|
Aurornis
''Aurornis'' is an extinct genus of anchiornithid theropod dinosaurs from the Jurassic period of China. The genus ''Aurornis'' contains a single known species, ''Aurornis xui'' (). ''Aurornis xui'' may be the most basal ("primitive") avialan dinosaur known to date, and it is one of the earliest avialans found to date. The fossil evidence for the animal pre-dates that of ''Archaeopteryx lithographica'', often considered the earliest bird species, by about 10 million years. ''Aurornis xui'' was first described and named by Pascal Godefroit, Andrea Cau, Hu Dong-Yu, François Escuillié, Wu Wenhao and Gareth Dyke in 2013. The generic name is derived from the Latin word ''aurora'', meaning "daybreak" or "dawn", and the Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis'') meaning "bird". The specific name, ''A. xui'', honors Xu Xing. A recent study of specimens of the avialan ''Anchiornis'' has found that the traits exhibited by ''Aurornis'' fall within the range of variation in ''Anchiornis'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurornis Scale
''Aurornis'' is an extinct genus of anchiornithid theropod dinosaurs from the Jurassic period of China. The genus ''Aurornis'' contains a single known species, ''Aurornis xui'' (). ''Aurornis xui'' may be the most basal ("primitive") avialan dinosaur known to date, and it is one of the earliest avialans found to date. The fossil evidence for the animal pre-dates that of ''Archaeopteryx lithographica'', often considered the earliest bird species, by about 10 million years. ''Aurornis xui'' was first described and named by Pascal Godefroit, Andrea Cau, Hu Dong-Yu, François Escuillié, Wu Wenhao and Gareth Dyke in 2013. The generic name is derived from the Latin word ''aurora'', meaning "daybreak" or "dawn", and the Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis'') meaning "bird". The specific name, ''A. xui'', honors Xu Xing. A recent study of specimens of the avialan ''Anchiornis'' has found that the traits exhibited by ''Aurornis'' fall within the range of variation in ''Anchiornis'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchiornithidae
Anchiornithidae ("near birds") is a family of eumaniraptorans which could be the basalmost family of birds (in the general sense) in the clade Avialae. Anchiornithids have been classified at varying positions in the maniraptoran tree, with some scientists classifying them as a distinct family, a basal subfamily of Troodontidae, members of Archaeopterygidae, or an assemblage of dinosaurs that are an evolutionary grade within Avialae or Paraves. Description Anchiornithids share many general features with other Paraves and early avialans. They were small and lightly-built feathered carnivores, similar in biology to ''Archaeopteryx'', early dromaeosaurids like ''Microraptor'', and particularly troodontids. They are almost exclusively known from Late Jurassic Chinese deposits, although ''Ostromia'' was discovered in Germany and ''Yixianosaurus'' (a putative member of the group only known from forelimbs) is believed to hail from the early Cretaceous. Most had long legs, arms, and ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeopteryx
''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" or "wing". Between the late 19th century and the early 21st century, ''Archaeopteryx'' was generally accepted by palaeontologists and popular reference books as the oldest known bird (member of the group Avialae). Older potential avialans have since been identified, including ''Anchiornis'', ''Xiaotingia'', and ''Aurornis''. ''Archaeopteryx'' lived in the Late Jurassic around 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany, during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven, the largest species of ''Archaeopteryx'' could grow to about in len ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeopteryx Lithographica
''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" or "wing". Between the late 19th century and the early 21st century, ''Archaeopteryx'' was generally accepted by palaeontologists and popular reference books as the oldest known bird (member of the group Avialae). Older potential avialans have since been identified, including ''Anchiornis'', ''Xiaotingia'', and ''Aurornis''. ''Archaeopteryx'' lived in the Late Jurassic around 150 million years ago, in what is now southern Germany, during a time when Europe was an archipelago of islands in a shallow warm tropical sea, much closer to the equator than it is now. Similar in size to a Eurasian magpie, with the largest individuals possibly attaining the size of a raven, the largest species of ''Archaeopteryx'' could grow to about in leng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchiornis
''Anchiornis'' is a genus of small, four-winged Paraves, paravian dinosaurs, with only one known species, the type species ''Anchiornis huxleyi'', named for its similarity to modern birds. The Latin name ''Anchiornis'' derives from a Greek word meaning "near bird", and ''huxleyi'' refers to Thomas Henry Huxley, a contemporary of Charles Darwin. ''Anchiornis'' fossils have been found only in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning Province, Liaoning, China, in rocks dated to the Late Jurassic, about 160 million years ago. It is known from hundreds of specimens, and given the exquisite preservation of some of these fossils, it became the first Mesozoic dinosaur species for which almost the entire life appearance could be determined, and an important source of information on the early evolution of birds. Description ''Anchiornis huxleyi'' was a small, Bipedalism, bipedal Theropoda, theropod dinosaur with a triangular skull bearing several details in common with Dromaeosauridae, drom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiaojishan Formation
