Birds are one of the most recognizable and diverse groups of modern vertebrates. Over the
past two decades, a wealth of new fossil discoveries and phylogenetic and …

Studies of the evolution of phenotypic diversity have gained momentum among
neontologists interested in the uneven distribution of diversity across the tree of life. Potential …

In recent years, avian systematics has been characterized by a diminished reliance on
morphological cladistics of modern taxa, intensive palaeornithogical research stimulated by …

We introduce the concept of many-to-one mapping of form to function and suggest that this
emergent property of complex systems promotes the evolution of physiological diversity. Our …

Many physiological traits consist of two hierarchically related levels: physical structures and
the emergent functional properties of those structures. Because selection tends to act on the …

Recent fossil discoveries have substantially reduced the morphological gap between non-
avian and avian dinosaurs, yet avians including Archaeopteryx differ from non-avian …

Reptiles, including birds, exhibit a range of behaviorally relevant adaptations that are
reflected in changes to the structure of the inner ear. These adaptations include the capacity …

The bipedal stance and gait of theropod dinosaurs evolved gradually along the lineage
leading to birds and at some point (s), flight evolved. How and when did these changes …

Birds show tremendous ecological disparity in spite of strong biomechanical constraints
imposed by flight. Modular skeletal evolution is generally accepted to have facilitated this …

Despite the wide range of locomotor adaptations in birds, little detailed attention has been
given to the relationships between the quantitative structural characteristics of avian limb …