Re: K/T Extinction & Birds

[Tom Holtz <tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov>]

>>1870's.   What else do we know about  birds immediately before and
>>immediately after the K/T?  When did birds lose their teeth?  Or were there
>>perhaps two seperate clads of birds, those with teeth and those without.?  If
>>so, did any toothed birds survive the K/T?
>
>As far as I know (and I can't for the life of me remember where I read
>this), toothless birds had evolved before the end of the Cretaceous, but all
>known bird fossils from the early Tertiary have teeth. It looks as though
>this is a trait which evolved more than once.

Actually, there are NO known toothed birds in the Mesozoic.

                                
                 Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.                  Phone: 703-648-5280      
                 Vertebrate Paleontologist         Fax:    703-648-5420
tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov ------------>       th81@umail.umd.edu
U.S. Geological Survey          ------------->       University of Maryland
Branch of Paleontology & Stratigraphy ---->       Department of Geology
MS 970 National Center
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