Fenestra antorbitalis

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Skull window of the dinosaur Massospondylus

The fenestra antorbitalis is a skull window in terrestrial vertebrates from the Archosauria group . It is located on the side of the skull between the eye socket ( orbit ) and the nasal opening ( naris externa ). It is found in today's birds , but is closed in today's crocodiles . The antorbital fenestra is within a fossa ( fossa ), the fossa antorbitalis . It houses the antorbital sinuses . The name Fenestra antorbitalis is made up of the words ante ("in front of") and Orbita ("eye socket") and indicates the position of the window in front of the eye sockets.

For a long time the Fenestra antorbitalis was regarded as a commonly derived feature ( synapomorphism ) of the Archosauria, so it was used to delimit this group. Today the Fenestra antorbitalis is considered to be the synapomorphism of a somewhat larger group, the Archosauriformes . The Fenestra antorbitalis has closed at least 10 times independently of each other in the evolution of the Archosauria - for example in different groups of crocodile relatives (Crocodylomorpha), in most groups of pelvic dinosaurs (Ornithischia) and in some birds, e.g. some owls.

In lizard dinosaurs (Saurischia), the antorbital window is often very large and sometimes larger than the eye socket. In advanced theropods (carnivorous dinosaurs) there are often additional, smaller cranial windows that lie directly in front of the antorbital fenestra within the antorbital fossa - the maxillary window and the promaxillary window .

literature

  • LM Witmer: The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity. In: Memoir (Society of Vertebrate Paleontology). 3, 1997, pp. 1-73.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ CJ van der Klaauw: Skelet van den kop. In: JEW Ihle (Red.): Leerboek the vergelijkende ontleedkunde van de vertebraten. Deel I. 2nd print. NAA Oosthoek's Uitgevers Mij, Utrecht 1941, pp. 223-290.
  2. ^ A b J. J. Baumel, LM Witmer: Osteologia. In: JJ Baumel, AS King, JE Breazile, HE Evans, JC Vanden Berge (eds.): Nomina Anatomica Avium. Second edition. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge 1993, pp. 45-132.
  3. ^ SW Salisbury, PMA Willis, S. Peitz, PM Sander: The crocodilian Goniopholis simus from the Lower Cretaceous of North-Western Germany. In: Special Papers in Palaeontology. 60, 1990, pp. 121-148.
  4. ↑ FJ Degrange, CP Tambussi: Re-examination of Psilopterus lemoinei (Aves, Phorusrhacidae), a late early Miocene little terror bord from Patagonia (Argentina). In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (5), 2001, pp. 1080-1092.
  5. ^ A b c LM Witmer: The Evolution of the Antorbital Cavity of Archosaurs: A Study in Soft-Tissue Reconstruction in the Fossil Record with an Analysis of the Function of Pneumaticity. In: Memoir (Society of Vertebrate Paleontology). 3, 1997, pp. 1-73.
  6. ^ A b c Thomas R. Holtz, MK Brett-Surman: The Osteology of the Dinosaurs. In: James O. Farlow, MK Brett-Surman (Ed.): The complete dinosaur. Indiana University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-253-21313-4 , pp. 78-91.
  7. ^ Lawrence M. Witmer: Craniofacial Air Sinus Systems. In: PJ Currie, K. Padian (Eds.): Encyclopedia of dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego 1997, pp. 630-637.
  8. ^ CT Lewis, C. Short: A Latin dictionary founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1879.