孔子鸟的研究现状

The Present Situation of Confuciusornithids Research

孔子鸟是生活在1.20亿～1.31亿年前左右的原始鸟类;现共有8个种,4个属,它们均归入孔子鸟目和孔子鸟科中。孔子鸟的主要鉴别特征包括:上、下颌均没有牙齿;肱骨近段具有明显的三角脊凸起;翼指爪和小指爪均明显大于大指爪。迄今,有关孔子鸟的研究涉及到鸟类形态学、系统分类、头部颞区的演化、食性及飞行等多方面内容。由于其无以伦比的数量多、保存精美等特性,孔子鸟的许多潜在科学意义还有待揭示。

Confuciusornithids are primitive birds,which lived about 120～131 Ma years ago.All eight published confuciusornithid species belong to four genera of the family Confuciusornithidae of the order Confuciusornithiformes.The main diagnoses of confuciusornithids are as follows： both upper and lower jaws are toothless;the deltopectoral crest of humerus is large;and the major finger claw is extremely smaller than those of the alular and minor fingers.By now,our knowledge of the confuciusornithids mainly concerns their morphology and systematics,the evolution of the temporal region of the skull,and the diet and flight of early birds.Further scientific implications need to be explored not only in the abovementioned aspects,but also in other fields,considering both the quantity and preservation of confuciusornithids that excel among early birds.