|
Songlingornithiformes
Songlingornithidae is a family of basal euornitheans from the Early Cretaceous of China. All known specimens come from the Jiufotang Formation and the Yixian Formation, dating to the early Barremian and Aptian ages, 125–120 million years ago. The family Songlingornithidae was first named by Hou in 1997 to contain the type genus, '' Songlingornis''.Hou, (1997). ''Mesozoic Birds of China''. Taiwan Provincial Feng Huang Ku Bird Park. Taiwan: Nan Tou. 228 pp. Clarke et al. (2006) was the first to find a close relationship between ''Songlingornis'' and the "yanornithids".Clarke, Zhou and Zhang, (2006). "Insight into the evolution of avian flight from a new clade of Early Cretaceous ornithurines from China and the morphology of ''Yixianornis grabaui''." ''Journal of Anatomy'', 208: 287-308. The name was originally coined to reflect a close relationship between the two supposedly similar (but poorly preserved) genera ''Songlingornis'' and '' Chaoyangia''. However, subsequent studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yanornis
''Yanornis'' () is an extinct genus of fish-eating Early Cretaceous birds. Two species have been described, both from Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, China: ''Yanornis martini'', based on several fossils found in the 120-million-year-old Jiufotang Formation at Chaoyang, Liaoning, Chaoyang, and ''Yanornis guozhangi'', from the 124-million-year-old Yixian Formation. Description ''Y. martini'' was the size of a chicken,Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> had a long skull with about 10 teeth in the upper jaw and 20 teeth in the lower jaw, and was both able to fly and walk well, having a well-developed U-shaped furcula (wishbone). The absence of the prefrontal bone and the non-diapsid skull allows ''Yanornis'' to be classified as an Ornithuromorpha, ornithuromorph, a member of a group of stem-birds which also includes the common ancestor of living birds. Similarl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Proposals for the exact age of the Barremian-Aptian boundary ranged from 126 to 117 Ma until recently (as of 2019), but based on drillholes in Svalbard the defining early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a) was carbon isotope dated to 123.1±0.3 Ma, limiting the possible range for the boundary to c. 122–121 Ma. There is a possible link between this anoxic event and a series of Early Cretaceous large igneous provinces (LIP). The Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi large igneous province, emplaced in the South Pacific at c. 120 Ma, is by far the largest LIP in Earth's history. The Ontong Java Plateau today covers an area of 1,860,000 km2. In the Indian Ocean another LIP began to form at c. 120 Ma, the Kerguelen P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hongshanornithid
Hongshanornithidae is an extinct group of early ornithuromorph birds from the early Cretaceous period of China. It includes the genera '' Hongshanornis'' (the type genus) and '' Tianyuornis'' from the Yixian Formation of Inner Mongolia, ''Longicrusavis'' from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, '' Parahongshanornis'' from the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, and '' Archaeornithura'', the oldest known member, from the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province. Description Hongshanornithids were small, approximately the size of modern phoebes. Their legs are proportionally long in comparison to the wings, suggesting that they were aquatic wading birds. They most likely lacked beaks and had teeth in their jaws. Classification Hongshanornithidae was defined as a node-based clade including the last common ancestor of ''Hongshanornis longicresta'' and ''Longicrusavis houi'' plus all its descendants. Beginning in 2012, several studies began to find that the hongshano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hesperornithes
Hesperornithes is an extinct and highly specialized group of aquatic avialans closely related to the ancestors of modern birds. They inhabited both marine and freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere, and include genera such as ''Hesperornis'', ''Parahesperornis'', ''Baptornis'', ''Enaliornis'', and ''Potamornis'', all strong-swimming, predatory divers. Many of the species most specialized for swimming were completely flightless. The largest known hesperornithean, ''Canadaga arctica'', may have reached a maximum adult length of . Hesperornitheans were the only Mesozoic avialans to colonize the oceans. They were wiped out in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, along with enantiornitheans and all other non-avian dinosaurs, and many other diverse plant and animal groups. Anatomy and ecology Most of what is known about this group rests on analyses of single species, as few provide sufficiently complete fossils for analysis. Although some of the smaller and more basal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apsaravis
''Apsaravis'' is a Mesozoic bird genus from the Late Cretaceous. The single known species, ''Apsaravis ukhaana'', lived about 78 million years ago, in the Campanian age of the Cretaceous period. Its fossilized remains were found in the Camel's Humps sublocality of the Djadokhta Formation, at Ukhaa Tolgod in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. They were collected in the 1998 field season by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences/American Museum of Natural History Paleontological Expeditions. It was described by Norell and Clarke (2001).Norell, Mark A., Clarke, Julia A. (2001). "Fossil that fills a critical gap in avian evolution". ''Nature'' Vol. 409 11 January 2001 pp.181-184. Its habitat was presumably very arid open landscape much like it is today, perhaps hotter still and with more (but nonetheless intermittent) rain. Permanent freshwater would have been scarce. Implications ''Apsaravis'' is important in avian paleontology. It has provided evidence that is directly relevant to at leas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gansus
