A Mesozoic bird from Gondwana preserving feathers

CARVALHO, ISMAR; NOVAS, FERNANDO E.; AGNOLIN, FEDERICO; ISASI, MARCELO

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS

Nature

Año: 2015

2041-1723

The fossil record of birds in the Mesozoic of Gondwana is mostly based on isolated and oftenpoorly preserved specimens, none of which has preserved details on feather anatomy. Weprovide the description of a fossil bird represented by a skeleton with feathers from the EarlyCretaceous of Gondwana (NE Brazil). The specimen sheds light on the homology and 3Dstructure of the rachis-dominated feathers, previously known from two-dimensional slabs.The rectrices exhibit a row of rounded spots, probably corresponding to some originalcolour pattern. The specimen supports the identification of the feather scapus as the rachis,which is notably robust and elliptical in cross-section. In spite of its juvenile nature, the tailplumage resembles the feathering of adult individuals of modern birds. Documentation ofrachis-dominated tail in South American enantiornithines broadens the paleobiogeographicdistribution of basal birds with this tail feather morphotype, up to now only reported fromChina.