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Evidence from the quadrate morphology in the American specimens of Presbyornis proved inconsistent with the hypothesis of close relationships of this anseriform genus to modern ducks and geese, but some character states remained uncertain. Here I describe in detail two fairly well preserved Presbyornis quadrates from Central Asia, which provide new evidence for the plesiomorphic, galliform-like morphology of this bone among the anseriforms. Most important, and contrary to a recent report, there is no caudomedial foramen that is present in the extant anseriforms. The only pneumatic foramen is in the basiorbital position, which is plesiomorphic for the galloanserines. At least six other plesiomorphic characters of the quadrate consistently suggest that the Presbyornithidae are stem-group anseriforms.
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Birds in Cretaceous Ecosystems

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At least three ecological types are distinguished among the known Cretaceous birds: piscivores, shore birds and terrestrial birds. Striking rarity of terrestrial birds is considered as a special case of the rarity of smaller (1—10 kg) among the medium-sized vertebrate specimens in the Cretaceous record. This is probably caused, inter alia, by reptilian scavengers which swallow food items as large as possible, and decalcify bones completely or nearly so. Therefore, the smallest chance for preservation would be for those animals which are small enough to be swallowed whole and large enough to be well detectable and/or accessible. The great abundance of large and flightless piscivorous birds (Hesperornithes) in the warm seas of Western Interior contrasts with the lack of comparable forms in the Cenozoic warm seas. The extinction of toothed birds may have been caused by the explosive radiation of acanthopterygian fishes.
The Solnhofen (Sixth) specimen of Archaeopteryx is assigned to Wellnhoferia grandis gen. et sp. n. on the basis of qualitative, size-independent autapomorphies. Wellnhoferia differs from Archaeopteryx in a short tail with the estimated number of 16-17 caudals; a nearly symmetric pattern of pedal rays II-IV with metatarsals II and IV of equal length and digit IV substantially shorter than in Archaeopteryx; and the number of four (instead of five) phalanges of pedal digit IV, which most probably results from a phylogenetic reduction rather than individual variation. A combination of large size and details of the pelvic limb suggests a locomotor specialization different from that of Archaeopteryx.
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Anna Jerzmanska [1928-2003]

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Black garden ants Lasius niger (L.) were observed to invade a web of an agelenid funnel spider (Agelena labyrinthica Clerck or Allagelena gracilens C. L. Koch) and to take the entangled prey away, probably after driving the resident spider out of the web. The observation adds to a few examples of ants invading spider webs and suggests complex interactions between ants and funnel spiders which are known to feed on rather than being ousted by ants.
A novel, skeletal reconstruction of Archaeopteryx skeleton follows Heilmann's (1926) tradition in being based primarily on osteological evidence and free phylogenetic and functional preconceptions. Although the connection between the sternum and ribs remains unknown, a combination of positional and comparative evidence speaks for the presence of cartilaginous sternal ribs. The reconstructed rib cage is compatible with some levels of the airsac ventilation mechanics. The reconstructed segmental position (relative to the vertebral column) of the shoulder girdle at the level of 11th or 12th vertebra agrees with evidence from both modern birds and theropods. The wing must have been largely folded in the resting position, but the geometry and mechanism of wing folding remain conjectural. In its gait and stance, Archaeopteryx was more similar to the modern birds than to the theropods.
Hundred-ninety dead grass snakes Natrix natrix (L. 1758) were collected over 10 months in two years on an 1800-meter stretch of a local road in the outskirts of Wroclaw, a major city in SW Poland. The mortality rate reached a record high value of 204 snakes km⁻¹ year⁻¹ (1.16 snakes km⁻¹ day⁻¹). Two peaks of road mortality, one from the end of May through the beginning of June, and the other, at the beginning of August, contributed 80% of records. The majority (89%) of 110 measured specimens were juveniles with the total length below 30 cm, and around 30% of those collected in the spring and the summer were hatchlings with the total length up to 20 cm. This suggests a significant extension of the hatching period, which may be related to the local mild climate and/or climate warming. The road kill numbers correlated significantly with maximum daily temperatures through the cool (for May) to average (for June) spring of 2004 but not through the hot spring of 2003, which suggests that under average or cool weather conditions the mobility of grass snakes is limited by maximum daily temperatures. No significant correlation with daily rainfall could be established.
The core of the limb bone cortex of mammals and birds is made of rapidly deposited, fibro-lamellar bone tissue (also present in non-avian theropods), which is usually surrounded by an avascular outer circumferential layer (OCL) of slowly deposited parallel-fibered bone. We present the first comparative allometric study of the relative OCL thickness (expressed as a fraction of the diaphyseal radius) in modern birds. Body size explains 79% of the OCL variation in thickness, which is inversely correlated with size, that is, shows negative allometry (slope -0.799). This may explain the apparent absence of OCL in the ratites. Since the OCL is deposited at the end of growth, we propose that its relative thickness probably correlates with the amount of slow, residual growth, which our results suggest to be on the average larger in small birds.
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