The Animal Bird Essay: The Evolution Of Birds

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The Evolution of Birds
Thousands of different types of birds roam the Earth as we know it today, so let’s begin consider the origin of these beings. How had these creatures come to be? What was their original form? The evolution of birds has only recently begun to explode with new information within the last decade (Savile, 1957, p. 212). Birds are unique creatures and inhabit a wide variety of locations, but constant among them is the fact that they came from Archaeopteryx. Over time, three key changes have developed with the bird’s anatomy that makes it a paradigm of evolution.
Today, the wing is among the most essential aspects of a bird. Therefore, understanding the morphology of how these wings evolved into flight plays a critical role …show more content…

Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, at the University of Chicago in Illinois, and Arhat Abzhanov at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts were among those scientists to study this. They found that there are two proteins, FGF and Wnt, that may play a role in the development of the beak. By inserting these genetic proteins into that of the chicken embryos, the physical features would resemble that of reptiles and other species. They found that the premaxillae were shorter in some and longer in others. With these genes, x-rays showed that the embryonic sculls more closely resembled that of early ancestral birds. In this instance, scientists were trying to simulate devolution in this species of birds to aid in the understanding the adaptation of them …show more content…

Through time, there has been a significant decrease in the number of bones through fusion, or loss of individual bones (“Evolution of Birds”). The loss in these bones result in a “hollow construction of the skeleton,” as well as a reduction in the availability movable joints. Though this seems like it should not benefit the bird, it is actually better adapted as a framework of a “flying machine.” The clavicle of birds is used and near it is a keeled sternum that the flight muscles attach to. The skull of a bird is lightweight and mostly composed of the protein keratin. Without teeth present, the jaw has also become light weight, all aiding in its ability to achieve the best possible flight. The changing in structure of the physical bird and functions of each their bones have aided in their diversification and ability to thrive as the modern bird that we know

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