As of now, no conclusive avialans have actually been reported except the Middle– Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota in northeast China (166– 159 million years ago; Ma) and the a little more youthful German Solnhofen Limestones, which protect Archaeopteryx. The Jurassic avialans are essential to figuring out the evolutionary origin of the characteristic avialan body plan.” The remarkable variety, distinct vertebrate structure, and paleoenvironment strongly suggest that this region documents a terrestrial fauna, which we named the Zhenghe Fauna,” said Dr. Zhonghe Zhou from IVPP, co-author of the research study. In-situ radioisotopic dating and stratigraphic surveys constrain the Zhenghe Fauna to the period from 150– 148 Ma. Fujianvenator documents one of the stratigraphically youngest and geographically southernmost members of the Jurassic avialans.
Life reconstruction of the 150-million-year-old avialan theropod Fujianvenator prodigiosus. Credit: Chuang Zhao
A brand-new 150-million-year-old avialan theropod, Fujianvenator prodigiosus, has actually been discovered in China, providing fresh insights into early riser evolution and the Late Jurassic terrestrial environment.
Birds descended from theropod dinosaurs by the Late Jurassic, however our understanding of the earliest development of the Avialae, the clade making up all modern-day birds however not Deinonychus or Troodon, has actually been hindered by a restricted variety of fossils from the Jurassic. (A clade is a group of organisms that includes a single typical ancestor and all its lineal descendants, representing a single branch on the “tree of life.”).
As of now, no conclusive avialans have actually been reported except the Middle– Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota in northeast China (166– 159 million years earlier; Ma) and the a little more youthful German Solnhofen Limestones, which preserve Archaeopteryx. The Jurassic avialans are crucial to deciphering the evolutionary origin of the characteristic avialan body strategy.
Photo and interpretive line drawing of the 150-million-year-old avialan theropod Fujianvenator prodigiosus, with a phylogeny and paleomap showing the locality of the Zhenghe Fauna (red star). Credit: Min Wang.
A New Discovery.
A joint research group from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and the Fujian Institute of Geological Survey (FIGS) described and examined a brand-new 150-million-year-old avialan theropod from Zhenghe County, Fujian Province.
The findings were published in Nature on September 6.
The new types, named Fujianvenator prodigiosus, exhibits an unusual assembly of morphologies that are shown other avialans, troodontids, and dromaeosaurids, revealing the impact of evolutionary mosaicism in early riser development.
Morphometric space of body plan and cursoriality of Fujianvenator prodigiosus, compared with other Mesozoic theropods. Credit: Min Wang.
Fujianvenators Unique Morphology.
” Our comparative analyses show that significant modifications in body strategy occurred along the early avialan line, which is mainly driven by the forelimb, ultimately giving increase to the normal bird limb percentage,” stated Dr. Min Wang from IVPP, lead and corresponding author of the study. “However, Fujianvenator is an odd types that diverged from this main trajectory and evolved unusual hindlimb architecture.”.
The surprisingly extended lower leg and other morphologies, in combination with other geological observations, suggest that Fujianvenator lived in a swamp-like environment and was a high-speed runner or a long-legged wader, representing a formerly unidentified ecology for early avialans.
Stratigraphic log and vertebrate fossil assemblage discovered in the Late Jurassic Zhenghe Fauna. Credit: Min Wang.
Geological Context and Implications.
” Besides Fujianvenator, we have actually found abundant other vertebrates, including teleosts, testudines, and choristoderes,” said Liming Xu from FIGS, lead author of the research study.
Throughout the Late Jurassic– Early Cretaceous, southeastern China went through extensive tectonic activities due to subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate, resulting in widespread magmatism and coeval fault-depression basins, where Fujianvenator was found. This geological background is essentially the exact same as in the Late Jurassic in north and northeastern China, where the older Yanliao Biota is maintained.
” The extraordinary variety, unique vertebrate structure, and paleoenvironment strongly indicate that this locality files a terrestrial animals, which we called the Zhenghe Fauna,” stated Dr. Zhonghe Zhou from IVPP, co-author of the research study. In-situ radioisotopic dating and stratigraphic studies constrain the Zhenghe Fauna to the period from 150– 148 Ma. Therefore, Fujianvenator files one of the stratigraphically youngest and geographically southernmost members of the Jurassic avialans.
The discovery of the Zhenghe Fauna opens a brand-new window into the Late Jurassic terrestrial environment of the planet, and the joint research study group from IVPP and FIGS prepare to continue their expedition of Zhenghe and neighboring areas.
Recommendation: “A new avialan theropod from an emerging Jurassic terrestrial fauna” by Liming Xu, Min Wang, Runsheng Chen, Liping Dong, Min Lin, Xing Xu, Jianrong Tang, Hailu You, Guowu Zhou, Linchang Wang, Wenxing He, Yujuan Li, Chi Zhang and Zhonghe Zhou, 6 September 2023, Nature.DOI: 10.1038/ s41586-023-06513-7.