|
|
|
Protoavis
| Scientific Classification |
| |
| Disputed |
| Some scientists dispute this classification |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Protoavis is arguably a small bird that lived in what is today
Texas,
USA,
during the late
Triassic period,
between about 225 and 213 million years ago.
The animal is known from a single specimen, initially described by Sankar Chatterjee.
Chatterjee's description is of a bird, with a more bird-like skeletal structure than
Archaeopteryx,
with teeth on the tips of its jaws, and eyes at the front of its skull. It is about 14 inches (35 centimeters)
tall, and is usually reconstructed with feathers (although the presence of feathers is speculation, as no
evidence of them has yet been found). The remarkable thing about Chatterjee's description, is it seems to
be of a more advanced bird than Archaeopteryx,
that lived about 70 million years before
Archaeopteryx.
Other scientists however dispute Chatterjee's analysis.
They believe that Protoavis is actually a mix of bones
from several animals ("chimeric") that have
been put together incorrectly. These scientists argue
for this conclusion based principally on the fact that
the Protoavis bones were found in a jumbled mass of disarticulated
fossil bones, that
were probably deposited during a flash flood. Additionally, no
other birds are known to have lived in the Americas until
the
Cretaceous period.
When Protoavis was first discovered, some scientists used it to argue against the fact that
birds evolved from dinosaurs (they argued that
birds evolved from dinosaur relatives or ancestors).
Chatterjee himself however argued that Protoavis supported a dinosaur-bird
evolutionary link, and in any case, regardless of the status of Protoavis, numerous other
fossils have since been found which provide strong evidence
for a
dinosaur-bird link.
Protoavis may have been a small bird that lived between 225 and 210 million years ago
Related Information & Resources
See Also
Protoavis Pictures and Posters
by AllPosters
Here are some Protoavis pictures and posters:
(Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by AllPosters. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website).
Protoavis Books
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.
By Dr. Sankar Chatterjee
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Hardcover (328 pages)
 | List Price: $47.00*
Lowest New Price: $54.99*
Lowest Used Price: $10.94*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
"I'm sure that May 21, 1986, will remain among the most memorable days of my career. On my way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, I had stopped in Lubbock, Texas, to study the Triassic archosaurs collected by Sankar Chatterjee from the Dockum beds of west Texas. I expected to see fossils of the large-headed carnivore Postosuchus, the armored herbivore Desmatosuchus, and the crocodile-like parasuchians. I wasn't expecting to see what I saw..." -- Lawrence M. Witmer, from the foreword Dinosaurs are so popular that we often neglect their flying relatives that are still among us. Birds, the true "living dinosaurs," deserve considerable respect as successful vertebrates that have evolved, adapted, and survived over a period of 225 million years. The Rise of Birds is the first detailed, illustrated, and comprehensive review of the fossil record of birds in a modern phylogenetic context. Distinguished paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee provides a clear and exciting chronology documenting the long odyssey of birds since Protoavis -- which may have taken to the air some 75 million years before the widely known "first bird," Archaeopterix. Throughout The Rise of Birds, Chatterjee offers a wealth of fascinating details from the colorful history of birds past and present. Among them: • Some intelligent theropods such as dromaeosaurs were arboreal and could climb trees with their swivel wrist joint and stiff tail. They were capable of parachuting and gliding from tree to ground. • The discovery of downy theropod dinosaurs from China indicates that upper jaw mobility, not feathers, is the most distinctive characteristic of birds. • Most birds were wiped out 65 million years ago, along with the dinosaurs, by large meteoritic impacts. However, few lineages of birds rebounded from this catastrophe and underwent an explosive evolution. The Rise of Birds discusses the significance of all the many recently discovered bird and possible bird fossils, from Europe to China to Latin America. Chatterjee outlines the varying theories of how animal flight developed, and he explains, in terms of comparative anatomy, what makes a bird a bird. The book covers some of the greatest events in avian development: their emergence in the Triassic pangean world, their flight refinement and global diversification during the continental breakup of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, their sudden decline at the end-Cretaceous extinction, their rebound and explosive radiation dur-ing the Cenozoic era, and finally their destiny with us. Beautifully illustrated by Michael W. Nickell, this book will be of interest to a broad range of readers, including vertebrate paleontologists, ornithologists, and amateur naturalists, including birders. |
|
By Louis Jacobs
Texas A&M University Press
Paperback (176 pages)
 | List Price: $14.95*
Lowest New Price: $7.75*
Lowest Used Price: $0.88*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here |
|
Saunders Ltd.
