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Object identifier

In computing, object identifiers or OIDs are an identifier mechanism standardized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and ISO/IEC for naming any object, concept, or "thing" with a globally unambiguous persistent name.

Syntax and lexicon
An OID corresponds to a node in the "OID tree" or hierarchy, which is formally defined using the ITU's OID standard, X.660. The root of the tree contains the following three arcs:

 * 0: ITU-T
 * 1: ISO
 * 2: joint-iso-itu-t

Each node in the tree is represented by a series of integers separated by periods, corresponding to the path from the root through the series of ancestor nodes, to the node. Thus, an OID denoting Intel Corporation appears as follows,

and corresponds to the following path through the OID tree:
 * 1 ISO
 * 1.3 identified-organization (ISO/IEC 6523),
 * 1.3.6 DoD,
 * 1.3.6.1 internet,
 * 1.3.6.1.4 private,
 * 1.3.6.1.4.1 IANA enterprise numbers,
 * 1.3.6.1.4.1.343 Intel Corporation

A textual representation of the OID paths is also commonly seen; for example,
 * iso.identified-organization.dod.internet.private.enterprise.intel

Each node in the tree is controlled by an assigning authority, which may define child nodes under the node and delegate assigning authority for the child nodes. Continuing with the example, the node numbers under root node "1" are assigned by ISO; the nodes under "1.3.6" are assigned by the US Department of Defense; the nodes under "1.3.6.1.4.1" are assigned by IANA; the nodes under "1.3.6.1.4.1.343" are assigned by Intel Corporation, and so forth.

Usage

 * ISO/IEC 6523 "International Code Designator" uses OIDs with the prefix "1.3".
 * In computer security, OIDs serve to name almost every object type in X.509 certificates, such as components of Distinguished Names, CPSs, etc.
 * Within X.500 and LDAP schemas and protocols, OIDs uniquely name each attribute type and object class, and other elements of schema.
 * In Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), each node in a management information base (MIB) is identified by an OID.
 * IANA assigns Private Enterprise Numbers (PEN) to companies and other organizations under the 1.3.6.1.4.1 node. OIDs down-tree from these are among the most commonly seen; for example, within SNMP MIBs, as LDAP attributes, and as vendor suboptions in the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
 * In the United States, Health Level Seven (HL7), a standards-developing organization in the area of electronic health care data exchange, is the assigning authority at the 2.16.840.1.113883 (joint-iso-itu-t.country.us.organization.hl7) node. HL7 maintains its own OID registry, and as of December 1, 2020 it contained almost 20,000 nodes, most of them under the HL7 root.
 * DICOM uses OIDs.
 * The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses OIDs to manage the many complex values sets or "vocabularies" used in the Public Health Information Network (PHIN) Vocabulary Access and Distribution System (VADS).

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Object identifier


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Talk:Extroversion

Total rewrite?
I have put the old article back for the time being, because I believe it is more informative that the minimalist description that replaced it. In order to avoid a potential edit war, perhaps we can all work together to not only produce an article that satisfies everyone, but is also better and more informative than both of them.

I was rather surprised to read here that Freud proposed the terms "extravert" and "introvert". Certainly the popular view that these terms were coined by Jung has been challenged by Hans Eysenck, but he claimed (see his "Fact and Fiction in Psychology" (1965; Harmondsworth: Penguin)) that Jung took these terms over from earlier usage, where they had, according to Eysenck, being used many years earlier, predating Freud and Jung. Also, I think that this article should explain how the terms "extravert" and "introvert" have been defined in different ways in various ways, with, for example, Eysenck's definition differing from Jung's.

 * Hi. Please sign your comments. I'm not sure who inserted the bit on Freud but it's certainly not accurate --Alterego July 7, 2005 15:56 (UTC)

 * FROM: Cardamom. I was the person who inserted the above comments on Freud and Jung. I shall be interested to hear from any one in which year, book source Freud first used the terms "introvert" and "extravert". However, I still stick by what I say about what is  written in Hans Eysenck's "Fact and Fiction in Psychology", and if you read this, you will read that, according to Hans Eysenck, Carl Jung did not actually coin the terms "introvert" and "extravert" but took them over from earlier European usage.

 * If you check the talk page for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator you will find the complete history of the terms pasted in from the Oxford English Dictionary. (ps, it's easiest to sign your name by just inserting --~ after your comment. The parser will do the rest. --Alterego July 8, 2005 22:52 (UTC)

title: Talk:Extroversion


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Passiflora foetida

Passiflora foetida (common names: stinking passionflower, wild maracuja, bush passion fruit, wild water lemon, stoneflower, love-in-a-mist, or running pop ) is a species of passion flower that is native to the southwestern United States (southern Texas and Arizona), Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and much of South America. It has been introduced to tropical regions around the world, such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, Hawaii, Africa, and The Maldives. It is a creeping vine like other members of the genus, and yields an edible fruit. The specific epithet, foetida, means "stinking" in Latin and refers to the strong aroma emitted by damaged foliage.

This passion flower tolerates arid ground, but favours moist areas. It is known to be an invasive species in some areas. This plant is also a widely grown perennial climber, and has been used in traditional medicine.

Description
The stems are thin and wiry, and are covered with minute sticky yellow hairs. Older stems become woody. The leaves are three- to five-lobed and viscid-hairy. When crushed, these leaves give off a pungent odor that some people consider unpleasant. The flowers are white to pale cream coloured, or pink to pale purple, about 5–6 cm diameter. The ripe fruit is globose, 2–3 cm diameter, yellow from the white-flowered form, and red from the pink form, although there are more than 50 variants (Vanderplank), and has numerous black seeds embedded in the pulp; the fruit are eaten and the seeds dispersed by birds.

Passiflora foetida is able to trap insects on its bracts, which exude a sticky substance that also contains digestive enzymes. This minimizes predation on young flowers and fruits. Whether or not it gains nourishment from its prey is uncertain, and it is considered a protocarnivorous plant.

Animal interactions
Passiflora foetida is a larval host and nectar source for the Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae).

Passiflora foetida has been mentioned as a toxic plant by farmers from northeastern Brazil. An experiment done with goats led to the discovery that high levels of cyanide in P. foetida cause poisoning after the ingestion of fresh leaves, mostly during the dry season.

Uses
The fruits are roughly the size of a ping pong ball or kumquat and contain a bluish-white pulp that is mildly sweet and delicately flavored. In the Philippines, the fruit of Passiflora foetida are known colloquially as marya-marya ('Little Mary'), kurombot, utot-utot, and santo papa (due to its resemblance to the Pope's mitre). Young leaves and plant tips are also edible. Dry leaves are used in tea in Vietnamese folk medicine to relieve sleeping problems, as well as treatment for itching and coughs.

title: Passiflora foetida


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Confuciusornis

Confuciusornis is a genus of basal crow-sized avialan from the Early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations of China, dating from 125 to 120 million years ago. Like modern birds, Confuciusornis had a toothless beak, but closer and later relatives of modern birds such as Hesperornis and Ichthyornis were toothed, indicating that the loss of teeth occurred convergently in Confuciusornis and living birds. It was thought to be the oldest known bird to have a beak, though this title now belongs to an earlier relative Eoconfuciusornis. It was named after the Chinese moral philosopher Confucius (551–479 BC). Confuciusornis is one of the most abundant vertebrates found in the Yixian Formation, and several hundred complete specimens have been found.

History of discovery

In November 1993, the Chinese paleontologists Hou Lianhai and Hu Yoaming of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) at Beijing, visited fossil collector Zhang He at his home in Jinzhou, where he showed them a fossil bird specimen that he had bought at a local flea market. In December, Hou learned about a second specimen, which had been discovered by a farmer named Yang Yushan. Both specimens were found in the same locality in Shangyuan, Beipiao. In 1995, these two specimens, as well as a third one, were formally described as a new genus and species of bird, Confuciusornis sanctus, by Hou and colleagues. The generic name combines the philosopher Confucius with Greek ὄρνις (ornis), "bird". The specific name means "holy one" in Latin and is a translation of Chinese 圣贤 (shèngxián), "sage", again in reference to Confucius. The first discovered specimen was designated the holotype and catalogued under the specimen number IVPP V10918; it comprises a partial skeleton with skull and parts of the forelimb. Of the other two skeletons, one (paratype, IVPP V10895) comprises a complete pelvis and hind limb, and the other (paratype, IVPP V10919–10925) a fragmentary hind limb together with six feather impressions attached to both sides of the tibia (shin bone). It was soon noted that the two paratype specimens only comprise bones that are unknown from the holotype, and that this lack of overlap makes their referral to the species speculative. Only the discovery of a great number of well-preserved specimens shortly after had confirmed that the specimens indeed represent a single species.

Together with the early mammal Zhangheotherium, which was discovered at around the same time, Confuciusornis was considered to be the most remarkable fossil discovery of the Jehol Biota, which in the next decades would reveal the most important record of Mesozoic birds worldwide. In the late 1990s, Confuciusornis was thought to be both the oldest beaked bird as well as the earliest bird after Archaeopteryx. It was also considered to be only slightly younger than Archaeopteryx – the Yixian Formation, the rock unit where most Confuciusornis specimens have been found, was thought to be of Late Jurassic (Tithonian) age at the time. Although two bird genera, Sinornis and Cathayornis, had already described from the Jehol biota in 1992, these were only based on fragmentary remains and stem from the younger Jiufotang Formation, which was considered to be of Early Cretaceous age. Later, both formations have been dated to the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian stages, 131–120 million years ago).

In 1995, local farmers began digging for fossils near the village of Sihetun, Beipiao, in what would become one of the most productive localities of the Jehol biota. Large-scale professional excavations at this single locality have been carried out by the IVPP from 1997 onwards; recovered fossils include several hundred specimens of Confuciusornis. Many additional sites producing fossils of the Jehol biota have been recognized since, distributed over a large region including Liaoning, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia. Due to the great abundance, preservation, and commercial value of the fossils, excavations by local farmers produced an unusually high number of fossils. Although a portion of these fossils have been added to the collections of Chinese research institutions, more have probably been smuggled out of the country. In 1999, it was estimated that the National Geological Museum of China in Beijing housed nearly 100 specimens of Confuciusornis, and in 2010, the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature was reported to possess 536 specimens of the bird. The majority of specimens, however, are held privately and thus are not available for research.

