The osteohistological variability in the evolution of basal avialans

Abstract

Basal avialans have been the focus of numerous histological studies in the past decade, from which different osteohistological patterns have been described. In this review, we look at the osteohistology in selected specimens from the four major avian groups: the long-tailed Avialae (Archaeopteryx and Jeholornithiformes), basal Pygostylia, Enantiornithes and Euornithes. Developmental and evolutionary changes in the three major bone layers are observed throughout the bone cortex of the limbs, may it be interspecific or intraspecific. Most noteworthy is the adaptive change from the overall lamellar/parallel-fibered bone tissue to a fibrolamellar complex in the mid-cortex as of the basal Pygostylia, potentially even as of the Jeholornithiformes. This change is generally associated with an increase in the density and complexity of the neurovascular network. Another evolutionary-developmental feature is the progressive loss of post-natal growth marks as of the non-ornithurine Euornithes, indicative of uninterrupted bone growth as observed in extant Neornithes. Our comparisons of the osteohistological patterns allow us to better determine how and when specific features typical observed in the avian crown group developed, associated with external and internal factors, and how they lead to what is commonly observed in extant Neornithes.