古脊椎动物学报2020，Vol.58Issue(1)：24-44,21.DOI:10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.190823
未成熟羽毛在早白垩世热河鸟类生物群幼年反鸟类中的首次报道
First report of immature feathers in juvenile enantiornithines from the Early Cretaceous Jehol avifauna
摘要
Abstract
Molting-the process replacing one plumage with another—is a critically important biological function in Aves.This process annually replaces the feather coat,damaged by normal wear and tear,produces ontogenetic changes in feathering,and produces alternate breeding plumages associated with reproductive activity in adults.Immature,growing feathers are encased in a keratinous sheath,giving them a narrow,tubular,and featureless appearance.The complete loss of the sheath indicates the feather is mature.Despite the wealth of integumentary data published from the Jehol Biota,immature feathers have never been definitively reported,although they may potentially be preserved in a juvenile specimen of the non-avian oviraptorosaur theropod dinosaur Similicaudipteryx from the 120 Ma Jiufotang Formation.A developing feather has been reported in a 99 Ma enantiomithine neonate preserved in Burmese amber,in which three-dimensional preservation makes interpretations of integumentary structures more straightforward.Here we report on probable immature feathers in four juvenile enantiornithines (Aves:Ornithothoraces) from the Jehol Group.As observed in developing feathers in extant birds,the purported immature fossil feathers appear proximally narrow and featureless with barbs protruding only distally.Based on our observations,we suggest that similar-appearing feather structures preserved on the manus and tibiotarsus in the holotype of the enantiornithine Cruralispennia multidonta may alternatively be interpreted as immature feathers.The presence of immature feathers in combination with sexually dimorphic ornamental feathers in juvenile enantiornithines suggests the complex molting patterns of Neornithes,in which such ornaments only appear after several years (following several molts) when reproductive activity is achieved,are limited to a subset of crownward avians.关键词
中生代/热河生物群/鸟类/鞘羽/羽毛/换羽Key words
Mesozoic/Jehol Biota/Aves/pin feather/plumage/molt分类
生物科学引用本文复制引用
邹晶梅,福雅曼,王敏,郑晓廷..未成熟羽毛在早白垩世热河鸟类生物群幼年反鸟类中的首次报道[J].古脊椎动物学报,2020,58(1):24-44,21.基金项目
国家自然科学基金(批准号:41688103,41372014)资助.We thank Kimball GARRETT for access to the Ornithology Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History,Los Angeles,California,U.S.A.We thank ZHANG Shao-Guang (IVPP) for photographing IVPP V 14980 and GAO Wei (IVPP) for photographing V 15564.This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41688103,41372014),and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.AF was supported by a Luce Foundation grant and Centre College. （批准号:41688103,41372014）