At one time forty individuals were discovered on a surface of about 100 m2. This has been explained as the result of entire flocks of birds being simultaneously killed by ash, heat or poisonous gas following the volcanic eruptions that caused the tuff stone in which the fossils were found to be deposited as lake sediments.

Additional species and synonyms
Since the description of Confuciusornis sanctus, five additional species have been formally named and described. As with many other fossil genera, species are difficult to define, as differences between species can often not be readily distinguished from variation that occurs within a species. In the case of Confuciusornis, only C. sanctus is universally accepted.

 * Confuciusornis chuonzhous was named by Hou in 1997 based on specimen IVPP V10919, originally a paratype of C. sanctus. The specific name refers to Chuanzhou, an ancient name for Beipiao. C. chuonzhous is now generally considered synonymous with C. sanctus.
 * Confuciusornis suniae, named by Hou in the same 1997 publication, was based on specimen IVPP V11308. The specific name honours madam Sun, the wife of Shikuan Liang who donated the fossil to the IVPP. C. suniae is now usually considered synonymous with C. sanctus.
 * Confuciusornis dui was named by Hou and colleagues in 1999. The specific name again honours the donating collector, Du Wengya. The holotype specimen (IVPP V11553) is a nearly complete skeleton of an adult that includes a pair of long tail feathers and the impression of the horny beak. A second specimen, the paratype IVPP 11521, is fragmentary and includes some vertebrae and ribs, tail, sternum and pelvis, and femora. According to Hou and colleagues, C. dui was smaller and more gracile than most other Confuciusornis specimens, with the holotype being ca. 15% smaller than the holotype of C. sanctus and ca. 30% smaller than larger individuals of that species. The jaw tips were more pointed than in C. sanctus, and the mandible lacked the underside keel that is distinct in the latter species. Further differences to the type species can be found in the postcranium: The claw on the first digit was not enlarged as in C. sanctus. The sternum was more elongate and differed in anatomical details, and the lower segment of the hind limb (the tarsometatarsus) was shorter than the pygostyle of the tail. A statistical analysis by Marguán-Lobon and colleagues in 2011 revealed no significant differences to specimens referred to the smallest size class of C. sanctus, suggesting that the supposed differences are individual variations of a single species. However, these authors could not re-locate the C. dui holotype, which is possibly lost, and therefore had to rely on a cast of that specimen for their measurements. A re-study of the C. dui specimens would be required in order to evaluate the validity of the species.
 * Confuciusornis feducciai was named in 2009 by Zhang Fucheng and colleagues, the specific name honouring ornithologist Alan Feduccia. The holotype, D2454, was discovered at the Sihetun locality and is kept at the Dalian Natural Museum. According to Zhang and colleagues, C. feducciai differed from other Confuciusornis species in its larger size, skeletal proportions, and a number of morphological features. The forelimb was 15% longer than the hind limb, while they were of equal length in C. sanctus. The upper end of the humerus lacked the large opening (foramen) that is characteristic for other Confuciusornis specimens. The first phalanx of the first digit was more slender. Other differences occur in the furcula, which was V-shaped; the sternum, which was broader than long; and the ischium, which was long compared to the pubis. Marguán-Lobon and colleagues, in 2011, argued that this diagnosis is problematic. The large opening in the humerus, although apparently absent in the left humerus, was clearly present in the right humerus of the holotype. Furthermore, their statistical analysis found the specimen to fall well within the continuum of variation of C. sanctus. These authors therefore proposed that C. feducciai is identical (a junior synonym) of C. sanctus.
 * Confuciusornis jianchangensis was named in 2010 by Li Li and colleagues, based on specimen PMOL-AB00114 found at Toudaoyingzi. In contrast to most other species, which stem from the Yixian Formation, C. jianchangensis is found in the Jiufotang Formation.

In 2002 Hou named the genus Jinzhouornis, but Chiappe et al. (2018) and Wang et al. (2018) showed that this genus is a junior synonym of Confuciusornis based on morphometry and examination of known confuciusornithiform specimens.

Size

Confuciusornis was about the size of a modern crow, with a total length of 50 cm and a wingspan of up to 70 cm. Its body weight has been estimated to have been as much as 0.5 kg, or as little as 0.2 kg. C. feducciai was about a third longer than average specimens of C. sanctus.

Distinguishing traits
Confuciusornis shows a mix of basal and derived traits. It was more "advanced" or derived than Archaeopteryx in possessing a short tail with a pygostyle (a bone formed from a series of short, fused tail vertebrae) and a bony sternum (breastbone), but more basal or "primitive" than modern birds in retaining large claws on the forelimbs, having a primitive skull with a closed eye-socket, and a relatively small breastbone. At first the number of basal characteristics was exaggerated: Hou assumed in 1995 that a long tail was present and mistook grooves in the jaw bones for small degenerated teeth.

Skull
The skull morphology of Confuciusornis has been difficult to determine, due to the crushed and deformed nature of the fossils. The skull was near triangular in side view, and the toothless beak was robust and pointed. The front of the jaws had deep neurovascular foramina and grooves, associated with the keratinous rhamphotheca (horn-covered beak). The skull was rather robust, with deep jaws, especially the mandible. The tomial crest of the upper jaw (a bony support for the jaw's cutting edge) was straight for its entire length. The premaxillae (front bones of the upper jaw) were fused together for most of the front half of the snout, but were separated at the tip by a V-shaped notch. The frontal processes that projected hindwards from the premaxillae were thin and extended above the orbits (eye openings) like in modern birds, but unlike Archaeopteryx and other primitive birds without pygostyles, where these processes end in front of the orbits. The maxilla (the second large bone of the upper jaw) and premaxilla articulated by an oblique suture, and the maxilla had an extensive palatal shelf. The nasal bone was smaller than in most birds, and had a slender process that directed down towards the maxilla. The orbit was large, round, and contained sclerotic plates (the bony support inside the eye). A crescent-shaped element that formed the front wall of the orbit may be an ethmoidolacrimal complex similar to that of pigeons, but the identity of these bones is unclear due to bad preservation, and the fact that this region is very variable in modern birds. The external nares (bony nostrils) were near triangular and positioned far from the tip of the snout. The borders of the nostrils were formed by the premaxillae above, the maxilla below, and the nasal wall at the back. Few specimens preserve the sutures of the braincase, but one specimen shows that the frontoparietal suture crossed the skull just behind the postorbital process and the hindmost wall of the orbit. This was similar to Archaeopteryx and Enaliornis, whereas it curves back and crosses the skull roof much farther behind in modern birds, making the frontal bone of Confuciusornis small compared to those of modern birds. A prominent supraorbital flange formed the upper border of the orbit, and continued as the postorbital process, which had prominent crests which projected outwards to the sides, forming an expansion of the orbit's rim. The squamosal bone was fully incorporated into the braincase wall, making its exact borders impossible to determine, which is also true for adult modern birds. Various interpretations have been proposed of the morphology and identity of the bones in the temporal region behind the orbits, but it may not be resolvable with the available fossils. Confuciusornis was considered the first known bird with an ancestral diapsid skull (with two temporal fenestrae on each side of the skull) in the late 1990s, but in 2018, Elzanowski and colleagues concluded that the configuration seen in the temporal region of confuciusornithids was autapomorphic (a unique trait that evolved secondarily rather than having been retained from a primitive condition) for their group. The quadrate bone and the back end of the jugal bar were bound in a complex scaffolding that connected the squamosal bone with the lower end of the postorbital process. This scaffolding consisted of two bony bridges, the temporal bar and the orbitozygomatic junction, which gave the appearance of the temporal opening being divided similarly to diapsid skulls, though this structure is comparable to bridges over the temporary fossa in modern birds.

The mandible (lower jaw) is one of the best preserved parts of the skull. It was robust, especially at the front third of its length. The tomial crest was straight for its entire length, and a notch indented the sharp tip of the mandible. The mandible was spear-shaped in side view, due to its lower margin slanting downwards and back from its tip for the front third of its length (the jaw was also deepest at a point one third from the tip). The symphyseal part (where the two halves of the lower jaw connected) of the dentary was very robust. The lower margin formed an angle at the level of the front margin of the nasal foramen, which indicates how far back the rhamphotheca of the beak extended. The dentary had three processes that extended backwards into other bones placed further back in the mandible. The articular bone at the back of the mandible was completely fused with the surangular and prearticular bones. The mandible extended hindwards beyond the cotyla (which connected with the condyle of the upper jaw), and this part was therefore similar to a retroarticular process as seen in other taxa. The surangular enclosed two mandibular fenestrae. The hindmost part of the surangular had a small foramen placed in the same position as similar openings in the mandibles of non-bird theropods and modern birds. The splenial bone was three-pronged (as in some modern birds, but unlike the simple splenial of Archaeopteryx), and its lower margin followed the lower margin of the mandible. There was a large rostral mandibular fenestra and a small, rounded caudal fenestra behind it.

Though only five specimens preserve parts of the beak's keratinous covering, these show that there would have been differences between species not seen in the skeleton. The holotype of C. dui preserves the outline of an upwards curving beak which sharply tapers towards its tip, while a C. sanctus specimen (IVPP V12352) has an upper margin that is almost straight, and a tip that appears to be slightly hooked downwards. Two further specimens (STM13-133 and STM13-162) belonging to an indeterminate species were described in 2020; the former suggests that, unlike modern birds, the beak on both jaws was made up of two separate elements that met at the midline, with feathers growing between them on the upper jaw. Also unlike modern birds, these specimens suggest that the upper beak extended backwards onto the maxilla due to the presence of foramina.

Postcranial skeleton
The various specimens seem to have a variable number of neck vertebrae, some showing eight, others nine. The first vertebra, the atlas, bore a faint keel on the underside. The next, the axis, had an expanded spinal process on the top and its side was excavated by an elongated groove in the side. The remaining neck vertebrae all had rather low spinal processes. There is no clear evidence of a pneumatisation, in the form of internal air spaces, of the vertebral bodies of the neck. The front articulation facets of the neck vertebrae were saddle-shaped. Their undersides were pinched.

There were at least twelve back vertebrae. They were amphiplatian, flat at both ends, and had rather small intervertebral foramina, the spaces between the vertebral body and the neural arch. Their spinal processes were tall and narrow in side view. Their side processes projected horizontally and were deeply excavated at the rear underside. The sides of the back vertebrae also had deep oval excavations.

