Fuglenes oprindelse
Fuglenes oprindelse kan undersøges takket være en række fundne uddøde fugleslægter, der har mange særlige skeletkendetegn.
En del tyder på, at fugle stammer fra en bestemte gruppe dinosaurer,[1] og er meget nært beslægtet med familien Dromaeosauridae. Fossile rester af Dromaeosaurer og primitive fugle har mange lighedstræk, og derfor bør alle fugle kaldes for 'flyvende dinosaurer'. Fugle stammer altså ikke fra flyveøgler, [2] som ikke engang var dinosaurer, omend nært beslægtede med dinosaurer.
Der er i de senere år, (siden 1990'erne), blevet fundet en del fjerede dinosaurer; måske et klart bevis for en forbindelse mellem dinosaurer og fugle. [3] [4] De fleste af disse fund er fra Kina, hvor fundsteder med de nødvendige omstændigheder til bevaring af fjer- og hudaftryk findes. Andre former synes at have en nopret hud med hårlignende strukturer.
Foreløbig er der fundet fjer/dun hos sinosauropteryx, protarchaeopteryx, caudipteryx og confuciusornis, alle fra det nordlige Kinas Yixian formation. Familien dromaeosauridae synes at have været forsynet med egentlige fjer, ikke blot dun, og anses af de fleste forskere som nært beslægtet med fuglene. Det er ikke usandsynligt, at dromaeosaurer har kunnet flyve.
Samtidig finder man flere og flere af fuglenes særlige skeletale kendetegn hos små theropoder. Kendetegn, som man troede var tilpasninger til flyvning, dukker op hos former, der netop ikke er fugle. [5] [4] [6] [7] Udviklingen af flyvning hos fuglene eller deres dinosaurforfædre er således mere kompliceret end som så. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Der er en lille minoritet af forskere, mest prominent John A. Ruben, som prøver at argumentere for, at fugle ikke nedstammer fra dinosaurer.[13] Liste over primitive fugle:
Kilder/referencer
[redigér | rediger kildetekst]- ^ The University of Texas at Austin (2012, May 30). Evolution of birds is result of a drastic change in how dinosaurs developed. ScienceDaily Arkiveret 1. juni 2012 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "..."We looked back approximately 250 million years, to the Archosaurs, the group which gave rise to crocodiles and alligators as well as modern birds...when we look at birds, we are actually looking at juvenile dinosaurs."..."
- ^ dinodatabase.com: Flying Dinosaurs Arkiveret 20. juni 2004 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...pterosaurs...were not dinosaurs, although they were related to them; they were flying reptiles..."
- ^ "BBCNews, 6 March, 2002, 'Modern' feathers found on Chinese dino". Arkiveret fra originalen 3. juni 2002. Hentet 13. juni 2009.
- ^ a b dinohunters.com: Microraptor Arkiveret 9. juni 2009 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...Microraptor zhaoianus...The discovery of a 130-million-year-old fossil of a feathered dinosaur provides dramatic evidence that birds evolved from the ancient reptiles, according to new research...Theropod dinosaurs and birds share about 100 anatomical features, including a wishbone, swiveling wrists and three forward-pointing toes. Norell said dromaeosaurs were theropod dinosaurs thought to be most closely related to birds..."
- ^ 13 October 2005 BBC News: Bird-like dinosaur forces rethink Arkiveret 18. oktober 2007 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...A rooster-sized dinosaur with a long, slender snout and wing-like limbs is forcing a rethink on bird evolution...The authors say the discovery Rahonavis and Buitreraptor have long and wing-like forelimbs could imply that flight evolved twice, once in birds and once among this group of Gondwanan dromaeosaurs..."
- ^ 2005-10-18, Sciencedaily: Wright Brothers Upstaged! Dinos Invented Biplanes Arkiveret 21. december 2005 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "..."It seems likely that Microraptor invented the biplane 125 million years before the Wright 1903 Flyer."..."
- ^ University of California, Berkeley, The Dinosauria: Truth is Stranger than Fiction Arkiveret 1. februar 2008 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...Dinosaurs are not extinct. Technically. Based on features of the skeleton, most people studying dinosaurs consider birds to be dinosaurs..."
- ^ University of California, Berkeley: Are Birds Really Dinosaurs? Arkiveret 6. august 2003 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...In fact, the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of birds being the descendants of a maniraptoran dinosaur...Some researchers today do not agree that dinosaurs gave rise to birds, and are working to falsify this theory, but so far the evidence for the theory has swamped their efforts...."
- ^ birding.com: Are Birds Dinosaurs? Arkiveret 9. oktober 2004 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...YES they are...NO they are not..."
- ^ Tree of Live web project: Neornithes, Modern Birds Arkiveret 3. august 2003 hos Wayback Machine Quote: "...Introduction...Whether modern birds are most closely related to dinosaurs or crocodylian ancestors is a point of current debate...."
- ^ 20 January, 2005, BBC News: Cretaceous duck ruffles feathers Arkiveret 21. februar 2006 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...Fossil remains of a bird that lived 70 million years ago appear to belong to a relative of modern ducks and geese..."This is basically an unidentifiable bundle of bones," Alan Feduccia, a bird expert from the University of North Carolina, US, said...And now all of a sudden it's a modern duck..."
- ^ 11 July 2006, Big dinosaurs 'had warmer blood' Arkiveret 12. april 2019 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...The bigger a dinosaur was, the warmer its blood...smallest dinosaurs had temperatures of around 25C, close to environmental temperatures...biggest dinosaurs – had a body temperature of just over 40C...Most animals cannot tolerate body temperatures of above 45C, so Apatosaurus is both near the upper limit..."
- ^ "Publishing with a hidden agenda: why birds simply cannot be dinosaurs – Tetrapod Zoology". Arkiveret fra originalen 7. november 2020. Hentet 8. oktober 2015.