''Rapaxavis'' a genus of

enantiornithine The Enantiornithes, also known as enantiornithines or enantiornitheans in literature, are a group of extinct avialans ("birds" in the broad sense), the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era. Almost all retained teeth and cla ...

bird. It has been found in the Jiufotang Formation in

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 ...

, People's Republic of China. In 2006 a specimen was reported, discovered by Pan Lijun at Xiaioyugou near the town of Lianhe, and referred to '' Longirostravis''. In 2009 this specimen was named and described as the type species ''Rapaxavis pani'' by Eric M. Morschhauser, David Varricchio, Gao Chunling, Liu Jinyuan, Wang Xuri, Cheng Xiadong and Meng Qingjin. The generic name combines the Latin ''rapax'', "grasping", with ''avis'', "bird", in reference to the special grasping function of the foot. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours Pan as discoverer. It is also an allusion to Pan, the god of the forests, because the species was assumed to have been arboreal. The holotype, DMNH D2522, was found in a layer of the Jiufotang Formation dating from the early Albian. It consists of a nearly complete skeleton with skull, on a slab. When the slab was split from its counterplate, the bones did not split with them, preserving them perfectly. The specimen was in 2009 described after having been observed without any preparation. It represents a subadult individual. Later it was prepared but in an unprofessional way, damaging the skeleton, especially the skull where the entire right jugal bone was removed. Subsequently, it was sent to the '' Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County'' where a further preparation took place, which managed to repair some of the damage. The knowledge gained during this process was the basis for a more detailed redescription in 2011.O’Connor, J.K., Chiappe, L.M., Gao, C., and Zhao, B. 2011. "Anatomy of the Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird ''Rapaxavis pani''". ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 56(3): 463–475

References

Jiufotang fauna Bird genera Early Cretaceous birds of Asia Longipterygids Fossil taxa described in 2009 {{paleo-bird-stub