''Jinfengopteryx'' (from , 'golden phoenix', the queen of birds in Chinese folklore, and grc, πτερυξ , meaning 'feather') is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

maniraptora Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the non-avian dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to ''Ornithomimus velox''. It contains the major subgroups Avialae, Deinonychosauria, Oviraptoros ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

. It was found in the Qiaotou Member of the

Huajiying Formation The Huajiying Formation is a geological formation in Hebei, People's Republic of China. Known for its fossils including feathered dinosaurs, the age of the formation is uncertain. It may represent an early portion of the Jehol Biota, dating to som ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and is therefore of uncertain age. The Qiaotou Member may correlate with the more well-known

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 Pro ...

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its ex ...

, and so probably dates to around 122 Ma (122 million years) ago.

Description

''Jinfengopteryx'' is known from one specimen (number CAGS-IG-04-0801), a nearly complete articulated skeleton, which measured long. It was preserved with extensive impressions of pennaceous feathers, but it lacks

flight feathers Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

on its hind legs, which are present in related dinosaurs such as ''

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 majori ...

'' or ''

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 m ...

''. It also preserves several small, oval structures that are reddish-yellow in color, possibly seeds that the dinosaur had eaten before it died; they may also be small eggs or developing follicles. If the oval structures are indeed seeds, they could indicate that ''Jinfengopteryx'' was an omnivore.

Feathers

''Jinfengopteryx'' preserves feather impressions "around the neck, the body, the hips, the upper hindlimbs, the tail, and near the manus" (end of the front limbs). The specimen shows short, simple feathers on its neck, body, hips, and upper legs. Also preserved are long, vaned tail feathers that become increasingly longer distally (away from the body).

Flight

A 2020 study on

paravian Paraves are a widespread group of theropod dinosaurs that originated in the Middle Jurassic period. In addition to the extinct dromaeosaurids, troodontids, anchiornithids, and possibly the scansoriopterygids, the group also contains the aviala ...

flight capacities demonstrates that ''Jinfengopteryx'' matches closely with other flying non-avian

theropods Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...

like ''

Microraptor ''Microraptor'' (Greek, μικρός, ''mīkros'': "small"; Latin, ''raptor'': "one who seizes") is a genus of small, four-winged dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Numerous well-preserved fossil specimens have been recovered from Liaoning, China. They dat ...

'' and ''

Rahonavis ''Rahonavis'' is a genus of bird-like theropods from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, about 70 mya) of what is now northwestern Madagascar. It is known from a partial skeleton ( UA 8656) found by Catherine Forster and colleagues in Maevarano ...

''.

Classification

The authors of the original description considered ''Jinfengopteryx'' to be the most basal

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 ...

(bird), and a member of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Archaeopterygidae Archaeopterygidae is a group of maniraptoran dinosaurs, known from the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous of Europe. In most current classifications, it contains only the genera ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Wellnhoferia''. As its name suggests, ' ...

. In a 2007 follow-up paper, they went on to compare ''Jinfengopteryx'' and ''

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" ...

'', still supporting its placement as an archaeopterygid, but providing no

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis.Ji S., and Ji, Q. (2007). "''Jinfengopteryx'' compared to ''Archaeopteryx'', with comments on the mosaic evolution of long-tailed avialan birds." ''Acta Geologica Sinica'' (English Edition), 81(3): 337-343. However,

Luis Chiappe Luis María Chiappe (born 18 June 1962) is an Argentine paleontologist born in Buenos Aires who is best known for his discovery of the first sauropod nesting sites in the badlands of Patagonia in 1997 and for his work on the origin and early evo ...

pointed out that ''Jinfengopteryx'' appears to have more in common with the

troodontids 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 discov ...

, such as an enlarged claw on its short second toe, and that numerous scientists suspect it may belong to that group.Chiappe, L.M. ''Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds.'' Sydney: UNSW Press. In 2006, Xu and Norell also suggested that ''Jinfengopteryx'' was a troodontid, based on general body plan and features of the teeth.Xu and Norell (2006). "Non-avian dinosaur fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of western Liaoning, China." ''Geological Journal'', 41(3-4): 419-437. In a 2007 analysis of the relationships between troodontids,

dromaeosaurids Dromaeosauridae () is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek ('), meaning ...

, and early birds, Turner and colleagues did find ''Jinfengopteryx'' to be a troodontid, and referred it to that group, noting that it is the first troodontid specimen to preserve evidence of feathers. In 2012, Turner and colleagues erected a new

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

called

Jinfengopteryginae Jinfengopteryginae is a subfamily of bird-like theropod dinosaurs known from the Cretaceous of Eurasia. This group includes relatively few genera, with members discovered in 2005 but the name erected in 2012. Like other troodontids, this group of ...

. The unique features of that subfamily include the large antorbital fenestrae and the

bifurcated Bifurcation or bifurcated may refer to: Science and technology * Bifurcation theory, the study of sudden changes in dynamical systems ** Bifurcation, of an incompressible flow, modeled by squeeze mapping the fluid flow * River bifurcation, the for ...

jugal The jugal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians and birds. In mammals, the jugal is often called the malar or zygomatic. It is connected to the quadratojugal and maxilla, as well as other bones, which may vary by species. Anatomy ...

. The specimen IGM 100/1126 (currently without an assigned genus) is the closest relative of ''Jinfengopteryx'' within the group.

References

External links