Scaling relationships between skeletal dimensions and body mass in extant birds are often
used to estimate body mass in fossil crown-group birds, as well as in stem-group avialans …

To understand the functional meaning of morphological features, we need to relate what we
know about morphology and ecology in a meaningful, quantitative framework. Closely …

Archaeopteryx is an iconic fossil taxon with feathered wings from the Late Jurassic of
Germany that occupies a crucial position for understanding the early evolution of avian flight …

Bird necks display unparalleled levels of morphological diversity compared to other
vertebrates, yet it is unclear what factors have structured this variation. Using three …

This chapter will cover clade definitions, the relationships within clades as well as the
occasional controversial relationships between different clades. Phylogenies arising from a …

Among the most revolutionary insights emerging from 200 years of research on dinosaurs is
that the clade Dinosauria is represented by approximately 11 000 living species of birds …

Knowledge about the types of nests built by dinosaurs can provide insight into the evolution
of nesting and reproductive behaviors among archosaurs. However, the low preservation …

The bony labyrinth of vertebrates houses the semicircular canals. These sense rotational
accelerations of the head and play an essential role in gaze stabilisation during locomotion …

The discovery of Hongshanornis longicresta, a small ornithuromorph bird with unusually
long hindlimb proportions, was followed by the discovery of two closely related species …

Birds exhibit a specialized tail that serves as an integral part of the flight apparatus,
supplementing the role of the wings in facilitating high performance aerial locomotion. The …