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中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所王敏团队发现来自侏罗纪新兴陆生动物群的一种新的鸟翼类兽脚类物种。2023年9月6日，《自然》杂志在线发表了这项成果。

研究人员报道了侏罗纪地层最年轻、地理位置最南端的鸟翼类之一——奇异福建龙（Fujianvenator prodigiosus gen.），该标本表现出一系列不同寻常的形态特征，这些特征与其他鸟翼类、伤齿龙和奔龙共享，显示了深鸟翼类系统发育中演化镶嵌的影响。奇异福建龙与所有其他中生代鸟翼类和非鸟翼类的兽脚类都不同，它的后肢特别细长，表明它的生活方式是陆生或涉水的。这与其他早期鸟翼类形成了鲜明对比，后者的形态适应了树栖或空中环境。

在发现奇异福建龙的政和地区进行野外考察期间，研究人员发现了以水生和半水生物种为主的多种脊椎动物群，其中包括真骨鱼类、离龙类和龟鳖类动物。通过原位放射性同位素测年和地层调查，研究人员将这一地点含有化石的地层（将其命名为政和动物群）的年代测定为距今1.48-1.50亿年。政和动物群的多样性及其精确的年代框架将为了解晚侏罗世的陆地生态系统提供重要信息。

据悉，鸟类是晚侏罗世时期非鸟翼类兽脚类恐龙的后裔，但由于化石记录极其稀少且受时空限制，这一演化过程的最早阶段仍不清楚。有关鸟类早期分化物种的信息对于理解鸟类特征的演化以及调和有关鸟类起源的系统发育争议至关重要。

附：英文原文

Title: A new avialan theropod from an emerging Jurassic terrestrial fauna

Author: Xu, Liming, Wang, Min, Chen, Runsheng, Dong, Liping, Lin, Min, Xu, Xing, Tang, Jianrong, You, Hailu, Zhou, Guowu, Wang, Linchang, He, Wenxing, Li, Yujuan, Zhang, Chi, Zhou, Zhonghe

Issue&Volume: 2023-09-06

Abstract: Birds are descended from non-avialan theropod dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic period, but the earliest phase of this evolutionary process remains unclear owing to the exceedingly sparse and spatio-temporally restricted fossil record1–5. Information about the early-diverging species along the avialan line is crucial to understand the evolution of the characteristic bird bauplan, and to reconcile phylogenetic controversies over the origin of birds3,4. Here we describe one of the stratigraphically youngest and geographically southernmost Jurassic avialans, Fujianvenator prodigiosus gen. et sp. nov., from the Tithonian age of China. This specimen exhibits an unusual set of morphological features that are shared with other stem avialans, troodontids and dromaeosaurids, showing the effects of evolutionary mosaicism in deep avialan phylogeny. F. prodigiosus is distinct from all other Mesozoic avialan and non-avialan theropods in having a particularly elongated hindlimb, suggestive of a terrestrial or wading lifestyle—in contrast with other early avialans, which exhibit morphological adaptations to arboreal or aerial environments. During our fieldwork in Zhenghe where F. prodigiosus was found, we discovered a diverse assemblage of vertebrates dominated by aquatic and semi-aquatic species, including teleosts, testudines and choristoderes. Using in situ radioisotopic dating and stratigraphic surveys, we were able to date the fossil-containing horizons in this locality—which we name the Zhenghe Fauna—to 148–150 million years ago. The diversity of the Zhenghe Fauna and its precise chronological framework will provide key insights into terrestrial ecosystems of the Late Jurassic. An avialan species from the Zhenghe Fauna—a collection of vertebrate fossils from the Late Jurassic of China—had an unusual combination of features, including very long hindlimbs, suggesting that it had a terrestrial or wading lifestyle.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06513-7

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06513-7

Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
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