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Alcmonavis
''Alcmonavis'' is a basal genus of avialan dinosaur that during the Late Jurassic lived in the area of present Germany. The only named species in the genus is ''Alcmonavis poeschli''. Its only known fossil was originally reported as a specimen of ''Archaeopteryx''. Discovery and naming Amateur paleontologist Roland Pöschl systematically excavates the Alte Schöpfel quarry on the Schaudiberg, at Mühlheim near Mörnsheim in Bavaria. In November 2017, he discovered a slab showing a right wing of a primordial bird. The piece was prepared by Uli Leonhardt. In 2018, it was reported as a thirteenth specimen of ''Archaeopteryx''. Subsequent research, however, indicated that it represented a species new to science. In 2019, the type species ''Alcmonavis poeschli'' was named and described by Oliver Walter Mischa Rauhut, Helmut Tischlinger and Christian Foth. The generic name combines the old Celtic name of the Altmühl River meandering through the region of the find, Alcmona, with a Lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mörnsheim Formation
The Mörnsheim Formation is a geologic formation in Germany, near Daiting and Mörnsheim, Bavaria. It preserves fossils dating back to the Jurassic period. It overlies the older Altmühltal Formation in its northwestern extent, and the Painten Formation to the east. Paleofauna *'' Aeolodon priscus'' *'' Alcmonavis poeschli'' *'' Altmuehlopterus rhamphastinus'' *'' Archaeopteryx albersdoerferi'' *'' Cricosaurus'' *''Geosaurus giganteus'' *'' Pleurosaurus goldfussi'' *'' Solnhofia parsoni'' See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Germany See also * Lists of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Europe These lists of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Europe enumerate the rock layers which preserve the fossilized remains of ancient life in Europe by the modern countries wher ... References Further reading * Wilkin, JTR. (2019). Taphonomy of Tithonian fishes from the Mörnsheim Formation of southern Germany. Zitteliana 93:81-85 Geologic formatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avialae
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] |
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] |
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age. In the past, ''Malm'' was also used to indicate the unit of geological time, but this usage is now discouraged to make a clear distinction between lithostratigraphic and geochronologic/chronostratigraphic units. Subdivisions The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three (faunal) stages of Upper Jurassic rock: Paleogeography During the Late Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. The result of this break-up was the spawning of the Atlantic Ocean. However, at this time, the Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow. Life forms of the epoch This epoch is well known for many famous types of dinosau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metatarsal
The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the medial side (the side of the great toe): the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth metatarsal (often depicted with Roman numerals). The metatarsals are analogous to the metacarpal bones of the hand. The lengths of the metatarsal bones in humans are, in descending order, second, third, fourth, fifth, and first. Structure The five metatarsals are dorsal convex long bones consisting of a shaft or body, a base (proximally), and a head (distally).Platzer 2004, p. 220 The body is prismoid in form, tapers gradually from the tarsal to the phalangeal extremity, and is curved longitudinally, so as to be concave below, slightly convex above. The base or posterior extremity is wedge-shaped, articulating proximally with the tarsal bones, and by it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithothoraces
Ornithothoraces is a group of avialans that includes all enantiornithes ("opposite birds") and the euornithes ("true birds"), which includes modern birds and their closest ancestors. The name Ornithothoraces means "bird thoraxes". This refers to the modern, highly advanced anatomy of the thorax that gave the ornithothoracines superior flight capability compared with more primitive avialans. This anatomy includes a large, keeled breastbone, elongated coracoids and a modified glenoid joint in the shoulder, and a semi-rigid rib cage. In spite of this at least the sternum seems to have developed convergently rather than being a true homology. The earliest known members of the group are the enantiornitheans ''Protopteryx fengningensis'', '' Eopengornis martini'', and '' Cruralispennia multidonta'', as well as the euornithine '' Archaeornithura meemannae'', all from the Sichakou Member of the Huajiying Formation in China, which has been dated to 130.7 million years old. At least one ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 is the oldest known bird to have a beak. 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 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygostylia
Pygostylia is a group of avialans which includes the Confuciusornithidae and all of the more advanced species, the Ornithothoraces. Definition The group Pygostylia was intended to encompass all avialans with a short, stubby tail, as opposed to the longer, unfused tails of more primitive species like ''Archaeopteryx lithographica''. It was named by Sankar Chatterjee in 1997.Chatterjee, S. 1997. ''The Rise of Birds.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 312 pp. Luis Chiappe later defined Pygostylia as a node-based clade, "the common ancestor of the Confuciusornithidae and Neornithes plus all its descendants". In 2001, Jacques Gauthier and Kevin de Queiroz recommended that Chatterjee's original apomorphy-based clade concept be used instead of Chiappe's node-based definition,Gauthier, J., & De Queiroz, K. (2001). Feathered dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs, and the name" Aves. ''New perspectives on the origin and early evolution of birds'', 7-41. but this recommendat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedopenna
''Pedopenna'' (meaning "foot feather") is a genus of small, feathered, maniraptoran dinosaur from the Daohugou Beds in China. It is possibly older than ''Archaeopteryx'', though the age of the Daohugou Beds where it was found is debated. A majority of studies suggest that beds probably date from between the late Middle Jurassic (168 million years ago) and early Late Jurassic Period (164-152 million years ago). The name ''Pedopenna'' refers to the long pennaceous feathers on the metatarsus; ''daohugouensis'' refers to the locality of Daohugou, where the holotype was found. ''Pedopenna daohugouensis'' probably measured 1 meter (3 ft) or less in length, but since this species is only known from the hind legs, the actual length is difficult to estimate. ''Pedopenna'' was originally classified as a paravian, the group of maniraptoran dinosaurs that includes both deinonychosaurs and avialans (the lineage including modern birds), but some scientists have classified it as a tru ... [...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] |
Ostromia
''Ostromia'' (''Thick feet of John Ostrom'') is a genus of anchiornithid theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Painten Formation of Germany. The genus contains a single species, ''O. crassipes'', named by Christian Foth and Oliver Rauhut in 2017. Discovery and naming The holotype was discovered near Riedenburg, Germany in 1855 and it was originally misidentified as a species of a pterodactyloid pterosaur and named ''Pterodactylus crassipes'' in 1857. In 1970 it was identified as an ''Archaeopteryx'' by paleontologist John Ostrom, who called it the "Haarlem specimen", since it was kept in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem.Ostrom JH. Archaeopteryx: notice of a “new” specimen. Science. 1970;170:537–8 In 2017 Christian Foth and Oliver Rauhut concluded it was more closely related to the Chinese ''Anchiornis'' and introduced the generic name ''Ostromia'', named after Ostrom. The only known specimen is fairly incomplete compared to most specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'', as it onl ... [...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] |
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