Seven sacral vertebrae were fused into a synsacrum. The front sacral vertebra had a round and concave front articulation facet. The vertebral bodies of the front half of the synsacrum were excavated at their sides, comparable to the back vertebrae. Robust side processes connected the synsacrum to the ilia of the pelvis.

Although earlier descriptions had counted four or five "free", not fused, tail vertebrae, Chiappe e.a. in 1999 reported seven of them. These had round and somewhat concave front articulation facets. Their spinal processes were high and transversely compressed. The side processes were robust and stick out horizontally to the side. Their articulation processes were rather long. The last of these vertebrae had a rectangular profile. Its neural arch had short processes pointing obliquely to above and sideways. The tail ended in a pygostyle, a complete fusion of the last vertebrae. Their number is uncertain. The pygostyle was about 40% longer than the first part of the tail. At its underside the pygostyle bore a well-developed keel, running from front to rear. Its top was incised by a long groove between prominent ridges. Confuciusornis had an exceptionally large humerus (upper arm bone). Near its shoulder-end this was equipped with a prominent deltopectoral crest. Characteristically this crista deltopectoralis was with Confuciusornis pierced by an oval hole which may have reduced the bone's weight or enlarged the attachment area of the flight muscles. The furcula or wishbone, like that of Archaeopteryx, was a simple curved bar lacking a pointed process at the back, a hypocleidium. The sternum was relatively broad and had a low keel which was raised at the back end. This bony keel may or may not have anchored a larger, cartilaginous, keel for enlarged pectoral muscles. The scapulae (shoulder blades) were fused to the strut-like coracoid bones and may have formed a solid base for the attachment of wing muscles. The orientation of the shoulder joint was sideways, instead of angled upward as in modern birds; this means that Confuciusornis was unable to lift its wings high above its back. According to a study by Phil Senter in 2006, the joint was even pointed largely downwards meaning that the humerus could not be lifted above the horizontal. This would make Confuciusornis incapable of the upstroke required for flapping flight; the same would have been true for Archaeopteryx.

The wrist of Confuciusornis shows fusion, forming a carpometacarpus. The second and third metacarpals were also partially fused, but the first was unfused, and the fingers could freely move relative to each other. The second metacarpal, which supported the flight feathers, was very heavily built; its finger carries a small claw. The claw of the first finger to the contrary was very large and curved. The stub-like third metacarpal, which supported the calami of the feathers, was probably enclosed in the flesh of the hand. The formula of the finger phalanges was 2-3-4-0-0. The pelvis was connected to a sacrum formed by seven sacral vertebrae. The pubis was strongly pointing backwards. The left and right ischia were not fused. The femur was straight; the tibia only slightly longer. The metatarsals of the foot were relatively short and fused to each other and to the lower ankle bones, forming a tarsometatarsus. A rudimentary fifth metatarsal is present. The first metatarsal was attached to the lower shaft of the second and supported a first toe or hallux, pointing to the back. The formula of the toe phalanges was 2-3-4-5-0. The proportions of the toes suggest that they were used for both walking and perching, while the large claws of the thumb and third finger were probably used for climbing.

Feathers and soft tissue

The wing feathers of Confuciusornis were long and modern in appearance. The primary wing feathers of a 0.5-kilogram individual reached 20.7 centimetres in length. The five longest primary feathers (remiges primarii) were more than $3 1/2$ times the length of the hand and relatively longer than those of any living bird, while the secondary feathers of the lower arm were rather short by comparison. The outermost primary was much shorter than the second outermost primary, creating a relatively round, broad wing. Its wing shape does not specifically match any particular shape found among living birds. The primary feathers were asymmetrical to varying degrees, and especially so in the outermost primaries. It is unclear whether the upper arm carried tertiaries. Covert feathers are preserved covering the upper part of the wing feathers in some specimens, and some specimens have preserved the contour feathers of the body.

Unlike some more advanced birds, Confuciusornis lacked an alula, or "bastard wing". In modern birds this is formed by feathers anchored to the first digit of the hand, but this digit appears to have been free of feathers and independent of the body of the wing in Confuciusornis. According to Dieter Stefan Peters, to compensate for the lack of an alula, the third finger might have formed a separate winglet below the main wing, functioning like the flap of an aircraft. Despite the relatively advanced and long wing feathers, the forearm bones lacked any indication of quill knobs (papillae ulnares), or bony attachment points for the feather ligaments.

Many specimens preserve a pair of long, narrow tail feathers, which grew longer than the entire length of the rest of the body. Unlike the feathers of most modern birds, these feathers were not differentiated into a central quill and barbs for most of their length. Rather, most of the feather formed a ribbon-like sheet, about six millimetres wide. Only at the last one quarter of the feather, towards the rounded tip, does the feather become differentiated into a central shaft with interlocking barbs. Many individuals of Confuciusornis lacked even these two tail feathers, possibly due to sexual dimorphism. The rest of the tail around the pygostyle was covered in short, non-aerodynamic feather tufts similar to the contour feathers of the body, rather than the familiar feather fan of modern bird tails.

Laser fluorescence of two Confuciusornis specimens revealed additional details of their soft-tissue anatomy. The propatagium of Confuciusornis was large, likely relatively thick, and extended from the shoulder to the wrist, as in modern birds; the extent of the postpatagium is also similar to modern birds. Reticulate scales covered the underside of the foot, and the phalanges and metatarsals supported large, fleshy pads, although the interphalangeal pads were either small or entirely absent.

Plumage pattern

In early 2010, a group of scientists led by Zhang Fucheng examined fossils with preserved melanosomes (organelles which contain colors). By studying such fossils with an electron microscope, they found melanosomes preserved in a fossil Confuciusornis specimen, IVPP V13171. They reported the presence of melanosomes were of two types: eumelanosomes and pheomelanosomes. This indicated that Confuciusornis had hues of grey, red/brown and black, possibly something like the modern zebra finch. It was also the first time an early bird fossil has been shown to contain preserved pheomelanosomes. However, a second research team failed to find these reported traces of pheomelanosomes. Their 2011 study also found a link between the presence of certain metals, like copper, and preserved melanin. Using a combination of fossil impressions of melanosomes and the presence of metals in the feathers, the second team of scientists reconstructed Confuciusornis with darkly colored body feathers and upper wing feathers, but found no trace of either melanosomes or metals in the majority of the wing feathers. They suggested that the wings of Confuciusornis would have been white or, possibly, colored with carotenoid pigments. The long tail feathers of male specimens would have also been dark in color along their entire length.

A 2018 study of the specimen CUGB P1401 indicated the presence of heavy spotting on the wings, throat, and crest of Confuciusornis.

Classification
Hou assigned Confuciusornis to the Confuciusornithidae in 1995. At first he assumed it was a member of the Enantiornithes and the sister taxon of Gobipteryx. Later he understood that Confuciusornis was not an enantiornithean but concluded it was the sister taxon of the Enantiornithes, within a larger Sauriurae. This was heavily criticised by Chiappe who regarded Sauriurae to be paraphyletic as there were insufficient shared traits that indicated that the Confuciusornithidae and the Enantiornithes were closely related. In 2001, Ji Qiang suggested an alternative position as the sister taxon of the Ornithothoraces.

In 2002 Ji's hypothesis was confirmed by a cladistic analysis by Chiappe, who defined a new group: the Pygostylia of which Confuciusornis is by definition the most basal member. Several traits of Confuciusornis show its position in bird evolution; it has a more "primitive" skull than Archaeopteryx, but it is the first known bird to have lost the long tail of Archaeopteryx and develop fused tail vertebrae, a pygostyle. One controversial study concluded that Confuciusornis may be more closely related to Microraptor and other dromaeosaurids than to Archaeopteryx, but this study was criticized on methodological grounds. The present standard interpretation of the phylogenetic position of Confuciusornis can be shown in this cladogram:

A close relative, the confuciusornithid Changchengornis hengdaoziensis, also lived in the Yixian Formation. Changchengornis also possessed the paired, long tail feathers, as did several more advanced enantiornith birds. True, mobile tail fans only appeared in ornithuromorph birds, and possibly in the enantiornithine Shanweiniao.

Paleobiology
The large, fleshy phalangeal foot pads, small interphalangeal foot pads, presence of only reticulate scales on the underside of the foot (which increases flexibility), and curved foot claws of Confuciusornis are all traits shared with modern tree-dwelling, perching birds, suggesting that Confuciusornis may have had a similar lifestyle.

Comparisons between the scleral rings supporting the eyes of Confuciusornis and modern birds and other reptiles indicate that it may have been diurnal, similar to most modern birds.

Flight
Confuciusornis has traditionally been assumed to have been a competent flier based on its extremely long wings with strongly asymmetrical feathers. Other adaptations for improved flight capabilities include: a fused wrist, a short tail, an ossified sternum with a central keel, a strut-like coracoid, a large deltopectoral crest, a strong ulna (forearm bone) and an enlarged second metacarpal. The sternal keel and deltopectoral crest (which provides a more powerful upstroke) are adaptations to flapping flight in modern birds, indicating that Confuciusornis may have been capable of the same. However, it may have had a different flight stroke due to being incapable of rotating its arm behind the body, and its relatively smaller sternal keel indicates that it likely was not capable of flight for extended periods of time.

Several contrary claims have been made against that the flight capabilities of Confuciusornis. The first of these regarded problems to attain a steep flight path due to a limited wing amplitude. In Senter's interpretation of the position of the shoulder joint, a normal upstroke would be impossible precluding flapping flight entirely. Less radical is the assessment that due to the lack of a keeled sternum and a high acrocoracoid, the musculus pectoralis minor could not serve as a M. supracoracoideus lifting the humerus via a tendon running through a foramen triosseum. This, coupled with a limited upstroke caused by a lateral position of the shoulder joint, would have made it difficult to gain altitude. Some authors, therefore, proposed that Confuciusornis used its large thumb claws to climb tree trunks. Martin assumed that it could raise its torso almost vertically like a squirrel. Daniel Hembree, however, while acknowledging that tree climbing was likely, pointed out that the rump was apparently not lifted more than 25° relative to the femur in vertical position, as shown by the location of the antitrochanter in the hip joint. Dieter S. Peters considered it very unlikely that Confuciusornis climbed trunks as turning the thumb claw inwards would stretch the very long wing forwards, right in the path of obstructing branches. Peters sees Confuciusornis as capable of flapping flight but specialised in soaring flight.

