Executable files for phylogenetic analyses, character–taxon matrices, an interactive three-dimensional morphospace plot and interactive three-dimensional PDFs are hosted on DRYAD ( ). Phylogenetic character information and parameters used in the analyses are provided in the Supplementary Information. ![]() Details regarding the development of the digital files and the derivatives of these files (such as DICOM or PLY) used as part of the study are included in the Supplementary Information and archived on the MorphoSource website ( ). UA 10015 is catalogued into the collections at the Université d’Antananarivo. Expression of this phenotype (and presumed ecology) in a stem bird underscores that consolidation to the neornithine-like, premaxilla-dominated rostrum was not an evolutionary prerequisite for beak enlargement. The patterning and increased height of the rostrum in Falcatakely reveals a degree of developmental lability and increased morphological disparity that was previously unknown in early branching avialans. ![]() Morphometric analyses of individual bony elements and three-dimensional rostrum shape reveal the development of a neornithine-like facial anatomy despite the retention of a maxilla–premaxilla organization that is similar to that of nonavialan theropods. The rostrum of Falcatakely is composed of an expansive edentulous maxilla and a small tooth-bearing premaxilla. nov., from the Late Cretaceous epoch of Madagascar that possesses a long and deep rostrum, an expression of beak morphology that was previously unknown among Mesozoic birds and is superficially similar to that of a variety of crown-group birds (for example, toucans). Here we describe a crow-sized stem bird, Falcatakely forsterae gen. ![]() Although Neornithine (that is, crown group) birds also exhibit constraint on facial development 8, 9, they have comparatively diverse beak morphologies associated with a range of feeding and behavioural ecologies, in contrast to Mesozoic birds. Mesozoic birds display considerable diversity in size, flight adaptations and feather organization 1, 2, 3, 4, but exhibit relatively conserved patterns of beak shape and development 5, 6, 7.
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