Episode 9 - Avialans (Winter 2026)

Thanks for tuning into the Dinosaurs Lately podcast, the dinosaur podcast that features periodic updates recapping the latest news on the dinosaurs. This is the podcast that targets a type of dinosaur and tries to catch you up on everything that’s been published on them … lately.

The goal is to keep up with all the dinosaurs news, even when I’m not publishing new episodes of the Juras-Sick Park-Cast. If you’re interested in this sort of thing – I hope it helps you feel … up to date.

Episode 9 - Avialans (Winter 2026) Parts 1  and 2. 

(stream it here)

Avialan news: 

• Jingmai O’Connor (2025). “8. The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds.” In: Scott V. Edwards, and J. Michael Reed (eds), New Perspectives in Ornithology: 21st Century Dispatches across the World of Birds; New York, 2026; online edn, Oxford Academic: 139–168.

• Evan T Saitta, Lilja Carden, Jonathan S Mitchell & Peter J Makovicky (2025). “Feather Evolution Following Flight Loss In Crown Group Birds: Relaxed Selection And Developmental Constraints.” Evolution, qpaf020. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpaf020 https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpaf020/7997201

• Takumi Watanabe, Fernando E. Novas, Tatsuya Hirasawa (2026). “Evolution of the Jaw Joint and Middle Ear Morphologies in the Lineage Towards Birds.” Zoological Science 43(1): doi: https://doi.org/10.2108/zs250108 https://bioone.org/journals/zoological-science/volume-43/issue-1/zs250108/Evolution-of-the-Jaw-Joint-and-Middle-Ear-Morphologies-in/10.2108/zs250108.full

• Wang Min, Wang Xiao-Li, Zheng Xiao-Ting & Zhou Zhong-He (2024). “Cranial anatomy of Anchiornis huxleyi (Theropoda: Paraves) sheds new light on bird skull evolution.” Vertebrata Palasiatica (advance online publication). DOI:10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.241225 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387743760_Cranial_anatomy_of_Anchiornis_huxleyi_Theropoda_Paraves_sheds_new_light_on_bird_skull_evolution

• Yosef Kiat, Xiaoli Wang, Xiaoting Zheng, Yan Wang & Jingmai O’Connor (2025). “Wing morphology of Anchiornis huxleyi and the evolution of molt strategies in paravian dinosaurs.” Communications Biology 8: 1633 doi:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09019-2 https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-09019-2

• Runsheng Chen, Min Wang, Liping Dong, Guowu Zhou, Xing Xu, Ke Deng, Liming Xu, Chi Zhang, Linchang. Wang, Honggang Du, Ganmin Lin, Min Lin & Zhonghe Zhou (2025). “Earliest short-tailed bird from the Late Jurassic of China.” Nature 638(8050): 441–448. doi:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08410-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08410-z

• Jingmai K. O’Connor, Alexander D. Clark, Pei-Chen Kuo, Min Wang, Akiko Shinya, Constance Van Beek & Huali Chang (2025). “Avian features of Archaeopteryx feeding apparatus reflect elevated demands of flight.” The Innovation (advance online publication). DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.101086 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675825002899

• Jingmai O’Connor, Alexander Clark, Pei-Chen Kuo, Yosef Kiat, Matteo Fabbri, Akiko Shinya, Constance Van Beek, Jing Lu, Min Wang & Han Hu (2025). “Chicago Archaeopteryx informs on the early evolution of the avian bauplan.” Nature (advance online publication). doi:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08912-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08912-4

• Shaoyuan Wu, Ziqi Tao, Liang Liu, Charles R Marshall, Scott V Edwards, Zhonghe Zhou & Frank E Rheindt (2025). “New Fossils Imply a Deeper Origin of Modern Birds in the Mesozoic.” National Science Review, nwaf238. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaf238 https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwaf238/8158921

• Sergio M. Nebreda, Luis M. Chiappe, Guillermo Navalón, Javier C. Terol, Francisco J. Serrano, Ángela D. Buscalioni & Jesús Marugán-Lobón (2026). “An isolated skull from Las Hoyas (Early Cretaceous, Spain) informs the early evolution towards elongated rostra in enantiornithine birds (Aves, Ornithothoraces).”

• Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 145: 251-265 doi:  https://doi.org/10.3897/sjp.145.182813 https://sjp.pensoft.net/article/182813/

• Wang, X., A.D. Clark, J.K. O'Connor, X. Zhang, X. Wang, X. Zheng, and Z. Zhou (2024). “First edentulous enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol avifauna.” Cretaceous Research advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105867   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124000405

• Zhiheng Li, Jinsheng Hu, Thomas A Stidham, Mao Ye, Min Wang, Yanhong Pan, Tao Zhao, Jingshu Li, Zhonghe Zhou & Julia A Clarke (2025). “Iridescent structural coloration in a crested Cretaceous enantiornithine bird from the Jehol Biota.” eLife 14: RP103628 doi: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.103628.3 https://elifesciences.org/articles/103628

• Wang, M., & Zhou, Z. (2019). A new enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) with completely fused premaxillae from the Early Cretaceous of China. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 17(15), 1299–1312. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2018.1527403

• Caizhi Shen, Alexander D. Clark, Hui Fang, Shaokun Chen, Hongxia Jiang, Qiang Ji & Jingmai K. O’Connor (2024). “A new diminutive species of bohaiornithid enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group, northern China.” Scientific Reports 14: 31363 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82869-8 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-82869-8

