DOI: 10.5061/dryad.63k11
title: Data from:Inferring flight parameters of Mesozoic avians through multivariate analyses of forelimb elements in their living relatives

description: Our knowledge of the diversity, ecology, and phylogeny of Mesozoic birds
 has increased significantly during recent decades, yet our understanding
 of their flight competence remains poor. Wing loading (WL) and aspect
 ratio (AR) are two aerodynamically relevant parameters, as they relate to
 energy costs of aerial locomotion and flight maneuverability. They can be
 calculated in living birds (i.e., Neornithes) from body mass (BM),
 wingspan (B) and lift surface (SL). However, the estimates for extinct
 birds can be subject to biases from statistical issues, phylogeny,
 locomotor adaptations, and diagenetic compaction. Here we develop a
 sequential approach for generating reliable multivariate models that allow
 estimating measurements necessary to determine WL and AR in the main
 clades of non-neornithine Mesozoic birds. The strength of our predictions
 is supported by the use of those variables that show similar scaling
 patterns in modern and stem taxa (i.e., non-neornithine birds), and the
 similarity of our predictions with measurements obtained from fossils
 preserving wing outlines. In addition, although our WL and AR values are
 based on estimates (BM, B, and SL) that have an associated error, there is
 no cumulative error in their calculation, and both parameters show low
 prediction errors. Therefore we present the first taxonomically broad,
 error-calibrated estimation of these two important aerodynamic parameters
 in non-neornithine birds. Such estimates show that the WL and AR of the
 non-neornithine birds here analyzed fall within the range of variation of
 modern birds (i.e., Neornithes). Our results indicate that most modern
 flight modes (e.g., continuous flapping, flap and gliding, flap and
 bounding, thermal soaring) were possible for the wide range of
 non-neornithine avian taxa; we found no evidence for the presence of
 dynamic soaring among these early birds.
description: Supplementary Figure
 1Cladogram for
 Neognathae, which includes 71 of the 83 species and 46 of the 49 families
 used in this study. Calibration of branches (in Myr) and the basal
 relationships up to the family level followed to Prum et al. (2015). Clade
 colours also are coded as Prum´s paper: red – Galloanserae; brown –
 Strisores; purple – Columbaves; yellow – Gruiformes; blue –
 Aequoritornithes; green – Inopinaves. Intraclade relationships that could
 not be established and calibrated in our dataset using Prum et al. (2015),
 were resolved using the specific references indicated by the numbers
 nearby corresponding clades: 1 – Columba (Jetz et al. 2012); 2 – Rallidae
 (García-R et al. 2014); 3 – Laridae (Jetz et al. 2012); 4 – Alcidae
 (Pereira et al. 2008); 5 – Sulidae (Patterson et al. 2011); 6 –
 Accipitridae (Jetz et al. 2012); 7 – Picidae (Jetz et al. 2012); 8 –
 Alcedinidae (Jetz et al. 2012); 9 – Psittacidae (Braun et al. 2011); 10 –
 Cacatuidae (White et al. 2011); 11 – Corvoidea (Kennedy et al. 2012); 12 –
 Artamidae (Jetz et al. 2012); 13 – Alaudidae (Jetz et al. 2012); 14 –
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 615-622.supplementaryFig1.tifSupplementary Table 1Dataset of non-neornithine Mesozoic birdsSupplementary table 1.txtSupplementary Table 2Dataset of modern birdsSupplementary table 2.txt