Also a controversy is the strength of the feathers. In 2010, Robert Nudds and Gareth Dyke published a study arguing that in both Confuciusornis and Archaeopteryx, the raches (central shafts) of the primary feathers were too thin and weak to have remained rigid during the power stroke required for true flight. They argued that Confuciusornis would at most have employed gliding flight, which is also consistent with the unusual adaptations seen in its upper arm bones, and more likely used its wings for mere parachuting, limiting fall speed if it dropped from a tree. Gregory S. Paul, however, disagreed with their study. He argued that Nudds and Dyke had overestimated the weights of these early birds, and that more accurate weight estimates allowed powered flight even with relatively narrow raches. Nudds and Dyke assumed a weight of 500 g for Confuciusornis, as heavy as the modern teal. Paul argued that a more reasonable body weight estimate is about 180 g, less than that of a pigeon. Paul also noted that Confuciusornis is commonly found as large assemblages in lake bottom sediments with little to no evidence of extensive postmortem transport, and that it would be highly unusual for gliding animals to be found in such large numbers in deep water. Rather, this evidence suggests that Confuciusornis traveled in large flocks over the lake surfaces, a habitat consistent with a flying animal. A number of researchers have questioned the correctness of the rachis measurements, stating that the specimens they had studied showed a shaft thickness of 2.1 - 2.3 mm, compared to 1.2 mm as reported by Nudds and Dyke. Nudd and Dyke replied that, apart from the weight aspect, such greater shaft thickness alone would make flapping flight possible; however, they allowed for the possibility of two species being present in the Chinese fossil material with a differing rachis diameter.

In 2016, Falk et al. argued in favor of flight capabilities for Confuciusornis using evidence from laser fluorescence of two soft tissue-preserving specimens. They found that, contrary to Nudds and Dyke's assertions, the raches of Confuciusornis were relatively robust, with a maximum width of over 1.5 mm. The wing shape is consistent with either birds that live in dense forests or gliding birds; the former is consistent with its environment being densely forested, and requiring more maneuverability and stability than speed. The substantial propatagium would have produced a generous amount of lift, while the likewise large postpatagium would have provided a large attachment area for the calami of the feathers, which would have kept them as a straight airfoil. This collectively is strongly indicative that Confuciusornis was capable of powered flight, if not only for short periods of time.

Tail feathers
Many specimens of Confuciusornis preserve a single pair of long, streamer-like tail feathers, similar to those present in some modern birds-of-paradise. Specimens lacking these feathers include ones that otherwise have exquisitely preserved feathers on the rest of the body, indicating that their absence is not simply due to poor preservation. Larry Martin and colleagues stated in 1998 that long tail feathers are present in about 5 to 10% of the specimens known at the time. A 2011 analysis by Jesús Marugán-Lobón and colleagues found that out of 130 specimens, 18% had long tail feathers and 28% had not, while in the remaining 54% preservation was insufficient to determine their presence or absence. The biological meaning of this pattern has been discussed controversially. Martin and colleagues suggested that the pattern might reflect sexual dimorphism, with the streamer-like feathers only present in one sex (likely the males) which used them in courtship displays. This interpretation was followed by the majority of subsequent studies. Chiappe and colleagues, in 1999, argued that sexual dimorphism is not the only but the most reasonable explanation, noting that in modern birds the length of ornamental feathers often varies between the sexes. Controversy arose from the observation that the known specimens of Confuciusornis can be divided into a small-sized and a large-sized group, but that this bimodal distribution is unrelated to the possession of long tail feathers. Chiappe and colleagues argued in 2008 that this size distribution can be explained by a dinosaur-like mode of growth (see section Growth), and maintained that sexual dimorphism is the most likely explanation for the presence and absence of long tail feathers. Winfried and Dieter Peters, however, responded in 2009 that both sexes likely had long tail feathers, as is the case in most modern birds that show similar feathers. One of the sexes, however, would have been larger than the other (sexual size dimorphism). These researchers further suggested that the distribution of size and long tail feathers in Confuciusornis was similar to the modern pheasant-tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus), a water-bird in which and the female is largest and adult individuals of both sexes have long tails, but only during the breeding season. Confuciusornis differs from the jacanas in that long tail feathers are present in specimens of all sizes, even in some of the smallest known specimens. This suggests that the long tail feathers might not have had a function in reproduction at all.

Several alternative hypotheses explaining the frequent absence of long tail feathers have been proposed. In their 1999 study, Chiappe and colleagues discussed the possibility that individuals might lack tail feathers because they died during molting. Although direct evidence for molting in early birds is missing, the lack of feather abrasion in Confuciusornis specimens suggests that the plumage got periodically renewed. As in modern birds, molting individuals may have been present alongside non-molting individuals, and males and females may have molted at different times during the year, possibly explaining the co-occurrence of specimens with and without long tail feathers. Peters and Petters, on the other hand, suggested that Confuciusornis may have shed the feathers as a defense mechanism, a method used by several extant species. Such shedding would have been triggered by stress induced by the very volcanic explosions that buried the animals, resulting in a large number of specimens lacking these feathers. In a 2011 paper, Jesús Marugán-Lobón and colleagues stated that even the presence of two separate species, one with and one without long tail feathers, needs to be considered. This possibility would be, however, unsubstantiated at present, as other anatomical differences between these possible species are not apparent.

Reproduction
In 2007, Gary Kaiser mentioned a Confuciusornis skeleton preserving an egg near its right foot – the first possible egg referable to the genus. The skeleton is from the short-tailed form and thus might represent a female. The egg might have fallen out of the body after the death of the presumed female, although it cannot be excluded that this association of an adult with an egg was only by chance. The egg is roundish in shape and measures 17 mm in diameter, slightly smaller than the head of the animal; according to Kaiser, it would have fit precisely through the pelvic canal of the bird. In dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds, the width of the pelvic canal was restricted due to connection of the lower ends of the pubic bones, resulting in a V-shaped bony aperture through which eggs must fit. In modern birds, this connection of the pubic bones is lost, presumably allowing for larger eggs. In a 2010 paper, Gareth Dyke and Kaiser showed that the breadth of the Confuciusornis egg was indeed smaller than what would be expected for a modern bird of similar size. In a 2016 book, Luis Chiappe and Meng Qingjin stated that the aperture of a large specimen (DNHM-D 2454) indicates a maximum egg diameter of 23 mm. In modern birds, proportionally large eggs are commonly found in species whose hatchlings do fully depend on their parents (altriciality), while smaller eggs are often found in species whose hatchlings are more developed and independent (precociality). As the estimated egg of the specimen would have been around 30% smaller than expected for a modern altricial bird, it is likely that Confuciusornis was precocial. A 2018 study by Charles Deeming and Gerald Mayr measured the size of the pelvic canal of various Mesozoic birds including Confuciusornis to estimate egg size, concluding that eggs would have been small in proportion to body mass for Mesozoic birds in general. These researchers further posit that an avian-style contact incubation (sitting on eggs for breeding) was not possible for non-avian dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds, including Confuciusornis, as these animals would have been too heavy in relation to the size of their eggs. Kaiser, in 2007, argued that Confuciusornis likely did not brood in an open nest but might have used crevices in trees for protection, and that the small size of the only known egg indicates large clutch sizes. In contrast, a 2016 review by David Varricchio and Frankie Jackson argued that nesting above the ground evolved only at a much later stage, within Neornithes, and that Mesozoic birds would have buried their eggs on the ground, either fully or partially, as seen in non-avian dinosaurs.

Growth
Growth can be reconstructed based on the inner bone structure. The first such study on Confuciusornis, presented by Fucheng Zhang and colleagues in 1998, used scanning electron microscopy to analyze a femur in cross section. Because the bone was well vascularized (contained many blood vessels) and showed only a single line of arrested growth (growth ring), these authors determined that growth must have been fast and continuous as in modern birds, and that Confuciusornis must have been endothermic. Zhang and colleagues corroborated this claim in a subsequent paper, stating that the bone structure was unlike that of a modern ectothermic alligator but similar to the feathered non-avian dinosaur Beipiaosaurus. However, these authors assumed that endothermy in Confuciusornis had evolved independently from that seen in modern birds. This concurred with earlier work by Anusuya Chinsamy and colleagues, who described distinct lines of arrested growth and low vascularity in other Mesozoic birds that are more derived than Confuciusornis. Both features indicate slow growth, which, according to Chinsamy and colleagues, suggests low metabolic rates. Full endothermy, therefore, would have evolved late on the evolutionary line leading to modern birds. This view was contested by subsequent studies, which pointed out that slow growing bone is not necessarily an indicator for low metabolic rates, and in the case of Mesozoic birds was rather a result of the decrease in body size that characterized the early evolution of birds. A more comprehensive study based on thin sectioning of bones was published by Armand de Ricqlès and colleagues in 2003. Based on 80 thin sections taken from an adult Confuciusornis exemplar, this study confirmed the high growth rates proposed by Zhang and colleagues. The fast-growing fibrolamellar bone tissue was similar to that seen in non-avian theropods, and the sampled individual probably reached adult size in much less than 20 weeks. Small body size was not primarily achieved by slowing growth but by shortening the period of rapid growth. The growth rate estimated for Confuciusornis is still lower than the extremely fast growth characteristic for modern birds (6–8 weeks), suggesting that that growth was secondarily accelerated later in avian evolution.

In 2008 Chiappe and colleagues conducted a statistical analysis based on 106 specimens to explore the relationship between body size and the possession of long tail feathers. The population showed a clear bimodal distribution of the size of the animals with two distinct weight classes. However, there was no correlation between size and the possession of the long tail feathers. From this it was concluded that either the sexes did not differ in size or both sexes had the long feathers. The first case was deemed most likely which left the size distribution to be explained. It was hypothesized that the smaller animals consisted of very young individuals, that the large animals were adults and that the rarity of individuals with an intermediate size was caused by Confuciusornis experiencing a growth spurt just prior to reaching adulthood, the shortness of which would have prevented many becoming fossilized during this phase. This initially slow growth followed by a growth spurt would have resulted in a S-shaped growth curve, similar to that inferred for non-avian dinosaurs. Such an extended dinosaurian mode of growth conflicts with the earlier histological findings of de Ricqlès that suggest a much shorter, avian-style growth. Alternatively, the observed size distribution might also be explained by the presence of more than one species, although there are no anatomical features that could be correlated with these potential species. It could also be explained by assuming an attritional death assemblage, in which mortality rates (and thus the number of preserved fossils) are highest in young and in very old individuals.

