Recent years witnessed the discovery of a great diversity of early birds as well as closely
related non-avian theropods, which modified previous conceptions about the origin of birds …

Birds are some of the most diverse organisms on Earth, with species inhabiting a wide
variety of niches across every major biome. As such, birds are vital to our understanding of …

The Cretaceous is a critical time interval that encompasses explosive diversifications of
terrestrial vertebrates, particularly the period when the earliest-branching birds, after …

Important transformations of the pectoral girdle are related to the appearance of flight
capabilities in the Dinosauria. Previous studies on this topic focused mainly on paravians yet …

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 Mesozoic birds, enantiornithines exhibit great morphological variation, which likely
reflects their species diversity, range, and overall success throughout the Cretaceous. The …

Enantiornithes are the most successful group of Mesozoic birds, arguably representing the
first global avian radiation, 1–4 and commonly resolved as the sister to the Ornithuromorpha …

Mesozoic birds display considerable diversity in size, flight adaptations and feather
organization,,–, but exhibit relatively conserved patterns of beak shape and development …

Enantiornithes are the most successful clade of Mesozoic birds. Here, we describe a new
enantiornithine bird, Cruralispennia multidonta gen. et sp. nov., from the Protopteryx-horizon …

Fossils of juvenile Mesozoic birds provide insight into the early evolution of avian
development, however such fossils are rare. The analysis of the ossification sequence in …