A precocial avian embryo from the Lower Cretaceous of China.
basic_science · Level V
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Abstract
An embryo of an enantiornithine bird has been recovered from the Lower Cretaceous rocks of Liaoning, in northeast China. The bird has a nearly complete articulated skeleton with feather sheet impressions and is enclosed in egg-shaped confines. The tucking posture of the skeleton suggests that the embryo had attained the final stage of development. The presence of well-developed wing and tail feather sheets indicates a precocial developmental mode, supporting the hypothesis that precocial birds appeared before altricial birds.
Medical subject headings
- Birds
- Embryo, Nonmammalian
- Fossils