The idea of a dinosaur-like mode of growth was criticized by Winfried and Dieter Peters in 2008, who argued that the body size of the smaller size class was too large to possibly have represented the youngest growth state. Analyzing an extended data set, these researchers identified a third size class that supposedly represented this youngest growth state. As it would be highly unlikely that Confuciusornis showed two distinct growth spurts, a feature unseen in known amniotes, they concluded that the two larger size classes represented the two sexes rather than growth stages (sexual size dimorphism). The long tail feathers would have occurred in both sexes, one of which was the largest. This interpretation is consistent with an avian-style mode of growth, as it was suggested by the earlier histological studies. It is also consistent with comparisons to modern birds, in which long tail feathers are typically unrelated to the sexes. The absence of long tail feathers in many specimens was suggested to be the result of stress-induced shedding prior to death.

Chiappe and colleagues defended their findings in a 2010 comment, arguing that the assumed short, avian-like growth period is unlikely. The calculation presented by De Ricqlès in 2003 of a growth phase of less than 20 weeks was based on the assumption that bone diameters grew by 10 μm per day, which is subjective. Rather, histology reveals the presence of different tissue types in the bone that grew at different rates, as well as pauses in growth as indicated by the lines of arrested growth. Thus, growth periods must have been longer than in modern birds and likely took several years, as is true for the modern kiwi. The observed size distribution can, therefore, be feasibly explained by assuming a dinosaurian-style growth. In an invited reply in 2010, Peters and Peters stated that Chiappe and colleagues did not comment on their main argument, the gap in body size between the smaller size class and inferred hatchlings, which accounts for one order of magnitude and would be most consistent with a sexual size dimorphism. Marugán-Lobón and colleagues studied the relationships between the presence and absence of long tail feathers and the lengths of various long bones of the arms and limbs, using a once more enlarged sample of 130 specimens. While confirming that the tail feathers are unrelated to body size, their presence corresponds to different proportions of the forelimb compared to the hind limb. The authors concluded that the meaning of the observed distributions of both the tail feathers and the body size remains contentious.

Chiappe and colleagues, in their 2008 study, concluded that limb bones growth was almost isometric, meaning that skeletal proportions did not change during growth. This was contested by Peters and Peters in 2009, who observed that wing bones tended to be proportionally longer in very small individuals, as seen in modern chicken, and thus grew allometrically. Chiappe and colleagues, in their 2010 comment, responded that proportional variation is present across the whole size range, and that the presence of allometry was not conclusively demonstrated by the analyses presented by Peters and Peters.

Possible medullary bone
A 2013 histological study by Anusuya Chinsamy and colleagues found medullary bone within the long bones of a short tailed specimen (DNHM-D1874), while three long-tailed specimens lacked medullary bone. In modern birds, medullary bone only forms temporarily in females, where it functions as a calcium reservoir for eggshell production. Therefore, these authors suggested short-tailed specimens to be females, and long-tailed specimens to be males. The female specimen had already passed its rapid growth phase, although it was still significantly smaller than the maximum size reached by Confuciusornis exemplars. At least two lines of arrested growth (growth lines that form annually) could be identified, demonstrating an extended growth over several years; the studied female would have been in its third year. Long tail feathers were confirmed to occur in small individuals, the smallest of which was only around 23% the mass of the largest specimens. Assuming that the occurrence of tail feathers indicates sexual maturity, the authors concluded that the latter must have occurred well before the animals reached their final size, unlike in birds but similar to non-avian dinosaurs. In a 2018 study, Jingmai O'Connor and colleagues questioned the identification of medullary bone, arguing that the purported medullary bone was only found in the forelimb, while in modern birds it is mostly present in the hind limb. Furthermore, the tissue in question is merely preserved as small fragments, rendering its interpretation difficult. However, the authors were able to identify medullary bone in the hind limb of an enantiornithine, a more derived group of Mesozoic birds. As is the case with the Confuciusornis specimen, this supposed female did not reach its final size, supporting the dinosaur-like mode of growth in basal birds that was inferred by the earlier studies.

Diet
In 1999, Chinese paleontologist Lianhai Hou and colleagues suggested that Confuciusornis was likely herbivorous, though no stomach contents were yet known, pointing out that the beak curved upwards and was not raptorial. Paleontologists Dieter S. Peters and Ji Qiang hypothesized in 1999 that, although no remains of toe webs have been conserved, it caught its prey swimming using its rather soft bill to search for prey below the waterline. Several extant bird species have been presented as modern analogues of Confuciusornis providing insight into its possible lifestyle. Peters thought that it could be best compared with the white-tailed tropicbird (Phaeton lepturus), a fisher that too has a long tail and narrow wings—and even often nests in the neighbourhood of volcanoes.

Polish paleontologist Andrzej Elżanowski, in 2002, found it unlikely that a long-winged and short-legged bird like Confuciusornis would forage in tree crowns, and instead proposed that it foraged on the wing, seizing prey from the water or ground surface. Indications for this included the combination of long wings that appear adapted for soaring, leg proportions (long femur, short foot) that are similar to those of frigate birds and kingfishers, and occipital foramen that opened at the back, a toothless beak similar to but shorter than that of kookaburras, and the absence of specializations for swimming. He conceded that Confuciusornis may have been able to swim, as it possibly foraged over water.

In 2003 Chinese paleontologists Zhonghe Zhou and Fucheng Zhang stated that though nothing was known about its diet, its robust and toothless jaws suggested it could have fed on seeds, and noted Jeholornis preserved direct evidence of such a diet.

In 2006, Johan Dalsätt and colleagues described a C. sanctus specimen (IVPP V13313) from the Jiufotang Beds which preserves seven to nine vertebrae and several ribs of a small fish, probably Jinanichthys. These fish bones are formed into a tight cluster about 6 mm across, and the cluster is in contact with the seventh and eighth cervical vertebrae of the bird. The condition of the fish indicates it was about to be regurgitated as a pellet, or that it was stored in the crop. No other fish remains are present in the slab. Though it is unknown how common fish were in the diet of Confuciusornis, the finding did not support a herbivorous diet, and the researchers pointed out that no specimens have been found with gastroliths (stomach stones), which are swallowed by birds to help digest plant fibers. Instead, they suggested it would have been omnivorous, similar to for example crows.

Andrei Zinoviev assumed it caught fish on the wing.

The skull was relatively immobile, incapable of the kinesis of modern birds that can raise the snout relative to the back of the skull. This immobility was caused by the presence of a triradiate postorbital separating the eye socket from the lower temporal opening, as with more basal theropod dinosaurs, and the premaxillae of the snout reaching all the way to the frontals, forcing the nasals to the sides of the snout.

Paleoenvironment and paleoecology

Confuciusornis was discovered in the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations and is a member of the Jehol Biota. Tuff makes up a considerable amount of the rock composition in both due to frequent volcanic eruptions, which were slightly more frequent in the Yixian Formation. Shale and mudstone also are major components of the formations. The tuff has allowed detailed dating of the formations by using 40Ar-39Ar isotopes. This results in an age of approximately 125 to 120 million years ago for the Yixian formation and approximately 120.3 million years ago for the Jiufotang Formation. The fossils were buried as a result of flooding and volcanic debris. This method of preservation resulted in fossils that are very flat, almost two-dimensional. The volcanic strata have allowed the preservation of various soft tissues, such as detailed feather impressions. Using oxygen isotopes in reptile bones found in the formation, a 2010 study determined that many formations from East Asia, including the Yixian, had a cool temperate climate. The mean air temperature of the Yixian Formation was estimated at 10 °C ± 4 °C. Fossils of Xenoxylon, a type of wood known from temperate areas of the time, have been found throughout the region. Additionally, reptiles needing heat, such as crocodilians, are absent.

The majority of Jehol flora has been discovered in the lower Yixian Formation. This flora includes most groups of Mesozoic plants, including mosses, clubmosses, horsetails, ferns, seed ferns, Czekanowskiales, ginkgo trees, cycadeoids, Gnetales, conifers, and a small number of flowering plants. Fauna that were present in the Jehol Biota include ostracods, gastropods, bivalves, insects, fish, salamanders, mammals, lizards, choristoderes, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs (including birds). These fossils are exceptionally well preserved, with dinosaur fossils frequently preserving filaments and feather impressions and sometimes even pigmentation, such as in Microraptor (an aerial predator of the Jiufotang Formation), Psittacosaurus (a small ceratopsian with a wide distribution throughout both formations), and Sinosauropteryx (a compsognathid and one of the first dinosaurs recovered from the Yixian). Other feathered dinosaurs of the Jehol Biota include the large compsognathid Sinocalliopteryx gigas, a specimen of which was discovered with Confuciusornis bones in its abdominal contents, the small herbivorous oviraptorosaur Caudipteryx, and the large tyrannosauroid Yutyrannus, all from the Yixian Formation. Jehol birds are represented by more than 20 genera, including basal avialans (such as Confucisornis, Jeholornis, and Sapeornis), more derived enantiornithes (such as Eoenantiornis, Longirostravis, Sinornis, Boluochia, and Longipteryx), and even further derived ornithurines (such as Liaoningornis, Yixianornis, and Yanornis).

title: Confuciusornis


text:
Talk:Corel Ventura

Untitled
how do i convert ms-dos based ventura document to pdf or prn or ps format????????/

This page is for discussing the article, not how to use Ventura. There are links to support groups from Corel's website www.corel.com. Having said that, you will need to supply a lot more information than this to get a useful reply from anywhere. For example, exactly which version of Ventura was originally used and what version you have now. The latest version of Ventura can print directly to any of these formats. If you don't have Ventura you can load the text file into any DTP or word processor, reformat it, and print to a digital format. hth Shantavira 11:19, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Suggestions for improvement
There are several minor problems with this article: (1) The Wiki entry is "Corel Ventura" (the current name of the product), but discussion begins with "Ventura Publisher." The reader should be alerted to this name change upfront, e.g., "Formerly known as Ventura Publisher, this software application was the first popular..." (2) There are some uncomfortable tense shifts, e.g., "The last version released by Ventura Software Inc. was 4.1.1 in 1993," followed in the very next paragraph by "Ventura Publisher, while it has some text editing..." (3) Considerable space is devoted to older versions, with barely a mention of the latest developments. Although it is significant that Ventura has been around since DOS days, later versions introduced major changes. (4) Although Adobe FrameMaker is a close competitor, there are other products in the same space (e.g., Quark, Pagemaker, etc.) that could be mentioned. Further, a brief comparison to these other products might be useful. (5) There are no links to the Corel corporation (http://www.corel.com) or other (independent) Ventura resources, e.g., Rick Altman's musings on Ventura and other things Corel (http://www.altman.com/graphics/ventura.htm), and the Ventura User Exchange (http://venturalady.com).

