Roger H. Sawyer

TL;DR: This work explored bird macroevolution using full genomes from 48 avian species representing all major extant clades to reveal that pan-avian genomic diversity covaries with adaptations to different lifestyles and convergent evolution of traits.

TL;DR: Immunological techniques show that the β keratin genes of avian epidermal appendages have homologues in the American alligator, suggesting the genes for reptilian β keratins may be homologous with those of birds.

TL;DR: The International Crocodilian Genomes Working Group (ICGWG) will sequence and assemble the American alligator, saltwater crocodile and Indian gharial genomes.

TL;DR: The observations that scale formation in birds involves an inhibition of feather formation coupled with observations on the feathered feet of the scaleless and Silkie strains support the view that the ancestor of modern birds may have had feathered hind limbs similar to those recently discovered in nonavian dromaeosaurids.

TL;DR: There was no significant correlation between genetic relatedness of nesting females and pairwise nest distances, indicating that females in this sample that nested close to one another were no more related than any two nesting females chosen at random.