• Jingmai O’Connor, Xiaoli Wang, Alexander Clark, Pei-Chen Kuo, Ryan Davila, Yan Wang, Xiaoting Zheng, and Zhonghe Zhou (2025). “A new small-bodied longipterygid (Aves: Enantiornithes) from the Aptian Jiufotang Formation preserving unusual gastroliths.” Palaeontologia Electronica 28(3): a56. doi: https://doi.org/10.26879/1589 https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2025/5712-longipterygid-enantiornithine-chromeornis

• Jingmai K. O’Connor, Jessie Atterholt, Alexander D. Clark, Linqi Zhou, Cuo Peng, Xiaoqin Zhang & Hailu You (2025). “A new enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation with unusually short pubes.” Geobios (advance online publication). doi:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.003 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699525000166

• Matthieu Chotard, Xiaoli Wang, Xiaoting Zheng, Thomas G. Kaye, Maxime Grosmougin, Luke Barlow, Martin Kundrát, T. Alexander Dececchi, Michael B. Habib, Juned Zariwala, Scott Hartman, Xing Xu & Michael Pittman (2025). “New information on the Hind limb feathering, soft tissues and skeleton of Microraptor (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae).” BMC Ecology and Evolution 25: 37 doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-025-02372-0 https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-025-02372-0

• Csaba Hefler, Ying Wang, Xiaoli Wang, Xiaoting Zheng, Thomas G. Kaye, Maxime Grosmougin, Matthieu Chotard, Luke Barlow, Huih Qiuf, T. Alexander Dececchi, Michael B. Habib, Wei Shyy, and Michael Pittmann (2026). “Microraptor reveals specialized gliding capabilities in multiwinged early paravians.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123(6): e2518106123 doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2518106123 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2518106123

• Hyemin Jo, Jongyun Jung, Minguk Kim, Min Huh & Julia A. Clarke (2026). “Description of the first Mesozoic bird eggs from Korea and a new mid-cretaceous theropod-dominated egg locality.” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113653 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113653 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018226001161

• Luis M. Chiappe, Guillermo Navalón, Agustín G. Martinelli, Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Rodrigo Miloni Santucci, Yun-Hsin Wu & Daniel J. Field (2024). “Cretaceous bird from Brazil informs the evolution of the avian skull and brain.” Nature (advance online publication) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08114-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08114-4

• Matías J. Motta, Federico L. Agnolín, Federico Brissón Egli, Sebastián Rozadilla & Fernando E. Novas (2025). “Phylogenetic relationships of Unenlagiidae among Paraves (Dinosauria).” Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 23(1): 2529608. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2529608 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2025.2529608

• Ignacio Díaz-Martínez, Sofía Urzagasti-Torres, Paolo Citton, Matteo Belvedere & Silvina de Valais (2025). “The Holotypes of Patagonichornis venetiorum Casamiquela 1996 and Tridigitichnus inopinatus Casamiquela 1996 Vertebrate Ichnotaxa (Late Cretaceous, Patagonia): History and Patrimonial Significance.” Geoheritage 17: 161 doi:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-025-01211-4 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12371-025-01211-4

• Clark AD, Atterholt J, Scannella JB, Carroll N, O’Connor JK (2024). “New enantiornithine diversity in the Hell Creek Formation and the functional morphology of the avisaurid tarsometatarsus.” PLoS ONE 19(10): e0310686. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310686 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0310686

• Christopher R. Torres, Julia A. Clarke, Joseph R. Groenke, Matthew C. Lamanna, Ross D. E. MacPhee, Grace M. Musser, Eric M. Roberts & Patrick M. O’Connor (2025). “Cretaceous Antarctic bird skull elucidates early avian ecological diversity.” Nature 638: 146–151 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08390-0 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08390-0\

• Facundo Irazoqui, Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche, Ariana Paulina-Carabajal, Paula Bona and Nahuel Vega (2026). “New Species of Vegavis (Neornithes) from Antarctica Highlights Unexpected Cretaceous Antarctic Diversity.” Diversity 18(2): 82. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/d18020082 https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/18/2/82

• Milagros Torres Etchegorry & Federico J. Degrange (2024). “Insights into Argentavis magnificens (Aves, Teratornithidae) lifestyle based on neuroanatomy.” Journal of Anatomy (advance online publication). doi:  https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14184 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.14184

Featuring the music of Snale https://snalerock.bandcamp.com/

Part 1 Intro: Black Licorice, and the Outro: Supergroovy.

Part 2 Intro: all i really want is you, and the Outro: everything just kinda sucks

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Dinosaurs Lately is a companion show to the Juras-Sick Park-Cast, the podcast where guests chat with me about Michael Cricthon’s 1990 novel Jurassic Park, and also not that, too. If you’d like to be a guest on that show, you can reach me at ryansrogers-at-gmail.com. These podcasts are part of the Spring Chickens banner of amateur intellectual properties including the Spring Chickens funny pages, Tomb of the Undead graphic novel, the Second Lapse graphic novelettes, The Infantry, and the worst of it all, the King St. Capers.

You can find links to all that baggage in the show notes, or by visiting the schickens.blogpost.com and you can connect and follow on Facebook, at Facebook.com/SpringChickenCapers, on Youtube by searching for the “Juras-Sick Park-Cast podcast”, on Tumblr @misterrogers22 on X at @RogersRyan22 or on BlueSky at ‪@rogersryan22.bsky.social.

Thanks for tuning in! I hope you feel you’re all caught up on avialans … for now!

Until next time!