 * I'd say go for it. Frelke 07:52, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I'd guess that "Altman's musings" above are what's now here. I've added the link. Morenoodles (talk) 06:36, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
 * which is also defunct now. Vandenzel (talk) 13:10, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Ventura Publisher Screenshot.jpg
Image:Ventura Publisher Screenshot.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 04:57, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Corel Ventura is arguably an entirely different application from the original Xerox Ventura Publisher
The very first thing Corel did when it acquired Xerox Ventura Publisher was to throw out virtually everything that differentiated it from such products as PageMaker -- DOS/GEM and Macintosh support (OS/2, as well, if I remember right), the concept of "chapters" tying together multiple text and graphics files (in their original formats, and still editable in their native software), and the concept of "publications" tying together the chapters of a multi-chapter document -- out the window, and release a bloated, Windows-only application that is arguably a PageMaker knock-off, and not even recognizable as Ventura Publisher.

I believe very strongly that at the very least, Xerox Ventura Publisher ought to have at least its own distinct section, and preferably an entirely separate article. Hbquikcomjamesl (talk) 21:53, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

"See also"
(1) I just expanded and (I hope) clarified the description that follows the entry for Timeworks Publisher. However, I question whether any such description is needed; no other item on the list has any description at all!

The entry for Timeworks Publisher was the first and only item listed when the "See also" section was first added to the page, on February 2, 2005. It is clear in context that Irate (who has since been banned indefinitely from editing Wikipedia, by Jimbo Wales himself!) was trying to explain the relevance of the link, relative to the article on Ventura Publisher. (Both programs originally were written for GEM, as it turns out, but Timeworks Publisher was much less expensive than Ventura Publisher — indeed, its Wikipedia entry presently claims that it was "the first affordable DTP program" — and Timeworks Publisher had the by-then-uncommon ability to run even on a computer lacking a hard disk!) However, none of the other items that have subsequently been added to the list has any such explanation at all. And all of them save one (see item #2, below) are other DTP or DTP-related applications. Since Timeworks Publisher, likewise, is a DTP app, I don't see why any further description or explanation is necessary; it's enough that it's a DTP program, which — now that the list has grown as it has — is implicit from the mere fact of its being on the list! (And perhaps from its name as well.) Therefore, I recommend deleting the explanatory description in its entirety.

(People can learn such details as how compact and inexpensive the program was, and what platforms it ran on, by clicking on the link, just as I did!)

(2) On November 24, 2006, Carrasco added the item that reads "Ventura printers from Granada". (This was only the second item to be placed on the list — the first since the list was created on February 2, 2005!) I have no idea what that link used to point to, but the page that it used to point to has been deleted. (It was deleted on April 25, 2009.)

And so, according to the deletion message, has a related article on Spanish Wikipedia. (The deletion message reads as though the article on Spanish Wikipedia was the one that the link pointed to in the first place, but the link clearly points to English Wikipedia, not Spanish. What the subject of the Spanish article was ("several firms", and/or some unnamed corporation that these unnamed firms may or may not be part of?), and what that article had to do with the English article on "Ventura printers" — how the two articles were related — I've no idea.  No old, pre-deletion versions of the "Ventura printers" article that used to be there are available to search for a clue.)

With no article to point to, the link serves no purpose. It does not — so far as I can tell — denote any entity or thing for which a Wikipedia entry might plausibly be added in the future. I spent at least half an hour Googling "Ventura" and "printers", and "Ventura printers", both with and without "Granada", and I couldn't find a single thing that could possibly have been what Carrasco had in mind when he (or she) added the link.

 * Based on a résumé I found (http://www.bestjobs.ro/madalinss5sg) belonging to a Romanian computer programmer who claimed to have designed and implemented "a printer simulator for the OCE Granada, Madrid and Ventura printers", I even did several additional searches in an attempt to establish whether "OCE" — or Océ, as it turns out, a Dutch company I had never heard of before "that develops, manufactures and sells printing and copying hardware and related software", and that Canon acquired in 2010 — ever offered a "Ventura", "Granada" or "Madrid" line of printers! Alas, no such printers turned up in my search.

 * Granada appears to be just the city in Spain — even though Carrasco did not bother to say "Granda, Spain" instead of just "Granada"; that is what the link for it presently points to, and always has pointed to. And none of the other items listed on the corresponding Granada/Grenada disambiguation page makes any more sense than the city in Spain.

Consequently, I cannot tell whether "Ventura printers" was intended to denote: a print shop; a company that makes and sells printers, or printing presses; a company that prints "Venturas"; a company that prints via the "Ventura" method; or something else altogether that I have not been able to imagine!

(To the best of my knowledge there is no "Ventura" method of printing, and no such thing — let alone a printable thing — as a "Ventura". I'm just trying to convey how hard I tried.)

As matters presently stand, the dead link is meaningless and indecipherable. It might as well be deleted.

P.S. Of course I could just go ahead and make the two deletions that I'm recommending myself. However, I thought that out of courtesy to those who edited this page before me, I should at least ask publicly and wait to see what others say before I impose these additional changes myself. Maybe someone will come up with a reason why Timeworks Publisher should have a description even though none of the other items listed under "See also" presently has one, and maybe someone will even figure out — where I could not — what the heck "Ventura printers" was supposed to be.

(I did go ahead and delete the ridiculous and pointless "kl" that 119.95.249.145 added immediately after "Granada.", on September 8, 2009 (at 08:57 — two edits were made that day, from two different IP addresses). The letters "kl", with no space between them, or between them and the period immediately preceding them, were clearly some sort of a typo.

("Granada" was not the name of a keylayout file! Nor does Kuala Lumpur or anyone else have a ".kl" TLD!  At least not yet.)

I also deleted the unnecessary period after "Granada", since no other item on the list has a period after it. (Irate put a period at the end of his entry for Timeworks Publisher, but I deleted that already. It was not a proper sentence (nor properly punctuated nor capitalized as a sentence), and other list items were not delimited by periods.)  The period after "Granada" was obviously a mistake, due to Carrasco following Irate's erroneous and misleading lead.)

2001:5B0:24FF:3CF0:0:0:0:32 (talk) 23:12, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

title: Talk:Corel Ventura


text:
Object Lisp

Object Lisp was a computer programming language, a dialect of the Lisp language. It was an object-oriented extension for the Lisp dialect Lisp Machine Lisp, designed by Lisp Machines, Inc. Object Lisp was also an early example of prototype-based programming.

It was seen as a competitor to other object-oriented extensions to Lisp at around the same time such as Flavors, in use by Symbolics, Common Objects developed by Hewlett-Packard, and CommonLoops, in use by Xerox.

Object Lisp was also used in early versions of Macintosh Common Lisp. There, the user interface toolkit was written using Object Lisp.

title: Object Lisp


text:
Ronan O'Gara

Ronan John Ross O'Gara (Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He is currently head coach of La Rochelle in the French Top 14. O'Gara won 128 caps for Ireland, winning three Triple Crowns and the Grand Slam in 2009. He also played on three British & Irish Lions tours, winning two caps. He played for sixteen seasons with Munster, with whom he won two Heineken Cups.

O'Gara is the tenth most-capped and is the sixth highest points scorer in the history of test rugby. He is also Munster's all-time leading scorer, and holds the Heineken Cup record for points and caps. O'Gara scored several match-winning drop goals for Munster and Ireland, including in the 78th minute of the Wales vs Ireland match in the 2009 Six Nations Championship, in which Ireland won the Grand Slam.

Since his retirement from playing, O'Gara has undertaken a coaching career. O'Gara began coaching in 2013 with French club Racing 92 as the club's defence coach before becoming the assistant defence coach of the New Zealand club Crusaders in 2018. The Crusaders would win two Super Rugby titles while O'Gara was a member of their coaching team. O'Gara took up his first head coach role in 2019 when he returned to France and was announced as the new coach of Stade Rochelais. Since taking over as head coach, O'Gara has guided La Rochelle to three European Cup finals, the second of which in the 2022 final they beat Leinster to claim the club's first ever major silverware, with a repeat performance in Dublin in the 2023 final.

Early life
O'Gara was born in San Diego, California, where his father, Fergal, was working as a post–doctoral fellow in microbiology. His father had also played wing for the UCG club in Connacht. His family moved back to Ireland when he was six months old.

O'Gara attended Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh primary school, before moving to Bishopstown Community School where his mother was a teacher. His mother is originally from County Mayo. After a year, his parents sent him to Presentation Brothers College, Cork, where he won a Junior Cup medal in 1992 and a Senior Cup medal in 1995. It was at Pres where O'Gara first came into contact with Declan Kidney, who was head of rugby at the school. Kidney would later go on to coach O'Gara with both Munster and Ireland.

O'Gara attended University College Cork and won an All-Ireland Under-20 medal in 1996. He graduated with a B.A. and a master's degree in Business Economics in 1999.

1997–2007
O'Gara made his Munster debut alongside longtime Munster and Ireland teammate David Wallace against Connacht in August 1997, scoring 19 points. O'Gara's Heineken Cup debut came against Harlequins in September 1997 in the 1997–98 Heineken Cup. O'Gara kicked 15 points, but Munster lost the game 48–40. He started for Munster in the 2000 Heineken Cup Final, which Northampton Saints won 8–9, and again in the 2002 Heineken Cup Final, which Leicester Tigers won 15–9.

