A closer look at the tail tip of Zhengheornis
From the Wang et al 2026 abstract:
“The evolutionary assembly of the flight-adapted bird body plan encompasses some of the most profound morphological changes in terrestrial vertebrate history. Beyond feathered wings, the short pygostyle-bearing tail has been pivotal to the clade’s ecological success. However, transition from the long bony tail to the short pygostyle-bearing tail remains a mystery, hindered by the scarcity of early branching avialans with transitional morphologies. Here, we report on a new avialan, Zhengheornis buyu, gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Jurassic of southeastern
China, suggesting that the vertebral reduction and shortening preceded pygostyle fusion in early avialan evolution, providing critical evidence for the stepwise evolution of the bird tail. Z. buyu is smaller than all known non-pygostylian paravians, expanding the species and body size diversity of stemward taxa.”
More precisely, this time from the Introduction
“Zhengheornis buyu … preserves an abbreviated tail comprising 15 short caudal vertebrae but no pygostyle.”
Scale bar – 1cm. Image about 2x life size. Elements around the sacrum are difficult to untangle.
Zhengheornis is
“distinguishable from all other paravians in the following combination of characters (denotes probable autapomorphy): short tail comprising 15 vertebrae that is shorter than the hindlimb (combined length of femur, tibia, and metatarsal III); middle and posterior caudal vertebrae less elongate (opposite to the condition in other long tailed avialans); final two caudal vertebrae box-like; manual phalanx III-1 shorter than III-2, opposite to the condition in Archaeopteryx and Fujianvenator [the three manual digits of maniraptorans are here identified as I, II, and III, as in (14)]; manual phalanx III-3 50% longer than III-2 (the length ratio greater than 2 in Anchiornis and Archaeopteryx); slender ischium that has a knob-like, distally located obturator process and lacks the posterior process; short fibula that terminates far proximal to the ankle; metatarsal I that articulates at the distal third of metatarsal II; metatarsal II that ends far proximal to metatarsal III trochlea; short hallux with an ungual that is smaller than that of other pedal digits; and robust digit I.”
The short tail traits need to be reexamined by the authors.
Zhengheornis
has not yet entered the LRT. That short ischium means only small eggs were able to pass.
References
Wang M et al (11 co-authors) 2026. Jurassic avialan reveals stepwise evolution of bony tail
in birds. Science Advances 12, eaeb5202.
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/a-closer-look-at-the-tail-tip-of-zhengheornis/
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