Ort the hypothesis that its ecomorphology was comparable to that of dromaeosaurids. Whilst there exists evidence that dromaeosaurids employed each their hands and feet in predation (see Carpenter, 1998), the reduction in length and functionality of the third manual digit and also the poor development or absence in the pedal characters linked with predatory behaviour in deinonychosaurs (i.e., ginglymoid distal finish of metatarsal II enabling in depth hyperextension, falciform second ungual with prominent flexor tubercle; Ostrom, 1969; Fowler et al., 2011), challenge the notion of a specialised, dromaeosaurid-like predatory ecology for Balaur. Brusatte et al. (2013) interpreted these unusual traits of Balaur as the result of insularism, though they acknowledged that comparable morphological adjustments in insular taxa have so far not been reported in predatory species. We are not aware of the reduction or loss of predatory adaptations in any insular predatory taxon, and hence take into consideration it unlikely that the one of a kind morphology of Balaur, in pLY3214996 web articular the appendicular characters viewed as to become predatory adaptations among dromaeosaurids, might be sufficiently accounted for by the `island effect’. Many of the options considered to become autapomorphies of Balaur by Csiki et al. (2010) and Brusatte et al. (2013) are reinterpreted here as avialan synapomorphies. Consequently, these traits have been inherited by Balaur from its bird-like ancestors prior to its lineage was isolated inside the Hateg environment. Given that our analyses place Balaur amongst a grade of non-predatory avialans such as herbivorous and/or omnivorous species (Zhou Zhang, 2002; Dalstt et al., 2006; Zanno Makovicky, 2011), our preferred scenario will not a necessitate a hypothesis of a carnivorous ecology for this taxon and is thus a lot more consistent with the absence with the aforementioned predatory adaptations. Additionally, in assuming a herbivorous or omnivorous ecology for Balaur, the quantity of morphological modifications, specifically in limb shapes and proportions, is comparable to that reported in a number of insular herbivorous and omnivorous taxa, which includes both mammals (Sondaar, 1977; Caloi Palombo, 1994; Van der Geer et al., 2011) and dinosaurs (e.g., Dalla Vecchia, 2009). In distinct, the presence in Balaur of a relatively broad pelvic canal, the short and broadCau et al. (2015), PeerJ, DOI 10.7717/peerj.25/Figure 7 Skeletal reconstruction of Balaur. Speculative skeletal reconstruction for Balaur bondoc, showing identified elements in white and unknown elements in grey. Note that the integument would presumably have substantially altered the outline on the animal in life. Created by Jaime Headden, utilised with permission.metatarsus with mediolaterally expanded distal ends relative towards the articular surfaces, as well as the presence of an enlarged 1st pedal digit is a combination of characteristics convergently acquired only by the non-predatory clade Therizinosauridae amongst Mesozoic theropods (Zanno, 2010; Zanno Makovicky, 2011). On the other hand, we agree with previous authors that, irrespective of its position within Paraves, the morphology of Balaur involves a distinctive and unexpected combination of capabilities, otherwise observed in distinct maniraptoran lineages. Interestingly, Balaur independently evolved a PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19996636 series of capabilities previously reported in a lot more crownward bird lineages, like a deep depressio epicondylaris medialis in the tibiotarsus, a hypertrophied extensor fossa in the second metatarsal, and dorsally convex metata.