Research Paper
A new enantiornithine specimen from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas: avifaunal diversity and life-history of a wetland Mesozoic bird
SERGIO M. NEBREDA
Unidad de Paleontología, Dpto. Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain; sergio.martinezn@uam.es
Centro para la Integración en Paleobiología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain.
Corresponding author
LUIS M. CHIAPPE
Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA; lchiappe@nhm.org
GUILLERMO NAVALÓN
Centro para la Integración en Paleobiología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain.
Unidad de Paleontología, Dpto. Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain.
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; gn315@cam.ac.uk
ANUSUYA CHINSAMY
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; anusuya.chinsamy-turan@uct.ac.za
JOSÉ L. SANZ
Unidad de Paleontología, Dpto. Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain.
Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, c/ de Valverde, 24, 28004, Madrid, Spain; dinoproyecto@gmail.com
ÁNGELA D. BUSCALIONI
Unidad de Paleontología, Dpto. Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain; angela.delgado@uam.es
Centro para la Integración en Paleobiología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain.
JESÚS MARUGÁN-LOBÓN
Unidad de Paleontología, Dpto. Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain; jesus.marugan@uam.es
Centro para la Integración en Paleobiología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain.
ABSTRACT
The Lower Cretaceous fossil site of Las Hoyas (Cuenca, Spain) has yielded the richest Cretaceous avifauna of the European continent. We describe a new fossil (MUPA-LH-33333) of an enantiornithine bird from this locality. This specimen consists of a partially articulated skeleton preserving portions of the vertebral column, both girdles and limbs, ribs and sternum; it also preserves patches of soft tissues including remigial feathers and integumentary structures belonging to the postpatagium. MUPA-LH-33333 shares dimensions and some anatomical features with the holotype of Concornis lacustris, a species previously described from Las Hoyas. However, the new specimen shows differences especially in the coracoid and the sternum, suggesting the presence of a different morphotype closely related to C. lacustris. Nevertheless, the poor preservation prevents asserting that it represents a new species. Histological evidence from its long bones indicates that is subadult or adult and that early fast rates followed by slower and protracted cyclical phases took place during its growth, a previously unnoticed pattern in Lower Cretaceous enantiornithines. This new finding supports the hypothesis that enantiornithines regularly inhabited the Las Hoyas wetland, making this site a hotspot for enhancing our understanding of the evolution and life history of these Cretaceous birds.
Key words: Aves, palaeodiversity, palaeoecology, growth pattern, Mesozoic, Barremian.
How to cite: Nebreda, S. M., Chiappe, L. M., Navalón, G., Chinsamy, A., Sanz, J. L., Buscalioni, A. D., & Marugán-Lobón, J. 2023. A new enantiornithine specimen from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas: avifaunal diversity and life-history of a wetland Mesozoic bird. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 38, 123-136.
Received 8 December 2022, Accepted 16 April 2023, Published online 11 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.26504
