Gobipteryx

Gobipteryx; Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 75–71 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Eggs of Gobipteryx minuta
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Clade:	Avialae
Clade:	† Enantiornithes
Family:	† Gobipterygidae
Genus:	† Gobipteryx ; Elżanowski, 1974
Species:	†G. minuta
Binomial name
	†Gobipteryx minuta; Elżanowski, 1974
Synonyms
	Nanantius valifanovi Kurochkin, 1996;

Last updated March 02, 2024

Gobipteryx (from Gobi [referring to the Gobi Desert where it was first discovered], and Greek pteryx "wing") is a genus of prehistoric bird from the Campanian Age of the Late Cretaceous Period.^[1] It is not known to have any direct descendants.^[1] Like the rest of the enantiornithes clade, Gobipteryx is thought to have gone extinct near the end of the Cretaceous.^[2]

Description

Based on a skull length of 45 millimeters, Gobipteryx has been estimated to be approximately the size of a partridge.^[3] Its bones are fibrolamellar.^[4]

The skull's general shape is gradually tapering toward the front.^[1]Gobipteryx has a toothless beak ^[1] formed from the fusion of the premaxillae bones.^[5] The skull is characterized as being rhynchokinetic ^[1] with the pterygoid bones articulating with both the vomers ^[3]^[6] and the palatine.^[1]^[3] The nares are tear shaped and the choana is located below them, more rosteral than in most modern birds.^[7] The nares are smaller than the antorbital fenestrae, a basal feature for ornithurae birds.^[7] In addition, Gobipteryx's skull has an articulated rostrum.^[7] The jaw hinge is associated with the articulation of the quadrate with the pterygoid processes.^[1] The articular region of the mandible contains internal and retroarticular processes and has uniform symphysis.^[1] This animal has a large, uniform, and sutureless braincase.^[1]

The vertebral column consists of at least 19 presacral vertebrae, the last six of these being dorsals.^[8] The neural spines of the twelfth and thirteenth vertebrae form the nuchal blade, which represents the point of greatest elevation in the vertebral column.^[8]

The scapula contains a prominent glenoid labrum and tapers backward, ending as thin rods.^[8] The coracoids are slightly concave anteriorly and are separate from the scapulae dorsally. They also stick out from the neck on either side.^[8]Gobipteryx's clavicles curve in a way that is consistent with that of other birds.^[8]

The humerus is posteriorly convex (a normal trait for birds) and the head is comma-shaped.^[8]Gobipteryx's ulna is about twice as thick as the radius.^[8] Metacarpals II and III have been found in embryonic fossils and are observed to be about equal size and are in close contact with each other.^[8]

Paleobiology

Flight

Gobipteryx is believed to have been capable of flight.^[4]^[8] The scapula is long, and therefore, well suited for flight by having more area for muscle attachment.^[8] In addition, the forelimb of Gobipteryx is more than twice the length of the thorax, falling within the acceptable range observed in flying birds.^[8]

Development

Gobipteryx, along with other enantiornithes, is thought to have superprecocial development, in which it was capable of flying upon hatching.^[4]^[8] Evidence for this comes from the fact that the forelimbs and shoulders of advanced embryos are almost completely ossified.^[8] In addition, the growth of G. minuta has been shown to slow down immediately following hatching.^[4] This suggests that it was highly mobile in its life, since locomotion has been shown to slow the growth of young birds by focusing energy and resources elsewhere.^[4] This onset of flight so early in life is not seen in most modern birds, which begin flying when they have reached or are close to full size.^[4]

History

The first specimens were two damaged skulls discovered as part of the 1971 Polish-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition to the Gobi Desert by Dr. Teresa Maryańska,^[1] however, at the time, it was not immediately recognized that both of these skulls belonged to Gobipteryx.^[3]^[6] It was first found in the sandstones of the Lower Nemegt Beds of the Barun Goyot Formation of the Nemegt Basin.^[1] The holotype specimen is housed at the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences ^[8] in Warsaw, Poland and was first described by Dr. Andrzej Elżanowski using a single damaged skull.^[1] Initially, Gobipteryx was classified as a member of the clade Palaeognathae on the basis of its jaw and palate.^[1] However, in 1981, Dr. Cyril Walker defined the clade enantiornithes^[9] and Gobipteryx was reclassified as an enantiornithes bird.

