Living dinosaurs. The evolutionary history of modern birds / Живые динозавры. История эволюции современных птиц

The scope of this book ranges widely, from biomolecular aspects of avian biology to details of the anatomy of dinosaurs. However, it is not just a simple compilation of current material. Its purpose is to help bridge a gap that has developed between those who study birds as fossils and those who study the living animals. The size of that gap has much to do with two controversies related to the evolution of birds that remained unresolved for much of the 20th century. One involved the origin of birds, from dinosaurs or not, and the other involved the inability of ornithologists to reach ageneral agreement on the relationships among the living groups of birds. The first was resolved at the very end of the 20th century, in favor of an origin of birds from ancestors among theropod dinosaurs, and although the second remains unresolved, it is being pursued by a host of optimistic scientists using novel techniques. These include new methods of interpreting morphological characters (cladistics) and sophisticated analyses of genetic material. Each chapter of this book puts current understanding in context with directions that research may take over the next few years. <...>