Tetrapod limb ecomorphology inferring ecology during dinosaur-bird transition

Birds are the only extant dinosaurs and have achieved enormous diversity, spanning a wide range of ecologies including substantial variation in habitat use.

However, ecological diversification in the earliest birds and their closest dinosaurian relatives is poorly characterised.

This presents a fundamental knowledge gap regarding the dinosaur-bird transition – a major event in vertebrate evolution.

The unparalleled Mesozoic Jehol and Yanliao fossil assemblages from China include most known Mesozoic birds and feathered non-avian dinosaurs, revealing unprecedented data on this remarkable transition. I will use cutting-edge 3D imaging methods to visualise the limb morphology in early birds and bird-like dinosaurs.

We will quantitatively constrain the link between the foot/hand morphology and habit ecology using geometric morphometrics and finite element analyses based on a large 3D database of extant tetrapods.

The results will be used to infer the habitat use (e.g. arboreal, terrestrial, aquatic) of important fossil species during the dinosaur-bird transition, with a focus on early birds and closely related dinosaurs.

This will add considerably to understanding of palaeoecology during dinosaur-bird transition, and clarify contentious hypotheses of the origin of bird flight.

Our findings will also provide a test of ecological explanations for the extinction of the enantiornithine birds, and the ultimate survival and success of Ornithuromorpha, which includes all extant birds.

Hosted in a world-class palaeontology lab in Oxford and trained by a supervisor leading the quantitative macroevolutionary research, this proposal will bring cutting-edge 3D morphometrics and statistical comparative skills to the researcher, ensuring her a promising independent future career.

The long-term connection between key institutes of UK and China built in this proposal will also benefit both countries in not only research profiles, but also in public engagement and education.