Which shared skeletal feature supported the initial grouping of Archaeopteryx with Deinonychosaurs?
Answer
The shared possession of a large hole above the nose (the premaxillary fenestra)
When Xu and colleagues analyzed the phylogeny initially, they found support for grouping Archaeopteryx closer to Dromaeosauridae and Troodontidae, outside the Avialae clade. A specific anatomical feature cited to support this grouping alongside Deinonychosaurs was the shared possession of a large hole situated above the nose, known as the premaxillary fenestra. This shared characteristic, along with a distinctive hip bone structure, implied a closer evolutionary relationship between Archaeopteryx and the Deinonychosaur lineage than previously assumed, challenging its singular status as the earliest bird.
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