A new enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) with completely fused premaxillae from the Early Cretaceous of China , 2019, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

[11]  M. Norell,et al.  Medullary bone in an Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird and discussion regarding its identification in fossils , 2018, Nature Communications.

[12]  W. Sellers,et al.  A diminutive perinate European Enantiornithes reveals an asynchronous ossification pattern in early birds , 2018, Nature Communications.

[13]  A. Cau.  The assembly of the avian body plan : a 160-million-year long process , 2018 .

[14]  J. O’Connor,et al.  First species of Enantiornithes from Sihedang elucidates skeletal development in Early Cretaceous enantiornithines , 2017 .

[15]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  A bizarre Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird with unique crural feathers and an ornithuromorph plough-shaped pygostyle , 2017, Nature Communications.

[16]  J. O’Connor,et al.  Morphological coevolution of the pygostyle and tail feathers in Early Cretaceous birds , 2017 .

[17]  Zhiheng Li,et al.  A new small enantiornithine bird from the Jehol Biota, with implications for early evolution of avian skull morphology , 2016 .

[18]  Xiaoting Zheng,et al.  A New Jehol Enantiornithine Bird with Three-Dimensional Preservation and Ovarian Follicles , 2016, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

[19]  Xiaoting Zheng,et al.  An Enantiornithine with a Fan-Shaped Tail, and the Evolution of the Rectricial Complex in Early Birds , 2016, Current Biology.

[20]  Min Wang,et al.  Taxonomical reappraisal of Cathayornithidae (Aves: Enantiornithes) , 2016 .

[21]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Second species of enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous Changma Basin, northwestern China with implications for the taxonomic diversity of the Changma avifauna , 2015 .

[22]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  A New Species of Pengornithidae (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Lower Cretaceous of China Suggests a Specialized Scansorial Habitat Previously Unknown in Early Birds , 2015, PloS one.

[23]  Xuri Wang,et al.  New material of Longipteryx (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China with the first recognized avian tooth crenulations. , 2015, Zootaxa.

[24]  Zhonghe Zhou.  The Jehol Biota, an Early Cretaceous terrestrial Lagerstätte: new discoveries and implications , 2014 .

[25]  Xiaoting Zheng,et al.  Insights into the evolution of rachis dominated tail feathers from a new basal enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) , 2014 .

[26]  P. Ericson,et al.  A New Enantiornithes (Aves) from the Early Cretaceous of China , 2014 .

[27]  Zhou Zhonghe（周忠和）,et al.  A new diverse enantiornithine family (Bohaiornithidae fam. nov.) from the Lower Cretaceous of China with information from two new species , 2014 .

[28]  Zheng Xiao,et al.  New Information on Hongshanornithidae (Aves:Ornithuromorpha) from a new subadult specimen , 2014 .

[29]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Anatomy of the Basal Ornithuromorph Bird Archaeorhynchus spathula from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China , 2013 .

[30]  Qingjin Meng,et al.  A New Enantiornithine from the Yixian Formation with the First Recognized Avian Enamel Specialization , 2013 .

[31]  L. Chiappe,et al.  A Large Bird from the Early Cretaceous of China: New Information on the Skull of Enantiornithines , 2013 .

[32]  G. Korbutt,et al.  A Primitive Enantiornithine Bird and the Origin of Feathers , 2012 .

[33]  J. O’Connor,et al.  Anatomy of the Early Cretaceous Enantiornithine Bird Rapaxavis pani , 2011 .

[34]  Larry D. Martin,et al.  Fossil evidence of avian crops from the Early Cretaceous of China , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[35]  Xing Xu,et al.  A New Enantiornithine Bird from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Liaoning, China , 2011 .

[36]  J. O’Connor,et al.  A revision of enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) skull morphology , 2011 .

[37]  K. O’Connor,et al.  Anatomy of the Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird , 2011 .

[38]  G. Dyke,et al.  A reassessment of Sinornis santensis and Cathayornis yandica (Aves: Enantiornithes). In Proceedings of the VII International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, ed. W.E. Boles and T.H. Worthy , 2010 .

[39]  L. Chiappe,et al.  New Species of Enantiornithes (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Qiaotou Formation in Northern Hebei, China , 2010 .

[40]  Qingjin Meng,et al.  Phylogenetic Support for a Specialized Clade of Cretaceous Enantiornithine Birds with Information from a New Species , 2009 .

[41]  A. Elżanowski.  PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE PALAEOGNATHOUS BIRD FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF MONGOLIA , 2009 .

[42]  Pablo A. Goloboff,et al.  TNT, a free program for phylogenetic analysis , 2008 .

[43]  E. Margerie,et al.  Histological observations of Enantiornithine bone (Saurischia, Aves) from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas (Spain) , 2006 .

[44]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  A beaked basal ornithurine bird (Aves, Ornithurae) from the Lower Cretaceous of China , 2006 .

[45]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Anatomy of the early cretaceous bird Eoenantiornis buhleri (Aves : Enantiornithes) from China , 2005 .

[46]  Frankie D. Jackson,et al.  LATE CRETACEOUS AVIAN EGGS WITH EMBRYOS FROM ARGENTINA , 2002 .

[47]  A. Chinsamy,et al.  Bone histology: Evolution of growth pattern in birds , 2001, Nature.

[48]  Zhonghe Zhou,et al.  Early diversification of birds: Evidence from a new opposite bird , 2001 .

[49]  F. Zhang,et al.  A primitive enantiornithine bird and the origin of feathers. , 2000, Science.

[50]  Xu Gui.  First discovery of Mesozoic bird fossils in Hebei province and its significance , 1999 .

[51]  Z. Zhong,et al.  ARCHAEOPTERYX TO OPPOSITE BIRDS-MISSING LINK FROM THE MESOZOIC OF CHINA , 1999 .

[52]  L. Chiappe,et al.  Mesozoic avian bone microstructure: physiological implications , 1995, Paleobiology.

[53]  G. Harrison.  Handbook of Avian Anatomy: Nomina Anatomica Avium , 1993 .

[54]  J. Sanz,et al.  A new bird from the Early Cretaceous of Las Hoyas, Spain, and the early radiation of birds , 1992 .

[55]  B. Hall.  Bone matrix and bone specific products , 1991 .

[56]  J. Gauthier.  Saurischian monophyly and the origin of birds , 1986 .

[57]  C. A. Walker.  New subclass of birds from the Cretaceous of South America , 1981, Nature.