Hardcover (456 pages)
 | List Price: $148.00*
Lowest New Price: $110.40*
Lowest Used Price: $89.93*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
This reference gives the small animal practitioner a complete information source for the basics of avian medicine and surgery. It pulls together the international expertise of the avian veterinary community by incorporating the knowledge of authors world-wide. The first six chapters cover the basic medical information needed to run a primary care avian practice. The focus here is on introductory level material and the average companion animal practice. If you see between one and five birds a week, this text is for you. The later chapters are species-specific and help the veterinarian in evaluating, treating, and/or referring various bird species. The new edition builds on the success of the first edition and includes full colour illustrations throughout.- First 6 chapters: cover basic information needed to run a primary care avian practice
- Later chapters: species-specific helping veterinarians to build up their knowledge in order to evaluate, treat and/or refer
- Multi-author text combining best practice tips and different techniques from avian experts worldwide: the editors are from 3 different countries and the chapter authors from many more
- Provides quick access to crucial information for the non-specialist
- Offers the basics of avian medicine and surgery
- Fully up-dated throughout
- Full colour throughout
- Increase of line drawings and illustrations in general
- Better quality images
- Includes practice tip highlights throughout
|
|
By Gregory S. Paul
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Hardcover (472 pages)
 | List Price: $64.00*
Lowest New Price: $51.48*
Lowest Used Price: $33.95*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds presents the most recent work of renowned evolutionary scientist and dinosaur illustrator Gregory Paul. Dinosaurs of the Air synthesizes the growing body of evidence which suggests that modern-day birds have evolved from theropod dinosaurs of prehistoric times. Paul argues provocatively for the idea that the ancestor-descendant relationship between the dinosaurs and birds can on occasion be reversed, and that many dinosaurs were secondarily flightless descendants of creatures we would regard as birds. Controversial and comprehensive, Dinosaurs of the Air also offers new, firsthand interpretations of major fossils; a balanced, rewarding discussion of the ways we think flight may have evolved (comparing "ground up" and "trees down" scenarios); a close look at the famous urvogel Archaeopteryx, discussing what it can and cannot tell us about bird origins; and in-depth analyses of bird and theropod phylogenetics. Full of rich detail for the specialist but accessible to the intelligent lay reader, the book includes the author's own stunning illustrations and a technical appendix which provides information, for example, on body mass/wing dimension relationships and avian/dinosaurian metabolics. |
|
By Martin Sauter
GRIN Verlag
Paperback (68 pages)
 | List Price: $26.90*
Lowest New Price: $22.84*
Lowest Used Price: $47.10*
Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Als ich begann, mich aufgrund meines Hobbys Fossiliensammeln mit Archaeopteryx zu beschäftigen, hatte ich nicht vor, und auch nicht im Traum daran gedacht, jemals ein derartig großes Manuskript zu diesem Thema zu verfassen. Manch einer wird nun sagen: „Bitte nicht noch eine Veröffentlichung über den Urvogel", da es ja schon eine Reihe dieser Bücher gibt. Nun ist es aber meiner Meinung nach so, dass die Bücher, die auf Deutsch erhältlich sind, entweder sehr populärwissenschaftlich gehalten oder Fachartikel sind, die unter Umständen für den Laien wenig verständlich sein mögen. Wem sich aufgrund mangelnder Sprachkenntnisse die englische Literatur nicht erschließt, hat so leider auch keinen Zugriff auf die zum Teil sehr guten englischsprachigen Bücher. Da ich mich mit einigen englischsprachigen Büchern zu diesem Thema beschäftigt habe, habe ich erst einmal für mich angefangen die Informationen verständlich zusammenzutragen. Neben einem Artikel, den ich im Mai 2001 für meine Webseite verfasst habe um kreationistische Sichtweisen denen der aktuellen Wissenschaft gegenüberzustellen, ist daraus dieses Werk entstanden. Vielleicht hilft es dem einen oder anderem der sich näher mit der Materie Vogelevolution, Entstehung der Vögel sowie Archaeopteryx beschäftigen will oder sich dafür interessiert. Sicherlich, ich bin weder Paläontologe noch Ornithologe, aber dennoch hoffe ich einen Einblick in diese höchst interessante Materie geben zu können. Dieses Werk will sich aber nicht als anti-kreationistisch verstehen, sondern durchaus als wissenschaftlich. Dennoch habe ich versucht, die grundlegenden Vorgehensweisen der Kreationisten in einem eigenen kurzen Kapitel zu skizzieren, und auch einige Fehler aufzuzeigen; in der Hoffnung, dass diejenigen, die mit offenen Augen und Ohren durch das Leben wandern nicht auf die auf den ersten Blick teilweise überzeugend wirkenden, kreationistischen Darstellungen in Bezug auf die Vogelevolution hereinfallen. Martin Sauter |