In 1996, Evgeny Kurochkin described a new bird known as Nanantius valifanovi also from the Barun Goyot Formation.^[10] However, it was later discovered that N. valifanoi was actually a new misidentified specimen of Gobipteryx minuta.^[7] The mistake was, at least in part, due to a misidentification of the maxilla and dentary bones of the skull.^[7]

In 1994, an expedition to the Gobi Desert was conducted by the American Museum of Natural History and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, where a well preserved Gobiptetyx minuta skull was found in the Nemegt Basin.^[7] This new specimen provided further evidence for the placement of Gobipteryx into enantiornithes.^[7] In addition, it allowed for the reconstruction of the palate, which was poorly understood in Mesozoic birds.^[7]

Also during the 1971 Polish-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition to the Gobi Desert, in which the first specimens were found, advanced embryos of Gobipteryx minuta were found.^[8] Seven specimens in total were found, including two skeletons in the redbeds of Khermeen Tsav in Mongolia's Gobi Desert.^[8] These embryos made up the second confirmed embryonic fossils from before the Quaternary Period as well as the first confirmed postcranial fossils of G. minuta found.^[8]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Elżanowski, A. (1974): "Preliminary note on the Palaeognthous bird from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" Palaeontologia Polonica30:103-109, plates 32-33.
↑ Padian, K. (2004). "Basal Avialae". chptr 11, in Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P. and Osmólska, H. (eds.): The Dinosauria 2nd Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley ISBN 978-0-520-25408-4.
1 2 3 4 Elżanowski, A. (1976): Palaeognathous bird from the Cretaceous of Central Asia Nature 264: 51-53. doi : 10.1038/264051a0
1 2 3 4 5 6 Chinsamy, A., Elżanowski, A. (2001): Bone histology: Evolution of growth pattern in birds Nature412: 402-403. doi : 10.1038/35086650 PMID 11473304
↑ Chatterjee, S. (1997): The Rise of Birds: 225 Million Years of Evolution The Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978-0801856150.
1 2 Elżanowski, A. (1977): "Skulls of Gobipteryx (Aves) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" Palaeontologia Polonica37: 153-166.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Chiappe, Luis M.; Norell, Mark and Clark, James (2001): "A New Skull of Gobipteryx minuta (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert". American Museum Novitates3346: 1–15.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Elżanowski, A. (1981): "Embryonic Bird Skeletons from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Palaeontologica Polonica 42: 147-179.
↑ Walker, C. A. (1981): New subclass of birds from the Cretaceous of South America Nature292 p. 51-53. doi : 10.1038/292051a0
↑ Kurochkin, E. (1996): A new enantiornithid of the Mongolian Late Cretaceous, and the general appraisal of the Infraclass Enantiornithes (Aves). Russian Academy of Sciences, Palaeontological Institute, Special Issue: 1-50.

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[Elzanowski,_1974-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Elżanowski, A. (1974): "Preliminary note on the Palaeognthous bird from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" Palaeontologia Polonica30:103-109, plates 32-33.

[Dinosauria-2] Padian, K. (2004). "Basal Avialae". chptr 11, in Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P. and Osmólska, H. (eds.): The Dinosauria 2nd Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley ISBN 978-0-520-25408-4.

[Elzanowski,_1976-3] 1 2 3 4 Elżanowski, A. (1976): Palaeognathous bird from the Cretaceous of Central Asia Nature 264: 51-53. doi : 10.1038/264051a0

[Chinsamy_and_Elzanowski,_2001-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chinsamy, A., Elżanowski, A. (2001): Bone histology: Evolution of growth pattern in birds Nature412: 402-403. doi : 10.1038/35086650 PMID 11473304

[Chatterjee,_1997-5] Chatterjee, S. (1997): The Rise of Birds: 225 Million Years of Evolution The Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978-0801856150.

[Elzanowski,_1977-6] 1 2 Elżanowski, A. (1977): "Skulls of Gobipteryx (Aves) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia" Palaeontologia Polonica37: 153-166.

[Chiappe,_2001-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Chiappe, Luis M.; Norell, Mark and Clark, James (2001): "A New Skull of Gobipteryx minuta (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert". American Museum Novitates3346: 1–15.

[Elzanowski,_1981-8] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Elżanowski, A. (1981): "Embryonic Bird Skeletons from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Palaeontologica Polonica 42: 147-179.

[Walker,_1981-9] Walker, C. A. (1981): New subclass of birds from the Cretaceous of South America Nature292 p. 51-53. doi : 10.1038/292051a0

[Kurochkin,_1996-10] Kurochkin, E. (1996): A new enantiornithid of the Mongolian Late Cretaceous, and the general appraisal of the Infraclass Enantiornithes (Aves). Russian Academy of Sciences, Palaeontological Institute, Special Issue: 1-50.

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