Mass extinction of birds at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary - PubMed (original) (raw)
Mass extinction of birds at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary
Nicholas R Longrich et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011.
Abstract
The effect of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) (formerly Cretaceous-Tertiary, K-T) mass extinction on avian evolution is debated, primarily because of the poor fossil record of Late Cretaceous birds. In particular, it remains unclear whether archaic birds became extinct gradually over the course of the Cretaceous or whether they remained diverse up to the end of the Cretaceous and perished in the K-Pg mass extinction. Here, we describe a diverse avifauna from the latest Maastrichtian of western North America, which provides definitive evidence for the persistence of a range of archaic birds to within 300,000 y of the K-Pg boundary. A total of 17 species are identified, including 7 species of archaic bird, representing Enantiornithes, Ichthyornithes, Hesperornithes, and an Apsaravis-like bird. None of these groups are known to survive into the Paleogene, and their persistence into the latest Maastrichtian therefore provides strong evidence for a mass extinction of archaic birds coinciding with the Chicxulub asteroid impact. Most of the birds described here represent advanced ornithurines, showing that a major radiation of Ornithurae preceded the end of the Cretaceous, but none can be definitively referred to the Neornithes. This avifauna is the most diverse known from the Late Cretaceous, and although size disparity is lower than in modern birds, the assemblage includes both smaller forms and some of the largest volant birds known from the Mesozoic, emphasizing the degree to which avian diversification had proceeded by the end of the age of dinosaurs.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Figures
Fig. 1.
Coracoids of stem avians from the late Maastrichtian of western North America. Left coracoids (right coracoids reversed) in lateral, dorsal, and medial views. (Scale bars, 10 mm.) (A) cf Avisaurus archibaldi YPM 57235. (B) Enantiornithine A NMC 9528. (C) Enantiornithine B YPM 57823. (D) Palintropus retusus YPM 2076. (E) Ornithurine D UCMP 187207. YPM, Yale Peabody Museum; NMC, Canadian Museum of Nature; UCMP, University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Fig. 2.
Tarsometatarsi of Hesperornithes from the late Maastrichtian of western North America. Left tarsometatarsi in medial, dorsal, plantar, and lateral view. (A) Hesperornithiform A RSM P2315.1. (B) Hesperornithiform B RSM P2604.1. I, facet for metatarsal I; II, metatarsal II; III, metatarsal III; IV, metatarsal IV; dvf, distal vascular foramen; fl, dorsal flange of metatarsal IV; RSM, Royal Saskatchewan Museum. (Scale bar, 1 cm.)
Fig. 3.
Coracoids of derived Ornithurae from the late Maastrichtian of western North America. Left coracoids and right coracoids reversed for comparison. (A) Ornithurine A UCMP 53963. (B) Ornithurine B UCMP 129143. (C) Ornithurine C SDSM 64281. (D) “Cimolopteryx” maxima UCMP 53973. (E) Ornithurine E AMNH 13011. (F) Ceramornis major UCMP 53959. (G) “Cimolopteryx” minima UCMP 53976. (H) “Cimolopteryx” petra AMNH 21911. (I) Cimolopteryx rara YPM 1805. (J) Ornithurine F UCMP 53957. acf, acrocoracoid fossa; lf, lateral fossa, str, strut; UCMP, University of California Museum of Paleontology; SDSM, South Dakota School of Mines; AMNH, American Museum of Natural History; YPM, Yale Peabody Museum. (Scale bar, 1 cm.)
Fig. 4.
Phylogeny showing relationships and stratigraphic distribution of late Maastrichtian birds (bold) and other avians. Note that the extension of neornithine branches into the mid Late Cretaceous is the result of an unresolved polytomy; the earliest fossil evidence of Neornithes is Maastrichtian (9). See
SI Appendix
for full results and details of the analysis.
Fig. 5.
Size range in late Maastrichtian birds. A, Hesperornithiform A; B, Hesperornithiform B; C, cf Avisaurus archibaldi; D, Ornithurine C; E, Ornithurine F; F, Cimolopteryx maxima; G, Enantiornithine A; H, Ceramornis major; I, Ornithurine D; J, Ornithurine B; K, Enantiornithine B; L, Palintropus retusus; M, Ornithurine A; N, Cimolopteryx rara; O, Cimolopteryx petra; P, Ornithurine E; Q, Cimolopteryx minima.
Similar articles
- Early Evolution of Modern Birds Structured by Global Forest Collapse at the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction.
