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Grant support

We thank F.J. Serrano for handling such an amazing SAPE 2023 meeting in Malaga and inviting us to contribute to the volume. We thank Anick Abourachid for her time and crucial help with the X-rays device at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. This study was subsidized by the Synthesys DE-TAF-5103. SMN is supported by a FPI-UAM 2019 predoctoral grant from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and by a postdoctoral contract granted by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) and the Dinosaur Institute, through a sponsorship agreement between the NHMLAC and the Centre for the Integration in Paleobiology at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (CIPb-UAM) . SMN and JM-L are supported by the PID2023-147427NB-I00 project from the Ministerio de Ciencia, e Innovacion de Espana.

Analysis of institutional authors

Marugán-Lobón J.Author

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May 26, 2025
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Craniocervical morphological integration in birds

Publicated to:GEOBIOS 90 (): 77-85 - 2025-06-01 90(), DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.007

Authors: Marugan-Lobon, Jesus; Nebreda, Sergio M

Affiliations

Nat Hist Museum Los Angeles Cty, Dinosaur Inst, Los Angeles, CA USA - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Ctr Integrac Paleobiol CIPb, Canto Blanco 28049, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Dept Biol, Unidad Paleontol, Madrid 28049, Spain - Author

Abstract

This study investigates the morphological diversity of the neck and its integration with skull anatomy in crown-group birds (Neornithes). The craniocervical articulation, where the skull connects with the neck, can adopt either caudal (rearward) or ventral (downward) orientations. Morphological coherence is crucial for maintaining head stability and precise movement, suggesting that the evolution of these structures must be not only functionally, but also developmentally coordinated (i.e., morphologically integrated). To explore this hypothesis, the relationship between conventional morphometric data of the neck and geometric morphometric data of the skull were assessed using multivariate statistics (Regressions and Two-block Partial Least Squares) across a broad phylogenetic range of Neornithes. Results indicate a significant level of integration between neck and skull morphologies, where variation in neck length, vertebral counts and relative lengths correspond predictably with specific craniocervical articulations. The most pronounced skull variation occurs around the occipital region, which we interpret as possibly relating to the mesodermic origin and shared genetic signalling in the morphogenesis of all craniocervical bones. Additionally, craniofacial changes align with craniocervical modifications, implying that the skull and neck evolve as a unified yet modular system. Analysis of selected fossils (Tsaagan, Archaeopteryx, and Pengornis) suggests that the ancestral craniocervical configuration was caudal, with neck changes associated with the development of a beak and craniocervical ventralization emerging in the lineage leading to modern birds. (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Keywords

CervicalCovariationCraniocervicalCraniofacialDiversityEvolutionInsightMesodermModularityNeornithesOccipitalOccipitalsOriginSizSkullVertebrates

Quality index

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-07:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 1.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 1 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 6.4.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 5 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United States of America.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Marugan-Lobon, Jesus) and Last Author (Nebreda, Sergio M).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Marugan-Lobon, Jesus.