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Protoavis
Taxonomy
Protoavis was named by Chatterjee (1991). Its type is Protoavis texensis. It is the type genus of Protoavidae.
It was assigned to Protoavidae by Chatterjee (1991); to Theropoda by Hunt et al. (1998); and to Theropoda by Nesbitt et al. (2007).
It was assigned to Protoavidae by Chatterjee (1991); to Theropoda by Hunt et al. (1998); and to Theropoda by Nesbitt et al. (2007).
Species
P. texensis (type species)
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Protoavis Chatterjee p. 283 |
| 1998 | Protoavis Hunt et al. p. 521 |
| 2007 | Protoavis Nesbitt et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| S. Chatterjee 1991 | Same as for family and order (figures 3-7). Skull long and narrow with a sharply tapered snout and a relatively deep, expanded temporal region; elliptical external naris, bounded by premaxilla and nasal; maxilla reduced laterally with a large palatal component; antorbital fenestra single, large and triangular; orbit relatively enormous, circular, directed anteriorly to permit binocular vision; temporal region modified in avian fashion by loss of diapsid arch, postorbital bar, and squamosal-quadratojugal bar, resulting in confluence of supra- and infratemporal fenestrae and orbit; postorbital bone lost; postorbital process formed by frontal and laterosphenoid; squamosal reduced; zygomatic process in squamosal well developed; palate of palaeognathous type; vomers long and narrow, partly fused, meeting maxilla anteriorly and pterygoid posteriorly; palatine fused to pteryoid and not contacting parasphenoid rostrum; choana posteriorly placed, close to basipterygoid articulation; pterygoid highly reduced; ectopterygoid lost; quadrate streptostylic with development of a medial orbital process, ventral condylar articulation with pterygoid, and lateral cotylus for quadratojugal; prokinetic hinge present; skull highly encephalized; cerebellum and cerebrum contacted dorsally, displacing optic lobes ventrally; cerebellar protruberance reflected on external surface of supraoccipital; presence of epiotic on occiput; olfactory lobes reduced; vallecula present bordering Wulst; basioccipital horizontal; stapedial fossa contains three foramina as in birds: fenestra ovalis, fenestra pseudorotunda, and entrance to posterior tympanic recess; large metotic process added to exoccipital; vagus foramen diverted backward; parabasal notch present for the passage of internal carotid artery; all five tympanic diverticula present; both anterior and posterior tympanic recesses have developed contralateral communications; eustachian tube bony; anterior vertical canal highly enlarged, enclosed sagittally in an oval tube around a deep floccular recess; cochlear recess tubular and elongated; predentary bone possibly present; mandibular elements fused posteriorly and compressed laterally; tricondylar articulation between mandible and quadrate; teeth restricted to the tip of the jaws by loss of posterior teeth.
Posterior cervicals heterocoelous; cervical ribs fused in adult; coraco-scapular joint movable; scapula elongated and oriented posteriorly; coracoid strut-like with a prominent acrocoracoid process; furcula present with a large hypocleideum; sternum ossified; humerus with large deltopectoral crest; distal condyles modified in avian fashion with external condyle elongate proximo-distally, internal condyle rounded; carpus with a large semilunate carpal, showing single distal facet; small extensor process on McI; preacetabular ilium elongated to avian dimension; renal fossa present; ischium rotated parallel to ilium and fused to it distally; ischiadic fenestra present; ischia opened ventrally without symphysis; tibia with both internal and external cnemial crests; ankle joint mesotarsal; astragalus and calcaneum fused; ascending process of astragalus with foramen at base; metatarsals appressed together proximally; hallux distally articulated and reversed. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order | |||||
| Reference: Marsh 1875 | |||||