Branched integumental structures in Sinornithosaurus and the origin of feathers

IVPP-IR > 中科院古脊椎所（2000年以后）

	Branched integumental structures in Sinornithosaurus and the origin of feathers
	Xu, X ; Zhou, HH ; Prum, RO ; Prum, RO (reprint author), Univ Kansas, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA.
	2001-03-08
发表期刊	NATURE
ISSN	0028-0836
卷号	410 期号:6825 页码:200-204
文章类型	Article
摘要	The evolutionary origin of feathers has long been obscured because no morphological antecedents were known to the earliest, structurally modern feathers of Archaeopteryx(1). It has been proposed that the filamentous integumental appendages on several theropod dinosaurs are primitive feathers(2-6); but the homology between these filamentous structures and feathers has been disputed(7-9), and two taxa with true feathers (Caudipteryx and Protarchaeopteryx) have been proposed to be flightless birds(8,10). Confirmation of the theropod origin of feathers requires documentation of unambiguously feather-like structures in a clearly non-avian theropod. Here we describe our observations of the filamentous integumental appendages of the basal dromaeosaurid dinosaur Sinornithosaurus millenii, which indicate that they are compound structures composed of multiple filaments. Furthermore, these appendages exhibit two types of branching structure that are unique to avian feathers: filaments joined in a basal tuft, and filaments joined at their bases in series along a central filament. Combined with the independent phylogenetic evidence supporting the theropod ancestry of birds(11-13), these observations strongly corroborate the hypothesis that the integumental appendages of Sinornithosaurus are homologous with avian feathers. The plesiomorphic feathers of Sinornithosaurus also conform to the predictions of an independent, developmental model of the evolutionary origin of feathers(14).; The evolutionary origin of feathers has long been obscured because no morphological antecedents were known to the earliest, structurally modern feathers of Archaeopteryx(1). It has been proposed that the filamentous integumental appendages on several theropod dinosaurs are primitive feathers(2-6); but the homology between these filamentous structures and feathers has been disputed(7-9), and two taxa with true feathers (Caudipteryx and Protarchaeopteryx) have been proposed to be flightless birds(8,10). Confirmation of the theropod origin of feathers requires documentation of unambiguously feather-like structures in a clearly non-avian theropod. Here we describe our observations of the filamentous integumental appendages of the basal dromaeosaurid dinosaur Sinornithosaurus millenii, which indicate that they are compound structures composed of multiple filaments. Furthermore, these appendages exhibit two types of branching structure that are unique to avian feathers: filaments joined in a basal tuft, and filaments joined at their bases in series along a central filament. Combined with the independent phylogenetic evidence supporting the theropod ancestry of birds(11-13), these observations strongly corroborate the hypothesis that the integumental appendages of Sinornithosaurus are homologous with avian feathers. The plesiomorphic feathers of Sinornithosaurus also conform to the predictions of an independent, developmental model of the evolutionary origin of feathers(14).
WOS标题词	Science & Technology
URL	查看原文
关键词[WOS]	THEROPOD DINOSAUR ; YIXIAN FORMATION ; CHINA
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
WOS类目	Multidisciplinary Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:000167320500044
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/3881
专题	中科院古脊椎所（2000年以后）
通讯作者	Prum, RO (reprint author), Univ Kansas, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA.
作者单位	1.Univ Kansas, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA 2.Acad Sinica, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China 3.Univ Kansas, Museum Nat Hist, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Xu, X,Zhou, HH,Prum, RO,et al. Branched integumental structures in Sinornithosaurus and the origin of feathers[J]. NATURE,2001,410(6825):200-204.
APA	Xu, X,Zhou, HH,Prum, RO,&Prum, RO .(2001).Branched integumental structures in Sinornithosaurus and the origin of feathers.NATURE,410(6825),200-204.
MLA	Xu, X,et al."Branched integumental structures in Sinornithosaurus and the origin of feathers".NATURE 410.6825(2001):200-204.

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