''Gansus'' is a genus of aquatic birds that lived during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) period in what are now Gansu and Liaoning provinces, western China. The rock layers from which their fossils have been recovered are dated to 120 million years ago.Ji, S.-A. Atterholt, J. O'Connor, J.K. Lamanna, M.C. Harris, J.D. Li, D.-Q. You, H.-L. & Dodson, P. (2011A new, three-dimensionally preserved enantiornithine bird (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from Gansu Province, north-western China ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 162(1):201–219. It was first described in 1984 on the basis of an isolated left leg.Hou, L. & Liu, Z. (1984) A new fossil bird from Lower Cretaceous of Gansu and early evolution of birds. ''Sci. Sin. Ser. B.'' 27:1296−1302. It is the oldest-known member of the Ornithurae, the group which includes modern birds (Neornithes) and extinct related groups, such as ''Ichthyornis'' and Hesperornithes.O’Connor, J.K & Zhou, Z. (2012A redescription ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jianchangornis
''Jianchangornis'' a genus of basal ornithuromorph birds. Fossils were recovered from the Jiufotang Formation at 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 ..., China. Description A specimen IVPP-V16708 includes skull, partial skeleton and feathers. These remains indicate a subadult individual with a length of , hip height of , and weight of . References {{Taxonbar, from=Q6191480 Prehistoric animals of China Prehistoric euornitheans Bird genera Early Cretaceous birds of Asia Fossil taxa described in 2009 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hongshanornithidae
Hongshanornithidae is an extinct group of early ornithuromorph birds from the early Cretaceous period of China. It includes the genera '' Hongshanornis'' (the type genus) and '' Tianyuornis'' from the Yixian Formation of Inner Mongolia, ''Longicrusavis'' from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, '' Parahongshanornis'' from the Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, and '' Archaeornithura'', the oldest known member, from the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province. Description Hongshanornithids were small, approximately the size of modern phoebes. Their legs are proportionally long in comparison to the wings, suggesting that they were aquatic wading birds. They most likely lacked beaks and had teeth in their jaws. Classification Hongshanornithidae was defined as a node-based clade including the last common ancestor of ''Hongshanornis longicresta'' and ''Longicrusavis houi'' plus all its descendants. Beginning in 2012, several studies began to find that the hongshano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schizooura
''Schizooura'' is a genus of basal ornithuromorph bird known from the Early Cretaceous of Jianchang, western Liaoning, China. Its remains were discovered in Jiufotang Formation The Jiufotang Formation ( Chinese: 九佛堂组, pinyin: ''jiǔfótáng zǔ'') is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Chaoyang, Liaoning which has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms (see ... deposits, dated to 120 million years ago. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q543288 Early Cretaceous birds of Asia Fossil taxa described in 2012 Jiufotang fauna Prehistoric euornitheans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vorona
''Vorona'' ( ; Malagasy for "bird", ''V. berivotrensis'', "from Berivotra") is a monotypic genus of prehistoric birds. It was described from fossils found in a Maevarano Formation quarry near the village of Berivotra, Mahajanga Province, Madagascar. The age of the fossilised specimen is Late Cretaceous, probably Maastrichtian (72.1-66.0 mya). ''V. berivotrensis'' is known from scattered remains, possibly from a single individual ( UA 8651 and FMNH PA715). The phylogenic affinity of ''Vorona'' is hard to determine due to the fragmentary nature of the remains, mainly because the fossil shows a mix of basal avian features as well as some that seem very derived. ''Vorona'' might be a primitive ornithuromorph. At least two studies recovered it as part of Enantiornithes, however. ''Vorona'' is sometimes confused with the dromaeosaur ''Rahonavis ostromi'', a fossil of which was found in the same location. This confusion has led to the common misconception that ''Vorona'' had a dei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeorhynchus
''Archaeorhynchus'' (meaning "ancient snout") is a genus of beaked avialan stem-birds from the early Cretaceous period. A fossil of its only known species, ''Archaeorhynchus spathula'', was first reported in 2005 by Zhou & Zhang to have been found in Yixian Formation rocks at Yixian, Liaoning province, China, showing a well-preserved and essentially complete skeleton. Two more complete specimens were found in Lower Cretaceous deposits of Jianchang, Liaoning, northeastern China, preserving new anatomical information. These deposits are 120 million years old, whereas the original specimen was 125 million years old, meaning the age range for this species is 125-120Ma. ''Archaeorhychus'' is one of the earliest avialans known to have had a beak, and represents one of the most basal ornithuromorph avialans. The fossils preserved feathers associated with the neck, head and tail regions. The fossils also show grooves and openings/ holes (foramina) on the tips of the upper and lower jaw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithuromorpha
Euornithes (from Greek ' meaning "true birds") is a natural group which includes the most recent common ancestor of all avialans closer to modern birds than to ''Sinornis''. Description Clarke ''et al''. (2006) found that the most primitive known euornithians (the Yanornithiformes) had a mosaic of advanced and primitive features. These species retained primitive features like gastralia and a pubic symphysis. They also showed the first fully modern pygostyles, and the type specimen of ''Yixianornis'' (IVPP 13631) preserves eight elongated rectrices (tail feathers) in a modern arrangement. No earlier pygostylians are known which preserve a fan of tail feathers of this sort; instead, they showed only paired plumes or a tuft of short feathers. Classification The name Euornithes has been used for a wide variety of avialan groups since it was first named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1889. It was first defined as a clade in 1998 by Paul Sereno, who made it the group of all animals close ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Hesperornithes")
