#NewSpecies of Toothless Pterosaur Discovered https://www.sci.news/paleontology/meilifeilong-youhao-12561.html

A new toothless #pterosaur from the Early #Cretaceous #JeholBiota with comments on the Chaoyangopteridae https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-48076-7

"The new pterosaur species lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous epoch, between 125 and 113 million years ago. The flying reptile belongs to Chaoyangopteridae, a family of medium-sized and high-crested #pterosaurs mostly known from Asia."

Here’s the newly described #pterosaur that I only found out about yesterday, Meilifeilong youhao!!

#rubberhose #rubberhosestyle #Meilifeilongyouhao #JeholBiota #Chaoyangopterid

Hearing from our #Cretaceous ancestors: a remarkable #fossil discovery in #JeholBiota https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/hearing-from-our-cretaceous-ancestors-a-remarkable-fossil-discovery-in-jehol-biota

Middle ear innovation in Early Cretaceous eutherian #mammals https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42606-7

"#Microtherulum probably developed an enhanced capacity for high-frequency hearing."

How #volcanic phosphorus supply boosted the Jehol Biota https://phys.org/news/2023-07-volcanic-phosphorus-boosted-jehol-biota.html paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927323003419 #volcanism

"The #JeholBiota, which includes the earliest known flowering #plants, feathered #dinosaurs and early #birds, had a high level of #biodiversity and #biomass... But why was this area so rich in life during this period? Recent research suggests that the prosperity of this unique #ecosystem was closely tied to the destruction of the #NorthChinaCraton."

#Fossil reveals leaf-eating among earliest birds
https://phys.org/news/2023-08-fossil-reveals-leaf-eating-earliest-birds.htmp

Intra-gastric #phytoliths provide evidence for #folivory in basal #avialans of the Early #Cretaceous #JeholBiota https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40311-z

"The #pheasant-sized #Jeholornis, a member of the second most primitive lineage of #birds, has teeth and a long bony tail like its predatory, feathered #dinosaur relatives... It had eaten tree leaves from a group of flowering #plants called #magnoliids."

Early Cretaceous Bird Had Dinosaur-Like Skull and Bird-Like Body
https://www.sci.news/paleontology/cratonavis-zhui-11540.html Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01921-w

#Cratonavis zhui, a #NewSpecies of #birds from the Early #Cretaceous #JeholBiota, had a unique combination of a dinosaurian skull with an avian post-cranial skeleton, revealing the key role of evolutionary mosaicism in early bird diversification. On the bird evolutionary tree, it sits between members of the bird clade #Ornithothoraces and the more reptile-like #Archaeopteryx.

Paleontologists Find Fossil of 119-Million-Year-Old Beaked Bird
https://www.sci.news/paleontology/confuciusornis-shifan-11528.html Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04316-6

#Confuciusornithidae is a clade of Early #Cretaceous pygostylian #birds known from the #JeholBiota of East Asia, and represents the earliest known toothless, beaked birds. #Confuciusornis shifan weighed less than 200 grams and was smaller than most other confuciusornithid species.

A new specimen illuminates the story of flight #evolution in an iconic group of early birds https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/a-new-specimen-illuminates-the-story-of-flight-evolution-in-an-iconic-group-of-early-birds

A new confuciusornithid bird with a secondary epiphyseal ossification reveals phylogenetic changes in confuciusornithid flight mode https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04316-6

#Confuciusornithids, which lived in the Early #Cretaceous #JeholBiota, are a very unusual group of early #birds. Over the past 30 years, they have been the most deeply, broadly studied avian group in the Jehol Biota.