BIOL 379 Lecture 7: Bird Evolution
Document Summary
Archaopteryx grapholithica found in germany, fine grained enough to see feather imprint, reptilian features, Long chain of vertebrae in tail (modern birds lack this) Determined to be a transitional species, suspected to live in marshlands, flight style = glider, during jurassic era (220-140 million years ago) Snow geese phases migrate late march, 2 phases (mostly white & white neck with blueish grey body) not much mixing, will occur in same flock, in the east white phase dominates, in the west blue phase. Common flicker races in the east = black whiskers w/ gold under wing, west = red whiskers w/ red underwing, evolved separately due to glaciers, does hybridize. Feather tracks how feathers are arranged on birds (more stable in evolution) Palate & ear bones used to differentiate groups. Charles sibley looked at egg albumins, used electrophoresis to sort proteins b/c protein characteristics are more conservative.