Field DJ, Bercovici A, Berv JS, Dunn R, Fastovsky DE, Lyson TR, Vajda V, Gauthier JA. Field DJ, et al. Curr Biol. 2018 Jun 4;28(11):1825-1831.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.062. Epub 2018 May 24. Curr Biol. 2018. PMID: 29804807 - Mass extinction of lizards and snakes at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary.
Longrich NR, Bhullar BA, Gauthier JA. Longrich NR, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Dec 26;109(52):21396-401. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1211526110. Epub 2012 Dec 10. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012. PMID: 23236177 Free PMC article. - Vegaviidae, a new clade of southern diving birds that survived the K/T boundary.
Agnolín FL, Egli FB, Chatterjee S, Marsà JAG, Novas FE. Agnolín FL, et al. Naturwissenschaften. 2017 Oct 7;104(11-12):87. doi: 10.1007/s00114-017-1508-y. Naturwissenschaften. 2017. PMID: 28988276 - Bird evolution in the Eocene: climate change in Europe and a Danish fossil fauna.
Lindow BE, Dyke GJ. Lindow BE, et al. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006 Nov;81(4):483-99. doi: 10.1017/S146479310600707X. Epub 2006 Aug 8. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006. PMID: 16893476 Review. - The Chicxulub asteroid impact and mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary.
Schulte P, Alegret L, Arenillas I, Arz JA, Barton PJ, Bown PR, Bralower TJ, Christeson GL, Claeys P, Cockell CS, Collins GS, Deutsch A, Goldin TJ, Goto K, Grajales-Nishimura JM, Grieve RA, Gulick SP, Johnson KR, Kiessling W, Koeberl C, Kring DA, MacLeod KG, Matsui T, Melosh J, Montanari A, Morgan JV, Neal CR, Nichols DJ, Norris RD, Pierazzo E, Ravizza G, Rebolledo-Vieyra M, Reimold WU, Robin E, Salge T, Speijer RP, Sweet AR, Urrutia-Fucugauchi J, Vajda V, Whalen MT, Willumsen PS. Schulte P, et al. Science. 2010 Mar 5;327(5970):1214-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1177265. Science. 2010. PMID: 20203042 Review.
Cited by
- The evolution of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis and host-plant switches are the main drivers for diversification of Amanitaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota).
Cai Q, Codjia JEI, Buyck B, Cui YY, Ryberg M, Yorou NS, Yang ZL. Cai Q, et al. BMC Biol. 2024 Oct 10;22(1):230. doi: 10.1186/s12915-024-02031-8. BMC Biol. 2024. PMID: 39390520 Free PMC article. - New enantiornithine diversity in the Hell Creek Formation and the functional morphology of the avisaurid tarsometatarsus.
Clark AD, Atterholt J, Scannella JB, Carroll N, O'Connor JK. Clark AD, et al. PLoS One. 2024 Oct 9;19(10):e0310686. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310686. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 39383133 Free PMC article. - Genome and life-history evolution link bird diversification to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
Berv JS, Singhal S, Field DJ, Walker-Hale N, McHugh SW, Shipley JR, Miller ET, Kimball RT, Braun EL, Dornburg A, Parins-Fukuchi CT, Prum RO, Winger BM, Friedman M, Smith SA. Berv JS, et al. Sci Adv. 2024 Aug 2;10(31):eadp0114. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adp0114. Epub 2024 Jul 31. Sci Adv. 2024. PMID: 39083615 Free PMC article. - The decline and fall of the mammalian stem.
Brocklehurst N. Brocklehurst N. PeerJ. 2024 Feb 27;12:e17004. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17004. eCollection 2024. PeerJ. 2024. PMID: 38436024 Free PMC article. - A Bird's-Eye View of Chromosomic Evolution in the Class Aves.
O'Connor RE, Kretschmer R, Romanov MN, Griffin DK. O'Connor RE, et al. Cells. 2024 Feb 7;13(4):310. doi: 10.3390/cells13040310. Cells. 2024. PMID: 38391923 Free PMC article. Review.
References
- Chiappe LM. Glorified Dinosaurs. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2007. p. 263.
- Chiappe LM, Dyke GJ. The Mesozoic radiation of birds. Annu Rev Ecol Syst. 2002;33:91–124.
- Feduccia A. Explosive evolution in Tertiary birds and mammals. Science. 1995;267:637–638. - PubMed
- Feduccia A. The Origin and Evolution of Birds. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ Press; 1996.
- Feduccia A. 'Big Bang' for Tertiary birds? Trends Ecol Evol. 2003;18:172–176.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources