A New Specimen of the Fossil Palaeognath Lithornis from the Lower Eocene of Denmark

This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article LEONARD, LEONA, DYKE, GARETH J., VAN TUINEN, MARCEL (2005): A New Specimen of the Fossil Palaeognath Lithornis from the Lower Eocene of Denmark. American Museum Novitates 3491 (1): 1-12, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0082(2005)491[0001:ANSOTF]2.0.CO;2, URL: bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1206%2F0003-0082(2005)491%5B0001%3AANSOTF%5D2.0.CO%3B2 ABSTRACT Palaeognathous birds (Aves, Palaeognathae) are uncontroversially the most basal clade among modern birds (Neornithes), having been defined for more than 100 years on the basis of their palatal morphology.

However, because many fossil specimens that have been described to date lack detailed skull material (especially in association with postcrania), aspects of the early evolutionary history of these birds remain unclear, and their relationships on the basis of anatomical characters are as yet unresolved. In this paper we present a new and exceptionally well­preserved specimen of the Lower Eocene fossil palaeognath Lithornis that has a remarkable three­dimensionally preserved and complete skull.