Re: British mesozoic birds?

[Denver Fowler <df9465@yahoo.co.uk>]

> > This conversation ("dinosaurs and birds") has
> started me wondering
> > again....were there any Mesozoic-era birds (by any
> definition - anything
> > closer than *Eotyrannus* is good) in the United
> Kingdom?

There's also Nuthetes destructor (purported dromaeosaur, Milner, 2002) from the 
Purbeck (lowermost Cretaceous), isolated large velociraptorine teeth from the 
Wessex Fm (Sweetman, 2004), various odds and ends from small theropods (Martill 
& Naish, IOW book, 2001) interpreted as possible oviraptorid (Thecocoelurus, 
Naish & Martill, 2002), compsognathid, and troodontids, and of course, all 
sorts of undescribed stuff. 

As far as 'birds' proper in the Wessex, Wyleyia is the only thing i have ever 
seen or heard of. I found an extremely small hollowed out limb bone in the 
conglomerates of the Wessex... but really it's not possible to tell if this is 
a  tiny pterosaur, or dinosaur, nor even which element really.

I should imagine that these animals are there. It isn't true that the UK 
Wealden lacks preservational modes conducive to preserving wee birds. The 
Vectis Fm (lagoonal) would be an ideal candidate; it would be considered a 
lagerstatten if it were exposed in any other country. Trouble is, exposure is 
poor, and material is not recovered all that commonly. Also, as mentioned, the 
conglomerate channel lags are a <perhaps> surprising source of isolated 
pterosaur bones. These are every bit as fragile as birds. We might also expect 
to find bird teeth in microvert samples, although I haven't heard any recent 
rumblings from Steve Sweetman.

D.

 
----- Original Message ----
From: evelyn sobielski <koreke77@yahoo.de>
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Sent: Thursday, 5 April, 2007 6:06:16 AM
Subject: Re: British mesozoic birds?


--- David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>
schrieb:


> 
> A crumb called *Wyleyia* (apparently Enantiornithes)

see here:
http://palaeontology.palass-pubs.org/pdf/Vol%2016/Pages%20721-728.pdf
- neornithine relationships have been proposed but are
highly in doubt

Eike




    
        
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