Avian Evolution

Gerald Mayr is a German paleontologist who is Curator of Ornithology at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. He has published extensively on fossil birds, especially the Paleogene avifauna of Europe. He is an expert on the Eocene fauna of the Messel pit.

• Foreword ixPreface xiAcknowledgments xiiiChapter 1 An Introduction to Birds, the Geological Settings of Their Evolution, and the Avian Skeleton 1Birds Are Evolutionarily Nested within Theropod Dinosaurs 2The Geological Settings of Avian Evolution in a Nutshell 4Characteristics of the Avian Skeleton 6Chapter 2 The Origin of Birds 18Archaeopteryx: The German “Urvogel” and Its Bearing on Avian Evolution 19The Closest Maniraptoran Relatives of Birds 22Feather Evolution 32The Origin of Avian Flight 37Chapter 3 The Mesozoic Flight Way towards Modern Birds 43Jeholornithids: Early Cretaceous Long-Tailed Birds 44Confuciusornis, Sapeornis, and Kin: Basal Birds with a Pygostyle 45Ornithothoraces and the Origin of Sustained Flapping Flight Capabilities 50The Ornithuromorpha: Refinement of Modern Characteristics 55Ornithurae and the Origin of Modern Birds 59Chapter 4 Mesozoic Birds: Interrelationships and Character Evolution 64The Interrelationships of Mesozoic Birds: Controversial Phylogenetic Placements and Well-Supported Clades 65Character Evolution in Mesozoic Birds 68Ontogenetic Development of Mesozoic Birds 81Chapter 5 The Interrelationships and Origin of Crown Group Birds (Neornithes) 84Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Neornithine Birds 85The Mesozoic Fossil Record of Neornithine-Like and Neornithine Birds 88Chapter 6 Palaeognathous Birds (Ostriches, Tinamous, and Allies) 94The Interrelationships of Extant Palaeognathae 95Early Cenozoic Palaeognathous Birds of the Northern Hemisphere 95Long-Winged Ostriches, Rheas, and Tinamous 97Short-Winged Palaeognathous Birds 101Biogeography: A Textbook Example of Gondwanan Vicariance Has Been Dismantled 105Chapter 7 Galloanseres: “Fowl” and Kin 107Galliformes: From Herbivorous Forest Dwellers to Seed Eaters of Open Landscapes 108The Waterfowl 113Gastornithids: Giant Herbivorous Birds in the Early Paleogene of the Northern Hemisphere 118Dromornithids (Mihirungs or Thunderbirds): Gastornis-Like Birds from Australia 120Pelagornithids: Bony-Toothed Birds 121Chapter 8 The “Difficult-to-Place Groups”: Biogeographic Surprises and Aerial Specialists 125The Columbiform Birds: Doves, Sandgrouse, … and Mesites? 126The Hoatzin: A South American Relict Species 127Turacos and Cuckoos 129Bustards 131The “Wonderful” Mirandornithes, or How Different Can Sister Taxa Be? 132Strisores: The Early Diversification of Nocturnal Avian Insectivores 136Chapter 9 Shorebirds, Cranes, and Relatives 147Charadriiformes: One of the Most Diverse Groups of Extant Birds 148From Rail to Crane 156Chapter 10 Aequornithes: Aquatic and Semi-Aquatic Carnivores 161Loons: Foot-Propelled Divers of the Northern Hemisphere 162Pelagic Tubenoses and Albatrosses 164Penguins: More Than 60 Million Years of Flightlessness 168The Polyphyletic “Pelecaniformes” and “Ciconiiformes” 174Late Cenozoic Turnovers in Marine Avifaunas 187Chapter 11 Cariamiforms and Diurnal Birds of Prey 189Seriemas and Allies: Two Species Now, Many More in the Past 190Diurnal Birds of Prey: Multiple Cases of Convergence among Raptorial Birds 197Chapter 12 The Cenozoic Radiation of Small Arboreal Birds 204The Courol and Mousebirds: Two African Relict Groups 205The Long Evolutionary History of Owls 210Parrots and Passerines: An Unexpected Sister Group Relationship and Its Potential Evolutionary Implications 212Trogons, Rollers, and Woodpeckers: Cavity-Nesters with Diverse Foot Morphologies 223Chapter 13 Insular Avifaunas Now and Then, on Various Scales 233Islands and Isolated Continents as Refugia 234The Evolution of Flightlessness in Predator-Free Environments 235Insular Gigantism and Islands as Cradles of Unusual Morphologies 241Glossary 245References 248Index 289

"Of all the works on the evolution of birds, it is the most modern, complete summary, with just enough fossil figures (no reconstructions), including 16 central color pencils, morphological descriptions and of genealogical trees. A mine of reflections that illuminate our current settlements" Ornithos, 24:5 (2017)