據(jù)12月19日的《科學(xué)》雜志報(bào)道說,，當(dāng)今,，在超過 90%的鳥類種系中，雄性禽鳥在照顧其后代時(shí)扮演著某種角色?，F(xiàn)在,，研究人員說，這種由父親照顧后代的傾向?qū)嶋H上是在數(shù)百萬年之前就已經(jīng)開始了,，它是由鳥類的遠(yuǎn)古親族恐龍?jiān)谄溥M(jìn)化時(shí)遺傳下來的習(xí)慣,。
David Varricchio及其同僚對恐龍蛋與巢的化石數(shù)據(jù)以及這些已經(jīng)絕種的生物的骨結(jié)構(gòu)進(jìn)行了檢測。他們發(fā)現(xiàn),，三種特別的恐龍（他們?nèi)寂c禽鳥密切相關(guān)）的雄性都屬于僅由雄性來照顧其年幼后代的生物系統(tǒng),。這一對存在于恐龍中的由父系照顧后代的發(fā)現(xiàn)表明,，這種撫養(yǎng)后代的方法在脊椎動(dòng)物中具有深植的進(jìn)化歷史；它也意味著這種由雄性為主的繁殖系統(tǒng)發(fā)生在飛行起源之前,。文章的作者提出,，其它形式的雙親照顧，如現(xiàn)在在某些禽鳥中所見的由父母雙親進(jìn)行照顧的類型一定是在不同的情況下進(jìn)化而來的,。最后,，研究人員說，像這樣的目標(biāo)更為集中的研究加上考古學(xué)上的幸運(yùn)發(fā)現(xiàn)可能會(huì)使人們最終揭露其它的鳥類特征（如鳥類的鳴唱或鳥類的呼吸等）的起源也是傳承于某種特別的恐龍,。由 Richard Prum撰寫的一篇 Perspective對這一發(fā)現(xiàn)進(jìn)行了更為詳盡的解釋,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Science 19 December 2008: DOI: 10.1126/science.1163245
Avian Paternal Care Had Dinosaur Origin
David J. Varricchio,1* Jason R. Moore,2 Gregory M. Erickson,3 Mark A. Norell,4 Frankie D. Jackson,1 John J. Borkowski5
The repeated discovery of adult dinosaurs in close association with egg clutches leads to speculation over the type and extent of care exhibited by these extinct animals for their eggs and young. To assess parental care in Cretaceous troodontid and oviraptorid dinosaurs, we examined clutch volume and the bone histology of brooding adults. In comparison to four archosaur care regressions, the relatively large clutch volumes of Troodon, Oviraptor, and Citipati scale most closely with a bird-paternal care model. Clutch-associated adults lack the maternal and reproductively associated histologic features common to extant archosaurs. Large clutch volumes and a suite of reproductive features shared only with birds favor paternal care, possibly within a polygamous mating system. Paternal care in both troodontids and oviraptorids indicates that this care system evolved before the emergence of birds and represents birds' ancestral condition. In extant birds and over most adult sizes, paternal and biparental care correspond to the largest and smallest relative clutch volumes, respectively.
1 Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
2 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
3 Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
4 Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
5 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