O'Gara's last minute conversion against Gloucester on 18 January 2003 helped Munster to a 27-point victory which took them through to the Heineken Cup quarter final; this match has come to be known in Munster folklore as the Miracle Match. He was part of the Munster team that won the 2002–03 Celtic League, starting and scoring 12 points as Munster beat Neath 37–17 in the Millennium Stadium. O'Gara turned down the chance to join NFL side Miami Dolphins in March 2003. He started when Munster beat Llanelli Scarlets to win the Celtic Cup in May 2005, scoring 17 points in the game.

O'Gara played a key part in Munster's Heineken Cup winning team of 2006. O'Gara had an important role in Munster's semi-final victory over rivals Leinster by scoring 20 points, including a 77th minute try. On 20 May 2006, O'Gara kicked 13 points in Munster's first Heineken Cup Final victory over Biarritz at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

On 22 October 2006, O'Gara kicked a last minute penalty from inside his own half to win Munster a 21–19 victory over Leicester Tigers in the first round of the pool stages at Welford Road. O'Gara scored 15 points during Munster's win in the 2006–07 Heineken Cup pool game against French side Bourgoin on 14 January 2007. He kicked 5 points in Munster's quarter-final defeat to Scarlets on 30 March 2007.

2008–2013
On 19 January 2008, O'Gara captained Munster to victory against Wasps in their final pool match of the 2007–08 Heineken Cup, knocking the incumbent champions out and making it through to quarter finals of the cup for the tenth consecutive season. On 24 May 2008, O'Gara won his second Heineken Cup medal as Munster beat Toulouse 16–13 in the 2008 Heineken Cup Final, with O'Gara scoring 11 points.

O'Gara scored a penalty with three minutes left to beat Montauban in the first game of the 2008–09 Heineken Cup and the first Heineken Cup game in the new Thomond Park. On 13 December 2008, O'Gara became the first player to score 1,000 points in the Heineken Cup, when he scored a last minute conversion against Clermont.

On 16 May 2010, O'Gara was awarded the ERC European Player Award, crediting him as the player who had made the greatest contribution to European Rugby during the first 15 years of the Heineken Cup. The selection panel consisted of Sir Ian McGeechan, Lawrence Dallaglio, Ieuan Evans, Fabien Galthié, Donal Lenihan, Michael Lynagh, Stuart Barnes, Stephen Jones and Jacques Verdier.

O'Gara crossed the 2,000-point mark for Munster against Ospreys in a Celtic League game on 18 September 2010. In November 2010, he extended his contract with Munster and the IRFU until 2013. He became the fourth Munster player to win 200 caps in a Celtic League game against Ospreys on 23 April 2011. In May 2011, O'Gara was part of the Munster team that beat arch-rivals and newly crowned Heineken Cup champions Leinster 19–9 in the 2011 Magners League Grand Final at Thomond Park.

On 12 November 2011, O'Gara scored an 84th minute drop-goal after 41 phases of play to secure victory for Munster in their opening 2011–12 Heineken Cup Pool One game against Northampton Saints. A week later, in Munster's second Pool One game away to Castres Olympique, O'Gara again scored a match-winning drop-goal, this time in the 81st minute.

On 10 December 2011, O'Gara became only the second player, the first being his Munster colleague John Hayes, to win 100 caps in the Heineken Cup. He achieved the feat in Munster's third pool game, away to Scarlets, which Munster won 14–17, with O'Gara contributing 12 points with his boot. The following week, O'Gara scored 14 points in the home tie against Scarlets, helping Munster to a 19–13 victory. He became the most capped Heineken Cup player ever on 14 January 2012, when Munster played Castres in Round 5 of the 2011–12 Heineken Cup, scoring 16 points along the way in a 26–10 win for Munster. In Munster's final pool game against Northampton Saints, O'Gara scored 24 points as Munster won 51–36. O'Gara announced in March 2012 that he planned to continue playing rugby until he was 38, quashing rumours of his retirement.

On 13 October 2012, O'Gara scored a penalty and conversion before going off injured in the 34th minute in Munster's 22–17 defeat against Racing Métro 92 in their 2012–13 Heineken Cup opener. As a result, O'Gara missed Munster's bonus-point victory against Edinburgh in Round 2, but he returned and scored 15 points in Munster's next pool game against Saracens, which saw Munster scrape a win. He became Munster's most capped player ever on 5 January 2013, when he won his 233rd cap against Cardiff Blues. O'Gara was cited and banned for one week after kicking Edinburgh's Sean Cox in the Heineken Cup round 4 fixture between the two sides, which ruled him out of Munsters 29–6 victory over Racing Metro which secured qualification from the group stages. He kicked all of Munster's points in their 12–18 Heineken Cup quarter-final victory over Harlequins on 7 April 2013. O'Gara kicked five points for Munster in their 16–10 Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Clermont Auvergne on 27 April 2013.

O'Gara announced his retirement on 18 May 2013, after weeks of speculation.

1999–2003
O'Gara won a cap for Ireland A on 9 April 1999, against Italy A during a friendly. He was selected in Ireland's preliminary training squad for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, but was not chosen for the tournament, with the Irish management deciding to take two fly-halves and an extra prop instead of three fly-halves. O'Gara was in the Munster team that beat Ireland in a warm-up for the tournament.

O'Gara won his first international cap for Ireland against Scotland on 19 February 2000 during the 2000 Six Nations Championship. O'Gara scored all of Ireland's points in their 18–9 win over Australia at Lansdowne Road in the Autumn Tests of 2002. He was a member of Ireland's 2003 Rugby World Cup squad, and played in all four Pool matches against Romania, Namibia, Argentina and Australia, and in the quarter-final loss to France. In total, O'Gara scored 30 points during his first Rugby World Cup.

2004–2007
O'Gara scored all of Ireland's points in a 17–12 win over South Africa at Lansdowne Road on 13 November 2004. Two weeks later, on 27 November, O'Gara kicked a last-minute drop goal to give Ireland a 21–19 victory over Argentina. O'Gara won the Man of the Match awards against both South Africa and Argentina. In 2004, he was named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year. In 2006, he overtook David Humphreys as Ireland's highest points scorer. In the same season, he won the Triple Crown with Ireland in the 2006 Six Nations Championship.

On 11 February 2007, O'Gara scored the first Irish international try at Croke Park in the 2007 Six Nations Championship loss to France. On 10 March 2007, O'Gara once again scored all of Ireland's points to win the Triple Crown at Murrayfield, beating Scotland 19–18. On 24 August 2007, in Ireland's final 2007 Rugby World Cup warm-up against Italy at Ravenhill in Belfast, O'Gara scored and converted a controversial try nine minutes into stoppage time, winning the match 23–20 after Italy had taken the lead with their own stoppage-time try. O'Gara finished the match with 18 points.

O'Gara was a member of Ireland's 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. He started all four of Ireland's pool games, against Namibia, Georgia, France and Argentina, scoring 19 points in total. Ireland failed to make the quarter finals of the tournament. During the tournament, rumours of a breakdown in his marriage and large gambling debts, both denied by O'Gara, were reported by the French media.

2008–2011
On 11 March 2008, O'Gara was named as Ireland team captain for the first time in his career, leading the side in the Six Nations match against England at Twickenham.

On 14 March 2009, O'Gara overtook Jonny Wilkinson to become the top Six Nations point scorer ever. On 20 March 2009, he scored a late drop goal in the 78th minute to beat Wales and secure for Ireland their first Grand Slam for 61 years. O'Gara started against Australia in the first match of Ireland's 2009 November Series, scoring 10 points. He then lost his place in the starting line-up to Johnny Sexton and did not play against Fiji or South Africa.

O'Gara regained the fly-half spot in Ireland's opening 2010 Six Nations Championship games against Italy and France, but was back on the bench for the remaining three games. He had a 100% kicking record for the 2010 Six Nations. O'Gara was selected in Ireland's squad for their 2010 Summer Tour to New Zealand and Australia, and started against New Zealand, converting 3 tries, but was on the bench for the Australia test. O'Gara became the third Irishman to win 100 caps when he came off the bench during Ireland's first 2010 Autumn Series test against South Africa. He started against Samoa and scored 15 points, including a try. He came off the bench against New Zealand and Argentina.

O'Gara came off the bench against Italy and France in the 2011 Six Nations Championship, and started against Scotland, winning the title of Man of the Match. He started against Wales and became the first Irishman to score over 1,000 points in international matches. He came off the bench against England, as Ireland prevented them from winning a Grand Slam.

O'Gara was selected in Ireland's squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He played in all of Ireland's pool games, coming of the bench against the United States and Australia, and starting against Russia. In the Russia game, he became Ireland's highest points scorer in World Cup matches. He was selected ahead of Johnny Sexton for Ireland's crunch Pool C game against Italy, and scored 16 points as Ireland won 36–6. He retained the fly-half jersey for Ireland's quarter-final against Wales, scoring a penalty and a conversion as Ireland lost 22–10.

In an interview after Ireland's 15–6 World Cup victory over Australia on 17 September 2011, O'Gara hinted at his possible retirement from international rugby after the conclusion of the World Cup, but subsequently said that his words had been misinterpreted.

2012–2013
In the 2012 Six Nations Championship, O'Gara joined Brian O'Driscoll as Ireland's all-time caps leader (with 117) when he came on against Wales on 5 February 2012, during Ireland's opening 2012 Six Nations match. He also became the most capped player in Five/Six Nations history in this game, overtaking fellow Irishman Mike Gibson's record of 56. O'Gara became Ireland's most capped player against Italy on 25 February 2012, overtaking O'Driscoll's record. O'Gara made substitution appearances in all 5 of Ireland's 2012 Six Nations fixtures, a tournament he described as 'gut-wrenching'.

O'Gara came on as a replacement in all three of Ireland's tests against New Zealand in the 2012 tour. O'Gara won his 125th cap for Ireland on 10 November 2012, as a replacement against South Africa.

In the 2013 Six Nations Championship, O'Gara made his first appearance on 10 February 2013, coming on as a replacement against England. He came off the bench against Scotland in round 3, having lost out on the 10 jersey to Paddy Jackson after Johnny Sexton's injury against England. This was his last appearance for Ireland. O'Gara was dropped from the Ireland squad for the game against France, and was also left out of the squad for Ireland's final game against Italy, which Ireland lost 22–15, their only ever defeat to Italy in the Six Nations. O'Gara announced his retirement from all rugby on 18 May 2013.

