Seminar

Enantiornithes is the most diverse and widespread group of Cretaceous birds, the dominant birds in nearly every known Cretaceous ecosystem on every continent but Antarctica. For such an important group of animals, their diet is almost entirely unknown. Of the over 100 named enantiornithine species, diet is only known in a single one. In order to expand our knowledge of enantiornithine diet, I propose combining information from seven dietary proxies: dental microwear, neck muscle attachment area, stable isotope ratios, estimated body mass, claw traditional morphometrics, skull mechanical advantage, and skull strength from finite element analysis. Each of these proxies can narrow dietary possibilities slightly, but their consensus gives high dietary resolution among living birds and non-bird dinosaurs.