The Tiaojishan Formation is a geological formation in Hebei and Liaoning, People's Republic of China, dating to the middle-late Jurassic period (Bathonian- Oxfordian stages). It is known for its exceptionally preserved fossils, including those of plants, insects and vertebrates. It is made up mainly of pyroclastic rock interspersed with basic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Previously, the Tiaojishan Formation was grouped together with the underlying Haifanggou Formation (also known as the Jiulongshan Formation) as a single "Lanqi Formation." The Tiaojishan Formation forms a key part of the Yanliao Biota assemblage, alongside the Haifanggou Formation. Age Using Argon–argon dating, Wang and colleagues in 2005 dated part of the Tiaojishan Formation to about 160 million years ago, the beginning of the Oxfordian stage, the first stage of the Upper Jurassic epoch. In 2006, a study by Liu and colleagues used U-Pb zircon dating to conclude that the Tiaojishan Formation correlates wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avialan
Avialae ("bird wings") is a clade containing the only living dinosaurs, the birds. It is usually defined as all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds (Aves) than to deinonychosaurs, though alternative definitions are occasionally used (see below). ''Archaeopteryx lithographica'', from the late Jurassic Period Solnhofen Formation of Germany, is possibly the earliest known avialan which may have had the capability of powered flight, though it might have been a deinonychosaur instead. Several older (but non flight-capable) avialans are known from the late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of China, dated to about 160 million years ago. Definition Most researchers define Avialae as branch-based clade, though definitions vary. Many authors have used a definition similar to "all theropods closer to birds than to ''Deinonychus''."Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (eds.) (2004). ''The Dinosauria'', Second Edition. University of California Press., 861 pp. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiaotingia
''Xiaotingia'' is a genus of anchiornithid theropod dinosaur from Middle Jurassic or early Late Jurassic deposits of western Liaoning, China, containing a single species, ''Xiaotingia zhengi''. Discovery ''Xiaotingia'' is known from the holotype STM 27-2, an articulated and almost complete skeleton including the skull. It was probably collected in the Linglongta area, Jianchang, from the Tiaojishan Formation. Etymology ''Xiaotingia'' was first named by Xu Xing, You Hailu, Du Kai and Han Fenglu in 2011 and the type species is ''Xiaotingia zhengi''. The generic name and specific name together honour paleontologist Zheng Xiaoting. Description ''Xiaotingia'' lived around 155 million years ago which preceded ''Archaeopteryx'' that lived around 144 million years ago. ''Xiaotingia'' was morphologically similar to ''Archaeopteryx'' and was the size of a hen. It was about 60 cm long and weighed an estimated 0.82 kg. It was a small feathered dinosaur that lived in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Troodontidae
Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. During most of the 20th century, troodontid fossils were few and incomplete and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with many dinosaurian lineages. More recent fossil discoveries of complete and articulated specimens (including specimens which preserve feathers, eggs, embryos, and complete juveniles), have helped to increase understanding about this group. Anatomical studies, particularly studies of the most primitive troodontids, like ''Sinovenator'', demonstrate striking anatomical similarities with '' Archaeopteryx'' and primitive dromaeosaurids, and demonstrate that they are relatives comprising a clade called Paraves. Description Troodontids are a group of small, bird-like, gracile maniraptorans. All troodontids have unique features of the skull, such as large numbers of closely spaced teeth in the lower jaw. Troodontids have sickle-claws and raptorial hands, and some of the highest non-avian enceph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xu Xing (paleontologist)
Xu Xing (; born July 1969) is a Chinese paleontologist who has named more dinosaurs than any other living paleontologist. Such dinosaurs include the Jurassic ceratopsian ''Yinlong'', the Jurassic tyrannosauroid ''Guanlong'', the large oviraptorosaur ''Gigantoraptor'', and the troodontid '' Mei''. Biography Xing was born in Xinjiang, China, in 1969. A graduate from the department of geology of Peking University, he is currently a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. He had originally planned to become an economist. However, he was assigned to the department of geology by the Chinese authorities. He graduated in 1995, and claims inspiration from Roy Chapman Andrews. Among Xu's paleontological contributions have been discovery and analysis of dinosaur fossils with avian characteristics, and development of theories in regarding the evolution of feather Feathers are epidermal growths that for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junior Synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name (under the currently used system of scientific nomenclature) to the Norway spruce, which he called ''Pinus abies''. This name is no longer in use, so it is now a synonym of the current scientific name, ''Picea abies''. * In zoology, moving a species from one genus to another results in a different binomen, but the name is considered an alternative combination rather than a synonym. The concept of synonymy in zoology is reserved for two names at the same rank that refers to a taxon at that rank - for example, the name ''Papilio prorsa'' Linnaeus, 1758 is a junior synonym of ''Papilio levana'' Linnaeus, 1758, being names for different seasonal forms of the species now referred to as ''Araschnia lev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Historically a gateway between China proper and Manchuria, the modern Liaoning province was established in 1907 as Fengtian or Fengtien province and was renamed Liaoning in 1929. It was also known at that time as Mukden Province for the Manchu name of ''Shengjing'', the former name of Shenyang. Under the Japanese-puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its 1907 name, but the name Liaoning was restored for a brief time in 1945 and then again in 1954. Liaoning borders the Yellow Sea ( Korea Bay) and Bohai Sea in the south, North Korea's North Pyongan and Chagang provinces in the southeast, Jilin to the northeast, Hebei to the southwest, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Archaeopteryx Lithographica")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Avialan")