2001
O'Gara received his first Lions selection for the tour to Australia in 2001. He played in four tour games, against Western Australia, NSW Waratahs, NSW Country Districts and ACT Brumbies, scoring 26 points overall. O'Gara was a substitute in the team that played Australia A. In the game against NSW Waratahs, O'Gara was repeatedly punched by Duncan McRae, which resulted in O'Gara needing eight stitches around his eye and McRae being sent off and later banned for seven weeks. After the game, then Lions coach Graham Henry called the match 'a bad day for rugby'.

2005
O'Gara earned his second Lions call-up for the tour to New Zealand in 2005 On the tour, he played in 6 tour games, against Bay of Plenty, New Zealand Maori, Otago, Southland, Manawatu and Auckland. O'Gara also earned his first Lions test cap, coming on in the third test defeat as a replacement.

2009
O'Gara was named in the Lions squad for the 2009 tour to South Africa. On 30 May he scored 22 points, including a try, in the opening match of the tour against the Royal XV, in a 37–25 win. On 10 June, he played against, scoring 12 points as the tourists won 39–3. On 16 June, O'Gara was in the Lions team that defeated Southern Kings 20–8. On 23 June, he captained the midweek side in a 13–13 draw against the Emerging Springboks

On 27 June, O'Gara came off the bench in the second test match, winning his second Lions cap. He conceded a seventy-ninth-minute penalty when the score was tied, when he collided with South African scrum-half Fourie du Preez in the air. Morné Steyn scored the penalty, and won the match and the series for the Springboks. O'Gara played 5 games in total on the 2009 tour, scoring 49 points.

Retirement
After Munster's semi-final defeat to ASM Clermont Auvergne in the 2012–13 Heineken Cup, O'Gara's retirement was confirmed on 18 May 2013.

O'Gara explained his decision to retire: "I have ambitions in the years ahead to coach at a high level and, with this in mind, I can confirm now that I will be joining Racing Métro's coaching staff in July. I am trusting my instinct and it is telling me now is the appropriate time to stop (playing). Had I already decided to retire before the (Heineken Cup semi-final) loss in Montpellier last month? I kind of knew. My lads are gone. My boys in the team are gone." Munster Rugby Chief Executive Garrett Fitzgerald also paid tribute to O'Gara: "In wishing Ronan the very best in the future, I’d like to acknowledge the immense contribution he has made to Munster Rugby and indeed rugby in general in Ireland over the course of what has been a fabulous career."

Coaching career
O'Gara had been offered a one-year contract extension by Munster, but instead decided to take a coaching role with French club Racing 92. Starting in July 2013, O'Gara worked primarily as a defence coach with Racing. In 2016 he agreed a contract extension with Racing 92 until 2019. Amongst others, O'Gara coached former Ireland teammate Johnny Sexton, who expressed his delight at being able to work alongside his former Ireland rival. In June 2017, O'Gara joined the Ireland squad for their one-off test match against the United States as a skills coach.

In November 2017, Racing 92 agreed to release O'Gara early from his contract, so he could join the Crusaders coaching team in New Zealand. He began as assistant backs coach with the Crusaders on 1 January 2018, and extended his contract for the 2019 Super Rugby season in June 2018. O'Gara experienced success in his first season in Christchurch, with the Crusaders winning a 9th Super Rugby title, and they defended the title in the 2019 Super Rugby season, securing a record 10th title with a 19–3 win against Argentinian side Jaguares in O'Gara's final match as part of the Crusaders coaching staff.

La Rochelle
O'Gara joined French Top 14 club La Rochelle to replace Xavier Garbajosa as their new head coach upon the conclusion of his duties with the Crusaders 2019 Super Rugby season, in time for the 2019–20 Top 14 season. Jono Gibbes, former Leinster forwards coach and Ulster head coach, was director of rugby at the club at the time.

Following La Rochelle's 27–16 away win against Gloucester in the last 16 of the 2020–21 Challenge Cup on 2 April 2021, O'Gara was interviewed post-match by BT Sport and explained how his rugby philosophy had developed whilst coaching in France and New Zealand, describing how KBA - Keep Ball Alive - had become intrinsic to his style of play and mindset as a coach. The interview was widely shared and praised by the rugby media. La Rochelle have also been praised for their astute game management and effective defence during O'Gara's tenure at the club.

O'Gara signed a new three-year contract with La Rochelle in April 2021, effective until the end of the 2023–24 season. With the news that director of rugby Jono Gibbes had joined rival club Clermont as their new head coach, O'Gara now oversaw the full spectrum of rugby operations at La Rochelle, whilst also continuing his head coach responsibilities.

O'Gara faced an LNR disciplinary hearing in November 2021 after he failed to properly register his position on La Rochelle's teamsheet for their fixture against Toulon, which meant O'Gara was not allowed to be present pitch-side during the game, leading to a disagreement, albeit polite, between O'Gara and the fourth official.

Having lost to rivals Toulouse in the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup final, O'Gara coached La Rochelle to their first major silverware when they defeated Leinster 24–21 in the 2021–22 Champions Cup final on 28 May 2022.

O'Gara was banned for six weeks for disrespecting a match official after La Rochelle's fixture against Lyon in September 2022, and he faced another LNR disciplinary hearing in November 2022 after being cited for alleged comments made towards a match official; O'Gara was subsequently banned for ten weeks and fined €20,000, €5,000 of which was suspended.

O'Gara reunited with his former Crusaders boss Scott Robertson to coach the Barbarians in their fixture against an All Blacks XV on 13 November 2022, which the Barbarians won 35–31. La Rochelle confirmed in December 2022 that O'Gara had extended his contract with the club until 2027; this followed weeks of speculation that O'Gara was being considered for the England head coach position. La Rochelle successfully defended their Champions Cup title during the 2022–23 season, coming from seventeen points down to defeat Leinster 27–26 in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. This achievement meant La Rochelle became only the 5th team to retain the Champions Cup, after Leicester Tigers, Leinster, Toulon and Saracens.

In December 2023, he was given a one-week touchline suspension for his conduct in a defeat to Racing 92. The suspension meant he had to watch La Rochelle's Champions Cup group stage fixture against Leinster from the stands, a game they would go on to lose 16-9 at home. It was La Rochelle's first ever defeat to Leinster in a Champions Cup fixtures. As of December 2023, he has received a cumulative total of 20 weeks in suspensions from the French authorities.

Honours and achievements
Upon his retirement from playing, O'Gara held a number of honours and achievements at both club and international level. At the time, he had played for Ireland more times than any other player in history and had won nine trophies with Munster.

In May 2016, O'Gara was inducted into the IRUPA Hall of Fame. In September 2018, O'Gara was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, becoming the 12th Irish inductee and inductee number 139 overall.

International career by opposition
Correct as of 17 March 2013 * indicates inclusion of caps for British & Irish Lions

Player
Cork Constitution
 * All-Ireland League:
 * Winner (1): 1998–99
 * Munster Senior League:
 * Winner (1): 1998

Munster
 * European Rugby Champions Cup:
 * Winner (2): 2005–06, 2007–08
 * United Rugby Championship:
 * Winner (3): 2002–03, 2008–09, 2010–11
 * Celtic Cup:
 * Winner (1): 2004–05
 * Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship:
 * Winner (3): 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01

Ireland
 * Six Nations Championship:
 * Winner (1): 2009
 * Grand Slam:
 * Winner (1): 2009
 * Triple Crown:
 * Winner (4): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009

Individual

European Player of the Year - Winner - 2010 - Best Player of last 15 Seasons
 * British & Irish Lions:
 * Tourist (3): 2001, 2005, 2009

Coach
Racing 92
 * Top 14:
 * Winner (1): 2015–16

Crusaders
 * Super Rugby:
 * Winner (2): 2018, 2019

La Rochelle
 * European Champions Cup:
 * Winner (2): 2021–22, 2022–23
 * Runner-up (1): 2020–21

Personal life
On 6 July 2006, O'Gara married his longtime girlfriend Jessica Daly. They have five children – twins, a boy and a girl named Rua and Molly, born in 2008, and three more sons – JJ, born in 2010, Zak, born in 2012 and Max, born in 2014.

On 9 October 2008, he published Ronan O'Gara: My Autobiography, co-written by Denis Walsh, chief sports-writer with the Irish edition of The Sunday Times. An updated version of his autobiography was released in 2009, after Ireland's Grand Slam success. O'Gara released a second autobiography in November 2013, titled Ronan O'Gara: Unguarded. On 2 January 2014, a new behind-the-scenes documentary called "ROG – The Ronan O’Gara Documentary" aired on RTÉ One.

On 24 October 2013, a testimonial dinner to honour O'Gara was held at Cork's City Hall, with around 850 guests paying €300 per ticket to charity. On 11 May 2017, at a ceremony held in Cork City Hall, O'Gara was awarded the Freedom of Cork City.

title: Ronan O'Gara


text:
David Humphries

David John Humphries (6 August 1953 – 15 July 2020) was an English cricketer. He was born in Alveley, Shropshire, and educated at Bridgnorth Olbury Wells School and Wulfrun College, Wolverhampton.

Humphries played county cricket for Leicestershire and Worcestershire, being capped by Worcestershire in 1978. He had also played for Shropshire between 1971 and 1973, being capped in the latter year, while playing at club level for West Bromwich Dartmouth. He appeared Shropshire's only Minor Counties Championship win, against Staffordshire at London Road, Shrewsbury in 1973, when he was the highest scorer on his side at 53 runs during the first innings.

His brother Mark Humphries, also a wicket-keeper, played for Minor Counties and Staffordshire.

Humphries died after a long illness on 15 July 2020 at the age of 66.

Humphries was one of ten members of Leicestershire's first County Championship winning team in 1975 to have a road in Leicester named after him by the city council. Chris Balderstone, Peter Booth, Brian Davison, Barry Dudleston, Ken Higgs, Ray Illingworth, Norman McVicker, John Steele and Roger Tolchard were the others. Jack Birkenshaw, Graham McKenzie and Mick Norman missed out as there were already roads using their surnames.

title: David Humphries