|
By Alan Feduccia
Yale University Press
Paperback (480 pages)
 | List Price: $40.00*
Lowest New Price: $28.00*
Lowest Used Price: $2.56*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
An exploration of all that is known about the origin of birds and of avian flight. It draws on fossil evidence and studies of the structure and biochemistry of living birds to present knowledge and data on avian evolution and to propose a new model of this evolutionary process. |
|
By Luis M. Chiappe
Wiley-Liss
Hardcover (192 pages)
 | List Price: $99.95*
Lowest New Price: $167.49*
Lowest Used Price: $83.36*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
The last few years have witnessed an unparalleled rate of discoveries of early birds and their dinosaurian predecessors. Written by a recognised authority in the field, Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds provides a comprehensive summary of these discoveries and addresses the fascinating topic of how modern birds evolved from fearsome dinosaurs akin to the celebrated Velociraptor. The book focuses on an evolutionary approach and presents current research and fossil discoveries. The title includes coloured photographs of fossils and fossil localities, many of which have been rarely reproduced elsewhere.Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds is an invaluable resource for every palaeontologist, ornithologist, evolutionary biologist, geology and life sciences student. It is also an exciting reading for people interested in dinosaurs and avian evolution and for all those with a general interests in the topic. |
|
University of California Press
Hardcover (576 pages)
 | List Price: $100.00*
Lowest New Price: $41.00*
Lowest Used Price: $32.00*
Usually ships in 24 hours*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Our knowledge of the origin and early evolution of birds has exploded in the past ten to fifteen years. In the 1990s alone, scientists became aware of approximately three times more species of early birds than were previously known, marking the first 85 million years of avian development as a period of remarkable species diversity. Assembling work by an international group of renowned scientists, Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs is the most authoritative and up-to-date source on early avian evolution currently available. This unique resource provides a comprehensive examination of the known fossil record and is also an unparalleled guide to the fast-paced developments in current research.
Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs covers a wide range of topics, including discussions of avian origins, the fossil record of feathers and footprints, bone histology, and locomotor evolution. Controversial taxa such as Protoavis, Caudipteryx, and Mononykus receive special treatment. But the heart of the volume presents the anatomy, relationships, and paleobiology of the undisputed Mesozoic aviary. Some of the book's most exciting features are the new definitive descriptions and illustrations of taxa that previously have received only brief notice, such as the alvarezsaurid Shuvuuia; the enantiornithines Sinornis; Eoalulavis, Vorona, and Patagopteryx; and the hesperornithiform Enaliornis.
The origin of birds and their relationship to dinosaurs continue to be hotly debated among paleontologists, ornithologists, and evolutionary biologists. This cutting-edge reference will become an essential resource for those interested in this debate and in the many other fascinating topics relating to the evolution of the earliest known birds. |
|
By Luis Rey
Chronicle Books
Hardcover (64 pages)
 | List Price: $16.95*
Lowest New Price: $39.99*
Lowest Used Price: $0.05*
*(As of 15:45 Pacific 20 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Not all dinosaurs were created equal—some had feathers, others had huge sails made of skin on their backs, some species hunted in packs like wolves or lions and one dinosaur had claws that were over three feet long! These dinosaurs arent just strange, they are extreme. Artist Luis Rey draws upon the latest scientific information to bring astounding new visions of dinosaurs to life. With colorful, detailed images and incredible new findings from Asia, South America, and even the South Pole, Extreme Dinosaurs reveals fascinating facts from the ever-growing fossil record that dinosaur lovers will surely devour! |
|
Discuss This Page
Linking to This Page
We do hope that you find this site useful.
We welcome people linking to this website, or citing us in their school and educational projects
(remember in school projects and papers, you should always cite your sources).
|
|
|
